Solar panel cost in Northumberland (NE23)

See realistic solar installation costs, savings and payback for NE23 (Northumberland) 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
10.6 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£8,139
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£764
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£10,973
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: The official cost per kW is lower above 4 kW, so a 5–6 kW system can pay back a little faster than a 3–4 kW system on otherwise identical assumptions.
  • 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

Panel costs: Uses March 2026 TIC mean installation costs: £1,827/kW up to 4 kW and £1,628/kW above 4 kW.

Other costs: Battery prices are modelled at £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

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 25.2p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.2p/kWh
Standing charge
64.3p/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: £764, Upfront: £8,139, Break-even: 10.6 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 £192 £114 £306 £3,256 10.6 yrs £2,860
3 kW 2851 kWh 1140 kWh 1711 kWh £288 £171 £459 £4,883 10.6 yrs £4,290
4 kW 3801 kWh 1521 kWh 2281 kWh £383 £228 £612 £6,511 10.6 yrs £5,720
5 kW 4752 kWh 1901 kWh 2851 kWh £479 £285 £764 £8,139 10.6 yrs £7,150
6 kW 5702 kWh 2281 kWh 3421 kWh £575 £342 £917 £9,767 10.6 yrs £8,581
7 kW 6652 kWh 2661 kWh 3991 kWh £671 £399 £1,070 £11,394 10.6 yrs £10,011
8 kW 7603 kWh 3041 kWh 4562 kWh £767 £456 £1,223 £13,022 10.6 yrs £11,441

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, battery £/kWh = 700.

3 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £909, Upfront: £10,239, Break-even: 11.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1901 kWh 1140 kWh 760 kWh £288 £76 £364 £5,356 14.7 yrs £1,917
3 kW 2851 kWh 1711 kWh 1140 kWh £431 £114 £545 £6,983 12.8 yrs £3,926
4 kW 3801 kWh 2281 kWh 1521 kWh £575 £152 £727 £8,611 11.8 yrs £5,935
5 kW 4752 kWh 2851 kWh 1901 kWh £719 £190 £909 £10,239 11.3 yrs £7,943
6 kW 5702 kWh 3421 kWh 2281 kWh £863 £228 £1,091 £11,867 10.9 yrs £9,952
7 kW 6652 kWh 3991 kWh 2661 kWh £1,007 £266 £1,273 £13,494 10.6 yrs £11,961
8 kW 7603 kWh 4562 kWh 3041 kWh £1,150 £304 £1,455 £15,122 10.4 yrs £13,969

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, battery £/kWh = 700.

5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £981, Upfront: £11,639, Break-even: 11.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1901 kWh 1330 kWh 570 kWh £336 £57 £393 £6,756 17.2 yrs £1,096
3 kW 2851 kWh 1996 kWh 855 kWh £503 £86 £589 £8,383 14.2 yrs £3,394
4 kW 3801 kWh 2661 kWh 1140 kWh £671 £114 £785 £10,011 12.8 yrs £5,692
5 kW 4752 kWh 3326 kWh 1426 kWh £839 £143 £981 £11,639 11.9 yrs £7,990
6 kW 5702 kWh 3991 kWh 1711 kWh £1,007 £171 £1,178 £13,267 11.3 yrs £10,288
7 kW 6652 kWh 4657 kWh 1996 kWh £1,174 £200 £1,374 £14,894 10.8 yrs £12,586
8 kW 7603 kWh 5322 kWh 2281 kWh £1,342 £228 £1,570 £16,522 10.5 yrs £14,884

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, battery £/kWh = 700.

7.5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £1,003, Upfront: £13,389, 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 1901 kWh 1388 kWh 513 kWh £350 £51 £401 £8,506 21.2 yrs £-481
3 kW 2851 kWh 2081 kWh 770 kWh £525 £77 £602 £10,133 16.8 yrs £1,904
4 kW 3801 kWh 2775 kWh 1026 kWh £700 £103 £802 £11,761 14.7 yrs £4,289
5 kW 4752 kWh 3469 kWh 1283 kWh £875 £128 £1,003 £13,389 13.3 yrs £6,674
6 kW 5702 kWh 4163 kWh 1540 kWh £1,050 £154 £1,204 £15,017 12.5 yrs £9,058
7 kW 6652 kWh 4856 kWh 1796 kWh £1,225 £180 £1,404 £16,644 11.9 yrs £11,443
8 kW 7603 kWh 5550 kWh 2053 kWh £1,400 £205 £1,605 £18,272 11.4 yrs £13,828

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, battery £/kWh = 700.

10 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £1,018, Upfront: £15,139, Break-even: 14.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1901 kWh 1426 kWh 475 kWh £360 £48 £407 £10,256 25.2 yrs £-2,115
3 kW 2851 kWh 2138 kWh 713 kWh £539 £71 £611 £11,883 19.5 yrs £328
4 kW 3801 kWh 2851 kWh 950 kWh £719 £95 £814 £13,511 16.6 yrs £2,770
5 kW 4752 kWh 3564 kWh 1188 kWh £899 £119 £1,018 £15,139 14.9 yrs £5,213
6 kW 5702 kWh 4277 kWh 1426 kWh £1,079 £143 £1,221 £16,767 13.7 yrs £7,656
7 kW 6652 kWh 4989 kWh 1663 kWh £1,258 £166 £1,425 £18,394 12.9 yrs £10,098
8 kW 7603 kWh 5702 kWh 1901 kWh £1,438 £190 £1,628 £20,022 12.3 yrs £12,541

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, battery £/kWh = 700.

13.5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £1,032, Upfront: £17,589, Break-even: 17.0 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 £369 £44 £413 £12,706 30.8 yrs £-4,449
3 kW 2851 kWh 2195 kWh 656 kWh £554 £66 £619 £14,333 23.1 yrs £-1,949
4 kW 3801 kWh 2927 kWh 874 kWh £738 £87 £826 £15,961 19.3 yrs £552
5 kW 4752 kWh 3659 kWh 1093 kWh £923 £109 £1,032 £17,589 17.0 yrs £3,052
6 kW 5702 kWh 4391 kWh 1311 kWh £1,107 £131 £1,238 £19,217 15.5 yrs £5,553
7 kW 6652 kWh 5122 kWh 1530 kWh £1,292 £153 £1,445 £20,844 14.4 yrs £8,053
8 kW 7603 kWh 5854 kWh 1749 kWh £1,476 £175 £1,651 £22,472 13.6 yrs £10,554

Assumptions: south-facing, sensible tilt; self-use shares from site rules; export at 10p baseline. Costs: panels £/kW = 1,628, 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.

Before you request quotes in Northumberland

Use the numbers above to sanity-check installer quotes. The main things to compare are system size, battery assumptions, payback claims, MCS certification, DNO paperwork and export assumptions.

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Seasonal solar output in NE23

Monthly generation per kilowatt of solar panels

kWh 34 Jan 50 Feb 83 Mar 110 Apr 122 May 115 Jun 115 Jul 106 Aug 87 Sep 60 Oct 40 Nov 27 Dec
Best month Worst month Winter (Dec–Feb) Other months

Winter output: 47.0% 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 37 kWh per month; the average month produces around 79 kWh. So a typical 4 kW home system would generate roughly 149 kWh in winter, or 317 kWh in an average month.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.22p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
64.29p/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, Q3 2026

Installation costs: DESNZ/MCS data, March 2026 (TIC)

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.