Solar explained to clever people by people who are not trying to be clever
Home Regions
Insights
Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in MK2 (Milton Keynes)

See if solar pays off for you in Milton Keynes — price, savings and payback in under a minute (official UK data).

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
12.7 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£799
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£9,804
After paying itself off, you're this much ahead

Ready to Get Started?

Get your free quote from Blue Ape Renewables. They'll connect you with MCS-certified installers in your area and handle all the paperwork.

Get Solar Quote →
4.8★ Trustpilot • Octopus Energy trusted partner • MCS certified • No obligation
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 East Midlands, the current unit rate is 25.55p/kWh with a 49.09p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 985 kWh/kW — 17 above the regional median (968).

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 5.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 985 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.6p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.6p/kWh
Standing charge
49.1p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
985 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: £799, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 12.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1971 kWh 788 kWh 1182 kWh £201 £118 £320 £4,069 12.7 yrs £2,324
3 kW 2956 kWh 1182 kWh 1774 kWh £302 £177 £479 £6,104 12.7 yrs £3,485
4 kW 3941 kWh 1576 kWh 2365 kWh £403 £236 £639 £8,138 12.7 yrs £4,647
5 kW 4926 kWh 1971 kWh 2956 kWh £503 £296 £799 £10,173 12.7 yrs £5,809
6 kW 5912 kWh 2365 kWh 3547 kWh £604 £355 £959 £12,207 12.7 yrs £6,971
7 kW 6897 kWh 2759 kWh 4138 kWh £705 £414 £1,119 £14,242 12.7 yrs £8,132
8 kW 7882 kWh 3153 kWh 4729 kWh £806 £473 £1,279 £16,276 12.7 yrs £9,294

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: £952, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 12.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1971 kWh 1182 kWh 788 kWh £302 £79 £381 £6,169 16.2 yrs £1,449
3 kW 2956 kWh 1774 kWh 1182 kWh £453 £118 £571 £8,204 14.4 yrs £3,224
4 kW 3941 kWh 2365 kWh 1576 kWh £604 £158 £762 £10,238 13.4 yrs £4,998
5 kW 4926 kWh 2956 kWh 1971 kWh £755 £197 £952 £12,273 12.9 yrs £6,773
6 kW 5912 kWh 3547 kWh 2365 kWh £906 £236 £1,143 £14,307 12.5 yrs £8,548
7 kW 6897 kWh 4138 kWh 2759 kWh £1,057 £276 £1,333 £16,342 12.3 yrs £10,322
8 kW 7882 kWh 4729 kWh 3153 kWh £1,208 £315 £1,524 £18,376 12.1 yrs £12,097

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: £1,029, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 13.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1971 kWh 1379 kWh 591 kWh £352 £59 £412 £7,569 18.4 yrs £662
3 kW 2956 kWh 2069 kWh 887 kWh £529 £89 £617 £9,604 15.6 yrs £2,743
4 kW 3941 kWh 2759 kWh 1182 kWh £705 £118 £823 £11,638 14.1 yrs £4,824
5 kW 4926 kWh 3449 kWh 1478 kWh £881 £148 £1,029 £13,673 13.3 yrs £6,905
6 kW 5912 kWh 4138 kWh 1774 kWh £1,057 £177 £1,235 £15,707 12.7 yrs £8,986
7 kW 6897 kWh 4828 kWh 2069 kWh £1,234 £207 £1,440 £17,742 12.3 yrs £11,067
8 kW 7882 kWh 5518 kWh 2365 kWh £1,410 £236 £1,646 £19,776 12.0 yrs £13,148

