Solar explained to clever people by people who are not trying to be clever

Solar Panels in OL95 (Oldham)

See if solar pays off for you in Oldham — 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
14.5 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£699
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£7,310
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

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 830 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 27.1p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
27.1p/kWh
Standing charge
51.2p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
830 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: £699, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 14.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1661 kWh 664 kWh 996 kWh £180 £100 £280 £4,069 14.5 yrs £1,526
3 kW 2491 kWh 996 kWh 1495 kWh £270 £149 £420 £6,104 14.5 yrs £2,288
4 kW 3321 kWh 1329 kWh 1993 kWh £360 £199 £559 £8,138 14.5 yrs £3,051
5 kW 4152 kWh 1661 kWh 2491 kWh £450 £249 £699 £10,173 14.5 yrs £3,814
6 kW 4982 kWh 1993 kWh 2989 kWh £540 £299 £839 £12,207 14.5 yrs £4,577
7 kW 5812 kWh 2325 kWh 3487 kWh £630 £349 £979 £14,242 14.5 yrs £5,339
8 kW 6643 kWh 2657 kWh 3986 kWh £720 £399 £1,119 £16,276 14.5 yrs £6,102

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: £841, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 14.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1661 kWh 996 kWh 664 kWh £270 £66 £337 £6,169 18.3 yrs £562
3 kW 2491 kWh 1495 kWh 996 kWh £405 £100 £505 £8,204 16.2 yrs £1,893
4 kW 3321 kWh 1993 kWh 1329 kWh £540 £133 £673 £10,238 15.2 yrs £3,224
5 kW 4152 kWh 2491 kWh 1661 kWh £675 £166 £841 £12,273 14.6 yrs £4,555
6 kW 4982 kWh 2989 kWh 1993 kWh £810 £199 £1,010 £14,307 14.2 yrs £5,886
7 kW 5812 kWh 3487 kWh 2325 kWh £945 £232 £1,178 £16,342 13.9 yrs £7,217
8 kW 6643 kWh 3986 kWh 2657 kWh £1,081 £266 £1,346 £18,376 13.7 yrs £8,549

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: £912, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 15.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1661 kWh 1162 kWh 498 kWh £315 £50 £365 £7,569 20.7 yrs £-270
3 kW 2491 kWh 1744 kWh 747 kWh £473 £75 £547 £9,604 17.5 yrs £1,346
4 kW 3321 kWh 2325 kWh 996 kWh £630 £100 £730 £11,638 15.9 yrs £2,961
5 kW 4152 kWh 2906 kWh 1246 kWh £788 £125 £912 £13,673 15.0 yrs £4,576
6 kW 4982 kWh 3487 kWh 1495 kWh £945 £149 £1,095 £15,707 14.3 yrs £6,191
7 kW 5812 kWh 4069 kWh 1744 kWh £1,103 £174 £1,277 £17,742 13.9 yrs £7,806
8 kW 6643 kWh 4650 kWh 1993 kWh £1,261 £199 £1,460 £19,776 13.5 yrs £9,422

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: £934, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 16.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1661 kWh 1212 kWh 448 kWh £329 £45 £373 £9,319 25.0 yrs £-1,849
3 kW 2491 kWh 1818 kWh 673 kWh £493 £67 £560 £11,354 20.3 yrs £-149
4 kW 3321 kWh 2425 kWh 897 kWh £657 £90 £747 £13,388 17.9 yrs £1,552
5 kW 4152 kWh 3031 kWh 1121 kWh £822 £112 £934 £15,423 16.5 yrs £3,252
6 kW 4982 kWh 3637 kWh 1345 kWh £986 £135 £1,120 £17,457 15.6 yrs £4,953
7 kW 5812 kWh 4243 kWh 1569 kWh £1,150 £157 £1,307 £19,492 14.9 yrs £6,653
8 kW 6643 kWh 4849 kWh 1794 kWh £1,315 £179 £1,494 £21,526 14.4 yrs £8,354

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: £948, Upfront: £17,173, 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 1661 kWh 1246 kWh 415 kWh £338 £42 £379 £11,069 29.2 yrs £-3,485
3 kW 2491 kWh 1868 kWh 623 kWh £506 £62 £569 £13,104 23.0 yrs £-1,728
4 kW 3321 kWh 2491 kWh 830 kWh £675 £83 £758 £15,138 20.0 yrs £29
5 kW 4152 kWh 3114 kWh 1038 kWh £844 £104 £948 £17,173 18.1 yrs £1,786
6 kW 4982 kWh 3737 kWh 1246 kWh £1,013 £125 £1,138 £19,207 16.9 yrs £3,544
7 kW 5812 kWh 4359 kWh 1453 kWh £1,182 £145 £1,327 £21,242 16.0 yrs £5,301
8 kW 6643 kWh 4982 kWh 1661 kWh £1,351 £166 £1,517 £23,276 15.3 yrs £7,058

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: £962, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 20.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1661 kWh 1279 kWh 382 kWh £347 £38 £385 £13,519 35.1 yrs £-5,822
3 kW 2491 kWh 1918 kWh 573 kWh £520 £57 £577 £15,554 26.9 yrs £-4,008
4 kW 3321 kWh 2557 kWh 764 kWh £693 £76 £770 £17,588 22.8 yrs £-2,194
5 kW 4152 kWh 3197 kWh 955 kWh £867 £95 £962 £19,623 20.4 yrs £-379
6 kW 4982 kWh 3836 kWh 1146 kWh £1,040 £115 £1,155 £21,657 18.8 yrs £1,435
7 kW 5812 kWh 4476 kWh 1337 kWh £1,213 £134 £1,347 £23,692 17.6 yrs £3,249
8 kW 6643 kWh 5115 kWh 1528 kWh £1,387 £153 £1,539 £25,726 16.7 yrs £5,063

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.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.11p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
51.16p/day
Local Sunshine
830kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~830 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

No EPC data available for this outcode

Coverage

Oldham (100%)

Areas Covered

Royton South

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.