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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in NE23 (Northumberland)

See if solar pays off for you in Northumberland — 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
13.2 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£768
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£9,039
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 Northern, the current unit rate is 25.43p/kWh with a 59.86p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 950 kWh/kW — 25 above the regional median (926).

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 950 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.4p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.4p/kWh
Standing charge
59.9p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
950 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: £768, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 13.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1901 kWh 760 kWh 1140 kWh £193 £114 £307 £4,069 13.2 yrs £2,079
3 kW 2851 kWh 1140 kWh 1711 kWh £290 £171 £461 £6,104 13.2 yrs £3,118
4 kW 3801 kWh 1521 kWh 2281 kWh £387 £228 £615 £8,138 13.2 yrs £4,157
5 kW 4752 kWh 1901 kWh 2851 kWh £483 £285 £768 £10,173 13.2 yrs £5,197
6 kW 5702 kWh 2281 kWh 3421 kWh £580 £342 £922 £12,207 13.2 yrs £6,236
7 kW 6652 kWh 2661 kWh 3991 kWh £677 £399 £1,076 £14,242 13.2 yrs £7,275
8 kW 7603 kWh 3041 kWh 4562 kWh £773 £456 £1,230 £16,276 13.2 yrs £8,314

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: £915, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 13.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1901 kWh 1140 kWh 760 kWh £290 £76 £366 £6,169 16.9 yrs £1,152
3 kW 2851 kWh 1711 kWh 1140 kWh £435 £114 £549 £8,204 14.9 yrs £2,778
4 kW 3801 kWh 2281 kWh 1521 kWh £580 £152 £732 £10,238 14.0 yrs £4,403
5 kW 4752 kWh 2851 kWh 1901 kWh £725 £190 £915 £12,273 13.4 yrs £6,029
6 kW 5702 kWh 3421 kWh 2281 kWh £870 £228 £1,098 £14,307 13.0 yrs £7,655
7 kW 6652 kWh 3991 kWh 2661 kWh £1,015 £266 £1,281 £16,342 12.8 yrs £9,281
8 kW 7603 kWh 4562 kWh 3041 kWh £1,160 £304 £1,464 £18,376 12.6 yrs £10,907

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: £988, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 13.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1901 kWh 1330 kWh 570 kWh £338 £57 £395 £7,569 19.1 yrs £338
3 kW 2851 kWh 1996 kWh 855 kWh £508 £86 £593 £9,604 16.2 yrs £2,257
4 kW 3801 kWh 2661 kWh 1140 kWh £677 £114 £791 £11,638 14.7 yrs £4,177
5 kW 4752 kWh 3326 kWh 1426 kWh £846 £143 £988 £13,673 13.8 yrs £6,096
6 kW 5702 kWh 3991 kWh 1711 kWh £1,015 £171 £1,186 £15,707 13.2 yrs £8,015
7 kW 6652 kWh 4657 kWh 1996 kWh £1,184 £200 £1,384 £17,742 12.8 yrs £9,934
8 kW 7603 kWh 5322 kWh 2281 kWh £1,353 £228 £1,581 £19,776 12.5 yrs £11,853

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: £1,010, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 15.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1901 kWh 1388 kWh 513 kWh £353 £51 £404 £9,319 23.1 yrs £-1,236
3 kW 2851 kWh 2081 kWh 770 kWh £529 £77 £606 £11,354 18.7 yrs £771
4 kW 3801 kWh 2775 kWh 1026 kWh £706 £103 £808 £13,388 16.6 yrs £2,778
5 kW 4752 kWh 3469 kWh 1283 kWh £882 £128 £1,010 £15,423 15.3 yrs £4,786
6 kW 5702 kWh 4163 kWh 1540 kWh £1,059 £154 £1,212 £17,457 14.4 yrs £6,793
7 kW 6652 kWh 4856 kWh 1796 kWh £1,235 £180 £1,415 £19,492 13.8 yrs £8,800
8 kW 7603 kWh 5550 kWh 2053 kWh £1,411 £205 £1,617 £21,526 13.3 yrs £10,807

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: £1,025, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 16.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1901 kWh 1426 kWh 475 kWh £363 £48 £410 £11,069 27.0 yrs £-2,868
3 kW 2851 kWh 2138 kWh 713 kWh £544 £71 £615 £13,104 21.3 yrs £-803
4 kW 3801 kWh 2851 kWh 950 kWh £725 £95 £820 £15,138 18.5 yrs £1,263
5 kW 4752 kWh 3564 kWh 1188 kWh £906 £119 £1,025 £17,173 16.8 yrs £3,329
6 kW 5702 kWh 4277 kWh 1426 kWh £1,088 £143 £1,230 £19,207 15.6 yrs £5,395
7 kW 6652 kWh 4989 kWh 1663 kWh £1,269 £166 £1,435 £21,242 14.8 yrs £7,460
8 kW 7603 kWh 5702 kWh 1901 kWh £1,450 £190 £1,640 £23,276 14.2 yrs £9,526

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: £1,040, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 18.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1901 kWh 1464 kWh 437 kWh £372 £44 £416 £13,519 32.5 yrs £-5,201
3 kW 2851 kWh 2195 kWh 656 kWh £558 £66 £624 £15,554 24.9 yrs £-3,077
4 kW 3801 kWh 2927 kWh 874 kWh £744 £87 £832 £17,588 21.1 yrs £-952
5 kW 4752 kWh 3659 kWh 1093 kWh £930 £109 £1,040 £19,623 18.9 yrs £1,172
6 kW 5702 kWh 4391 kWh 1311 kWh £1,117 £131 £1,248 £21,657 17.4 yrs £3,297
7 kW 6652 kWh 5122 kWh 1530 kWh £1,303 £153 £1,456 £23,692 16.3 yrs £5,421
8 kW 7603 kWh 5854 kWh 1749 kWh £1,489 £175 £1,664 £25,726 15.5 yrs £7,545

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 NE23

Figures below are tailored to NE23 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1403 of 2182
4.7 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~10 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #1868 of 2997
11.6 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£878 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2203 of 2997
24.9% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£218 fixed • ~£878 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.43p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
59.86p/day
Local Sunshine
950kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~950 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: 72% • Flats: 16% • Bungalows: 11% Based on 10,334 properties

Coverage

Northumberland (89%)|North Tyneside (11%)

Areas Covered

Cramlington Village, Cramlington North West, Cramlington Eastfield, Cramlington North, Cramlington South East, Cramlington East & Double Row, Camperdown, Cramlington South West + 4 more

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 Northern

NE22 (Northumberland)
≈5.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~948 kWh/kWp · -0% vs NE23
NE24 (Northumberland)
≈5.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~919 kWh/kWp · -3% vs NE23
NE13 (Newcastle upon Tyne)
≈6.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~930 kWh/kWp · -2% vs NE23
NE12 (North Tyneside)
≈7.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~943 kWh/kWp · -1% vs NE23
NE27 (North Tyneside)
≈7.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~948 kWh/kWp · -0% vs NE23
NE25 (North Tyneside)
≈8.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~930 kWh/kWp · -2% vs NE23

Similar sunshine across the UK

BT22 (Ards and North Down)
~950 kWh/kWp · +0% vs NE23
S25 (Rotherham)
~951 kWh/kWp · +0% vs NE23
CH45 (Wirral)
~950 kWh/kWp · -0% vs NE23