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Solar panel cost in Salford (M38)

See realistic solar installation costs, savings and payback for M38 (Salford) in under a minute using official UK data. Start with the calculator, then get a no-obligation quote from an MCS-certified installer. You can also ask the SolarByPostcode assistant to sanity-check your roof, bills and plans.

Solar Calculator

Change the settings below to see how costs and savings work for your situation.

System Size

Roof Direction

Battery Storage

Export Value

Your Numbers

Break-even
15.2 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£8,138
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£536
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£5,260
After paying itself off, you're this much ahead

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How we calculate this

Solar generation: Based on typical south-facing roof at 35° angle. We account for weather, dirt, and system losses (14%).

How much you'll use directly:

  • Without battery: You'll use about 40% of what you generate. The rest gets sold back to the grid.
  • With 5 kWh battery: You'll use about 70% (battery stores extra for evening use).
  • With 10 kWh battery: You'll use about 75% (more storage means less exported).
  • Panel-only payback: Bigger systems don’t shorten payback—cost and savings rise together per kW.
  • Battery & payback: Batteries raise self-use and cut bills, but added hardware cost often lengthens break-even at typical UK rates.
  • When a battery can still make sense:
    • Evening-heavy usage patterns
    • Time-of-use tariffs / cheap night rates
    • Low export rate vs. high unit rate
    • Heat pump or EV charging synergy
    • Optional backup/resilience (system-dependent)
    • Lower evening-hour CO₂ vs. grid

Costs: Battery prices are typically £700 per kWh. Export tariffs vary by supplier (usually 5–15p per kWh).

Grid connection: Systems up to about 3.7 kW typically need just a notification (G98). Larger systems may need permission (G99).

These are typical values based on average usage patterns. Your actual results will vary based on your roof, shading, and how you use electricity.

Your area in context

In North West, the current unit rate is 23.04p/kWh with a 46.92p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 880 kWh/kW — 10 above the regional median (870).

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 4.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 880 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 23.0p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
23.0p/kWh
Standing charge
46.9p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
880 kWh/kW
Export price (baseline)
10p/kWh

Browse the scenarios below. Each battery size has its own expand — open the one that matches your plan (or just explore). For each system size (2–8 kW) we show annual output, how much you use directly, what gets exported, annual benefit, upfront cost, break-even, and a 20-year net. Negative numbers are possible — that’s the honest trade-off when adding more battery than your usage profile justifies.

No battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £670, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 15.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1761 kWh 704 kWh 1057 kWh £162 £106 £268 £4,069 15.2 yrs £1,290
3 kW 2642 kWh 1057 kWh 1585 kWh £243 £158 £402 £6,104 15.2 yrs £1,935
4 kW 3522 kWh 1409 kWh 2113 kWh £325 £211 £536 £8,138 15.2 yrs £2,580
5 kW 4402 kWh 1761 kWh 2642 kWh £406 £264 £670 £10,173 15.2 yrs £3,225
6 kW 5283 kWh 2113 kWh 3170 kWh £487 £317 £804 £12,207 15.2 yrs £3,870
7 kW 6164 kWh 2465 kWh 3698 kWh £568 £370 £938 £14,242 15.2 yrs £4,515
8 kW 7044 kWh 2818 kWh 4226 kWh £649 £423 £1,072 £16,276 15.2 yrs £5,160

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 2,035, battery £/kWh = 700.

3 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £785, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 15.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1761 kWh 1057 kWh 704 kWh £243 £70 £314 £6,169 19.7 yrs £109
3 kW 2642 kWh 1585 kWh 1057 kWh £365 £106 £471 £8,204 17.4 yrs £1,213
4 kW 3522 kWh 2113 kWh 1409 kWh £487 £141 £628 £10,238 16.3 yrs £2,317
5 kW 4402 kWh 2642 kWh 1761 kWh £609 £176 £785 £12,273 15.6 yrs £3,421
6 kW 5283 kWh 3170 kWh 2113 kWh £730 £211 £942 £14,307 15.2 yrs £4,526
7 kW 6164 kWh 3698 kWh 2465 kWh £852 £247 £1,099 £16,342 14.9 yrs £5,630
8 kW 7044 kWh 4226 kWh 2818 kWh £974 £282 £1,256 £18,376 14.6 yrs £6,734

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 2,035, battery £/kWh = 700.

5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £842, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 16.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1761 kWh 1233 kWh 528 kWh £284 £53 £337 £7,569 22.5 yrs £-832
3 kW 2642 kWh 1849 kWh 792 kWh £426 £79 £505 £9,604 19.0 yrs £502
4 kW 3522 kWh 2465 kWh 1057 kWh £568 £106 £674 £11,638 17.3 yrs £1,836
5 kW 4402 kWh 3082 kWh 1321 kWh £710 £132 £842 £13,673 16.2 yrs £3,170
6 kW 5283 kWh 3698 kWh 1585 kWh £852 £158 £1,011 £15,707 15.5 yrs £4,504
7 kW 6164 kWh 4314 kWh 1849 kWh £994 £185 £1,179 £17,742 15.0 yrs £5,838
8 kW 7044 kWh 4931 kWh 2113 kWh £1,136 £211 £1,347 £19,776 14.7 yrs £7,171

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 2,035, battery £/kWh = 700.