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: £1,052, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 14.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1971 kWh 1439 kWh 532 kWh £368 £53 £421 £9,319 22.1 yrs £-904
3 kW 2956 kWh 2158 kWh 798 kWh £551 £80 £631 £11,354 18.0 yrs £1,269
4 kW 3941 kWh 2877 kWh 1064 kWh £735 £106 £841 £13,388 15.9 yrs £3,442
5 kW 4926 kWh 3596 kWh 1330 kWh £919 £133 £1,052 £15,423 14.7 yrs £5,615
6 kW 5912 kWh 4316 kWh 1596 kWh £1,103 £160 £1,262 £17,457 13.8 yrs £7,788
7 kW 6897 kWh 5035 kWh 1862 kWh £1,286 £186 £1,473 £19,492 13.2 yrs £9,961
8 kW 7882 kWh 5754 kWh 2128 kWh £1,470 £213 £1,683 £21,526 12.8 yrs £12,134

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: £1,067, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 16.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1971 kWh 1478 kWh 493 kWh £378 £49 £427 £11,069 25.9 yrs £-2,531
3 kW 2956 kWh 2217 kWh 739 kWh £566 £74 £640 £13,104 20.5 yrs £-297
4 kW 3941 kWh 2956 kWh 985 kWh £755 £99 £854 £15,138 17.7 yrs £1,937
5 kW 4926 kWh 3695 kWh 1232 kWh £944 £123 £1,067 £17,173 16.1 yrs £4,171
6 kW 5912 kWh 4434 kWh 1478 kWh £1,133 £148 £1,281 £19,207 15.0 yrs £6,406
7 kW 6897 kWh 5173 kWh 1724 kWh £1,322 £172 £1,494 £21,242 14.2 yrs £8,640
8 kW 7882 kWh 5912 kWh 1971 kWh £1,510 £197 £1,708 £23,276 13.6 yrs £10,874

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: £1,083, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 18.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1971 kWh 1517 kWh 453 kWh £388 £45 £433 £13,519 31.2 yrs £-4,859
3 kW 2956 kWh 2276 kWh 680 kWh £582 £68 £650 £15,554 23.9 yrs £-2,563
4 kW 3941 kWh 3035 kWh 906 kWh £775 £91 £866 £17,588 20.3 yrs £-268
5 kW 4926 kWh 3793 kWh 1133 kWh £969 £113 £1,083 £19,623 18.1 yrs £2,028
6 kW 5912 kWh 4552 kWh 1360 kWh £1,163 £136 £1,299 £21,657 16.7 yrs £4,323
7 kW 6897 kWh 5311 kWh 1586 kWh £1,357 £159 £1,516 £23,692 15.6 yrs £6,619
8 kW 7882 kWh 6069 kWh 1813 kWh £1,551 £181 £1,732 £25,726 14.9 yrs £8,914

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 MK2

Figures below are tailored to MK2 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1025 of 2182
5.0 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~10 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #1419 of 2997
11.1 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£914 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1321 of 2997
19.6% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£179 fixed • ~£914 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.55p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
49.09p/day
Local Sunshine
985kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~985 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
5.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

Local Property Data

Property Types

Houses: 59% • Flats: 27% • Bungalows: 13% Based on 4,567 properties

Coverage

Milton Keynes (100%)

Areas Covered

Bletchley East, Bletchley Park, Campbell Park & Old Woughton, Danesborough & Walton, Newton Longville

Data Sources & Assumptions

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

Electricity rates: Ofgem price cap, Q4 2025

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 East Midlands

MK1 (Milton Keynes)
≈1.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~977 kWh/kWp · -1% vs MK2
MK3 (Milton Keynes)
≈1.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~985 kWh/kWp · -0% vs MK2
MK7 (Milton Keynes)
≈3.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~977 kWh/kWp · -1% vs MK2
MK4 (Milton Keynes)
≈3.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~985 kWh/kWp · -0% vs MK2
MK17 (Milton Keynes)
≈4.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~990 kWh/kWp · +1% vs MK2
MK6 (Milton Keynes)
≈4.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~985 kWh/kWp · -0% vs MK2

Similar sunshine across the UK

GU95 (Surrey Heath)
~985 kWh/kWp · +0% vs MK2
GU17 (Hart)
~985 kWh/kWp · +0% vs MK2
GL54 (Cotswold)
~985 kWh/kWp · +0% vs MK2