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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in NR7 (Broadland)

See if solar pays off for you in Broadland — 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
12.1 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£840
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£10,824
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 Eastern, the current unit rate is 26.53p/kWh with a 48.25p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 1011 kWh/kW — 2 above the regional median (1009).

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 1011 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 26.5p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
26.5p/kWh
Standing charge
48.2p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
1011 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: £840, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 12.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2022 kWh 809 kWh 1213 kWh £215 £121 £336 £4,069 12.1 yrs £2,650
3 kW 3034 kWh 1213 kWh 1820 kWh £322 £182 £504 £6,104 12.1 yrs £3,975
4 kW 4045 kWh 1618 kWh 2427 kWh £429 £243 £672 £8,138 12.1 yrs £5,300
5 kW 5056 kWh 2022 kWh 3034 kWh £537 £303 £840 £10,173 12.1 yrs £6,625
6 kW 6067 kWh 2427 kWh 3640 kWh £644 £364 £1,008 £12,207 12.1 yrs £7,950
7 kW 7078 kWh 2831 kWh 4247 kWh £751 £425 £1,176 £14,242 12.1 yrs £9,275
8 kW 8089 kWh 3236 kWh 4854 kWh £858 £485 £1,344 £16,276 12.1 yrs £10,600

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: £1,007, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 12.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2022 kWh 1213 kWh 809 kWh £322 £81 £403 £6,169 15.3 yrs £1,887
3 kW 3034 kWh 1820 kWh 1213 kWh £483 £121 £604 £8,204 13.6 yrs £3,881
4 kW 4045 kWh 2427 kWh 1618 kWh £644 £162 £806 £10,238 12.7 yrs £5,874
5 kW 5056 kWh 3034 kWh 2022 kWh £805 £202 £1,007 £12,273 12.2 yrs £7,868
6 kW 6067 kWh 3640 kWh 2427 kWh £966 £243 £1,208 £14,307 11.8 yrs £9,862
7 kW 7078 kWh 4247 kWh 2831 kWh £1,127 £283 £1,410 £16,342 11.6 yrs £11,855
8 kW 8089 kWh 4854 kWh 3236 kWh £1,288 £324 £1,611 £18,376 11.4 yrs £13,849

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: £1,091, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 12.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2022 kWh 1416 kWh 607 kWh £376 £61 £436 £7,569 17.4 yrs £1,156
3 kW 3034 kWh 2123 kWh 910 kWh £563 £91 £654 £9,604 14.7 yrs £3,484
4 kW 4045 kWh 2831 kWh 1213 kWh £751 £121 £872 £11,638 13.3 yrs £5,812
5 kW 5056 kWh 3539 kWh 1517 kWh £939 £152 £1,091 £13,673 12.5 yrs £8,139
6 kW 6067 kWh 4247 kWh 1820 kWh £1,127 £182 £1,309 £15,707 12.0 yrs £10,467
7 kW 7078 kWh 4955 kWh 2123 kWh £1,314 £212 £1,527 £17,742 11.6 yrs £12,795
8 kW 8089 kWh 5663 kWh 2427 kWh £1,502 £243 £1,745 £19,776 11.3 yrs £15,123

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: £1,116, Upfront: £15,423, 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 2022 kWh 1476 kWh 546 kWh £392 £55 £446 £9,319 20.9 yrs £-394
3 kW 3034 kWh 2214 kWh 819 kWh £587 £82 £669 £11,354 17.0 yrs £2,035
4 kW 4045 kWh 2953 kWh 1092 kWh £783 £109 £893 £13,388 15.0 yrs £4,463
5 kW 5056 kWh 3691 kWh 1365 kWh £979 £137 £1,116 £15,423 13.8 yrs £6,891
6 kW 6067 kWh 4429 kWh 1638 kWh £1,175 £164 £1,339 £17,457 13.0 yrs £9,319
7 kW 7078 kWh 5167 kWh 1911 kWh £1,371 £191 £1,562 £19,492 12.5 yrs £11,747
8 kW 8089 kWh 5905 kWh 2184 kWh £1,567 £218 £1,785 £21,526 12.1 yrs £14,175

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: £1,132, Upfront: £17,173, 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 2022 kWh 1517 kWh 506 kWh £402 £51 £453 £11,069 24.4 yrs £-2,010
3 kW 3034 kWh 2275 kWh 758 kWh £604 £76 £679 £13,104 19.3 yrs £485
4 kW 4045 kWh 3034 kWh 1011 kWh £805 £101 £906 £15,138 16.7 yrs £2,980
5 kW 5056 kWh 3792 kWh 1264 kWh £1,006 £126 £1,132 £17,173 15.2 yrs £5,475
6 kW 6067 kWh 4550 kWh 1517 kWh £1,207 £152 £1,359 £19,207 14.1 yrs £7,970
7 kW 7078 kWh 5309 kWh 1770 kWh £1,408 £177 £1,585 £21,242 13.4 yrs £10,465
8 kW 8089 kWh 6067 kWh 2022 kWh £1,610 £202 £1,812 £23,276 12.8 yrs £12,960

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: £1,149, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 17.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2022 kWh 1557 kWh 465 kWh £413 £47 £460 £13,519 29.4 yrs £-4,326
3 kW 3034 kWh 2336 kWh 698 kWh £620 £70 £689 £15,554 22.6 yrs £-1,764
4 kW 4045 kWh 3114 kWh 930 kWh £826 £93 £919 £17,588 19.1 yrs £798
5 kW 5056 kWh 3893 kWh 1163 kWh £1,033 £116 £1,149 £19,623 17.1 yrs £3,359
6 kW 6067 kWh 4672 kWh 1395 kWh £1,239 £140 £1,379 £21,657 15.7 yrs £5,921
7 kW 7078 kWh 5450 kWh 1628 kWh £1,446 £163 £1,609 £23,692 14.7 yrs £8,483
8 kW 8089 kWh 6229 kWh 1861 kWh £1,653 £186 £1,839 £25,726 14.0 yrs £11,045

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 NR7

Figures below are tailored to NR7 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #779 of 2182
5.3 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~11 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #538 of 2997
10.5 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£965 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1112 of 2997
18.3% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£176 fixed • ~£965 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.53p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
48.25p/day
Local Sunshine
1011kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~1011 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: 60% • Flats: 16% • Bungalows: 23% Based on 8,299 properties

Coverage

Broadland (89%)|Norwich (11%)

Areas Covered

Sprowston East, Thorpe St Andrew South East, Thorpe St Andrew North West, Crome, Sprowston Central, Brundall, Catton Grove, Thorpe Hamlet + 1 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 Eastern

NR3 (Norwich)
≈2.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,001 kWh/kWp · -1% vs NR7
NR99 (Norwich)
≈2.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,011 kWh/kWp · -0% vs NR7
NR1 (Norwich)
≈2.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,011 kWh/kWp · -0% vs NR7
NR6 (Broadland)
≈3.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,004 kWh/kWp · -1% vs NR7
NR2 (Norwich)
≈3.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,001 kWh/kWp · -1% vs NR7
NR4 (Norwich)
≈6.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~999 kWh/kWp · -1% vs NR7

Similar sunshine across the UK

SP10 (Test Valley)
~1,011 kWh/kWp · -0% vs NR7
TQ14 (Teignbridge)
~1,011 kWh/kWp · +0% vs NR7
TA20 (Somerset)
~1,011 kWh/kWp · -0% vs NR7