7.5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £859, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 17.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1761 kWh 1286 kWh 475 kWh £296 £48 £344 £9,319 27.1 yrs £-2,444
3 kW 2642 kWh 1928 kWh 713 kWh £444 £71 £516 £11,354 22.0 yrs £-1,042
4 kW 3522 kWh 2571 kWh 951 kWh £592 £95 £687 £13,388 19.5 yrs £361
5 kW 4402 kWh 3214 kWh 1189 kWh £740 £119 £859 £15,423 17.9 yrs £1,764
6 kW 5283 kWh 3857 kWh 1426 kWh £889 £143 £1,031 £17,457 16.9 yrs £3,167
7 kW 6164 kWh 4499 kWh 1664 kWh £1,037 £166 £1,203 £19,492 16.2 yrs £4,570
8 kW 7044 kWh 5142 kWh 1902 kWh £1,185 £190 £1,375 £21,526 15.7 yrs £5,973

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 2,035, battery £/kWh = 700.

10 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £871, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 19.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1761 kWh 1321 kWh 440 kWh £304 £44 £348 £11,069 31.8 yrs £-4,103
3 kW 2642 kWh 1981 kWh 660 kWh £456 £66 £522 £13,104 25.1 yrs £-2,654
4 kW 3522 kWh 2642 kWh 880 kWh £609 £88 £697 £15,138 21.7 yrs £-1,205
5 kW 4402 kWh 3302 kWh 1101 kWh £761 £110 £871 £17,173 19.7 yrs £244
6 kW 5283 kWh 3962 kWh 1321 kWh £913 £132 £1,045 £19,207 18.4 yrs £1,692
7 kW 6164 kWh 4623 kWh 1541 kWh £1,065 £154 £1,219 £21,242 17.4 yrs £3,141
8 kW 7044 kWh 5283 kWh 1761 kWh £1,217 £176 £1,393 £23,276 16.7 yrs £4,590

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 2,035, battery £/kWh = 700.

13.5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £882, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 22.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1761 kWh 1356 kWh 405 kWh £312 £41 £353 £13,519 38.3 yrs £-6,461
3 kW 2642 kWh 2034 kWh 608 kWh £469 £61 £529 £15,554 29.4 yrs £-4,966
4 kW 3522 kWh 2712 kWh 810 kWh £625 £81 £706 £17,588 24.9 yrs £-3,471
5 kW 4402 kWh 3390 kWh 1013 kWh £781 £101 £882 £19,623 22.2 yrs £-1,977
6 kW 5283 kWh 4068 kWh 1215 kWh £937 £122 £1,059 £21,657 20.5 yrs £-482
7 kW 6164 kWh 4746 kWh 1418 kWh £1,093 £142 £1,235 £23,692 19.2 yrs £1,013
8 kW 7044 kWh 5424 kWh 1620 kWh £1,250 £162 £1,412 £25,726 18.2 yrs £2,507

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 2,035, battery £/kWh = 700.

Figures are illustrative and use the same method as the calculator above. For exact results, adjust your roof direction, tariff, and usage in the calculator.

Insights for M38

Figures below are tailored to M38 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1805 of 2182
4.4 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~9 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #2319 of 2997
13.3 years (UK avg 12.6 years)
~£612 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2451 of 2997
31.1% (UK avg 24.6%) drag on savings
£191 fixed • ~£612 /yr value
Aspect Penalty View ranking →
East −19.6% West −19.5%
Typical output loss versus a south-facing roof (lower is better)

Seasonal solar output in M38

Monthly generation per kilowatt of solar panels

kWh 28 Jan 45 Feb 77 Mar 103 Apr 114 May 110 Jun 108 Jul 97 Aug 80 Sep 55 Oct 36 Nov 27 Dec
Best month Worst month Winter (Dec–Feb) Other months

Winter output: 45.2% of an average month (Dec–Feb)

Best / worst month: May / Dec

These figures show output per kilowatt (kW) of panels installed. In winter, a 1 kW system here produces about 33 kWh per month; the average month produces around 73 kWh. So a typical 4 kW home system would generate roughly 133 kWh in winter, or 293 kWh in an average month.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
23.04p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
46.92p/day
Local Sunshine
880kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~880 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
4.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

Local Property Data

Property Types

Houses: 73% • Flats: 17% • Bungalows: 10% Based on 4,714 properties

Coverage

Salford (100%)

Areas Covered

Little Hulton, Walkden North, Walkden South, Swinton & Wardley, Hulton

Data Sources & Assumptions

Solar yield: PVGIS (EU Joint Research Centre), January 2025 data

Electricity rates: Ofgem price cap, Q1 2026

Installation costs: MCS certified installer data, March 2025

Property data: EPC open data (Open Government Licence), aggregated

All estimates are typical values. Actual results vary based on your specific situation, roof characteristics, and usage patterns.

Compare nearby areas

Nearby in North West

M28 (Salford)
≈2.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~881 kWh/kWp · +0% vs M38
BL4 (Bolton)
≈2.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~881 kWh/kWp · +0% vs M38
BL78 (Bolton)
≈3.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~871 kWh/kWp · -1% vs M38
M29 (Wigan)
≈3.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~885 kWh/kWp · +1% vs M38
BL3 (Bolton)
≈4.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~869 kWh/kWp · -1% vs M38
BL11 (Bolton)
≈4.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~870 kWh/kWp · -1% vs M38

Similar sunshine across the UK

BT62 (Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon)
~880 kWh/kWp · -0% vs M38
NP24 (Caerphilly)
~881 kWh/kWp · +0% vs M38
BT63 (Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon)
~880 kWh/kWp · -0% vs M38