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 PA10 (Renfrewshire)

See if solar pays off for you in Renfrewshire — 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
15.0 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£815
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£8,180
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 Southern Scotland, the current unit rate is 25.84p/kWh with a 56.55p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 832 kWh/kW — 18 below the regional median (850).

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 6.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 832 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.8p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.8p/kWh
Standing charge
56.5p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
832 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: £680, Upfront: £10,173, 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 1664 kWh 666 kWh 998 kWh £172 £100 £272 £4,069 15.0 yrs £1,367
3 kW 2496 kWh 998 kWh 1498 kWh £258 £150 £408 £6,104 15.0 yrs £2,051
4 kW 3328 kWh 1331 kWh 1997 kWh £344 £200 £544 £8,138 15.0 yrs £2,735
5 kW 4160 kWh 1664 kWh 2496 kWh £430 £250 £680 £10,173 15.0 yrs £3,419
6 kW 4992 kWh 1997 kWh 2995 kWh £516 £300 £815 £12,207 15.0 yrs £4,102
7 kW 5824 kWh 2330 kWh 3494 kWh £602 £349 £951 £14,242 15.0 yrs £4,786
8 kW 6656 kWh 2662 kWh 3994 kWh £688 £399 £1,087 £16,276 15.0 yrs £5,470

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: £811, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 15.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1664 kWh 998 kWh 666 kWh £258 £67 £325 £6,169 19.0 yrs £322
3 kW 2496 kWh 1498 kWh 998 kWh £387 £100 £487 £8,204 16.9 yrs £1,533
4 kW 3328 kWh 1997 kWh 1331 kWh £516 £133 £649 £10,238 15.8 yrs £2,744
5 kW 4160 kWh 2496 kWh 1664 kWh £645 £166 £811 £12,273 15.1 yrs £3,954
6 kW 4992 kWh 2995 kWh 1997 kWh £774 £200 £974 £14,307 14.7 yrs £5,165
7 kW 5824 kWh 3494 kWh 2330 kWh £903 £233 £1,136 £16,342 14.4 yrs £6,376
8 kW 6656 kWh 3994 kWh 2662 kWh £1,032 £266 £1,298 £18,376 14.2 yrs £7,587

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: £877, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 15.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1664 kWh 1165 kWh 499 kWh £301 £50 £351 £7,569 21.6 yrs £-551
3 kW 2496 kWh 1747 kWh 749 kWh £451 £75 £526 £9,604 18.2 yrs £923
4 kW 3328 kWh 2330 kWh 998 kWh £602 £100 £702 £11,638 16.6 yrs £2,398
5 kW 4160 kWh 2912 kWh 1248 kWh £752 £125 £877 £13,673 15.6 yrs £3,872
6 kW 4992 kWh 3494 kWh 1498 kWh £903 £150 £1,053 £15,707 14.9 yrs £5,347
7 kW 5824 kWh 4077 kWh 1747 kWh £1,053 £175 £1,228 £17,742 14.4 yrs £6,821
8 kW 6656 kWh 4659 kWh 1997 kWh £1,204 £200 £1,404 £19,776 14.1 yrs £8,296

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: £897, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 17.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1664 kWh 1215 kWh 449 kWh £314 £45 £359 £9,319 26.0 yrs £-2,143
3 kW 2496 kWh 1822 kWh 674 kWh £471 £67 £538 £11,354 21.1 yrs £-589
4 kW 3328 kWh 2429 kWh 899 kWh £628 £90 £718 £13,388 18.7 yrs £964
5 kW 4160 kWh 3037 kWh 1123 kWh £785 £112 £897 £15,423 17.2 yrs £2,518
6 kW 4992 kWh 3644 kWh 1348 kWh £942 £135 £1,076 £17,457 16.2 yrs £4,071
7 kW 5824 kWh 4251 kWh 1572 kWh £1,099 £157 £1,256 £19,492 15.5 yrs £5,625
8 kW 6656 kWh 4859 kWh 1797 kWh £1,256 £180 £1,435 £21,526 15.0 yrs £7,178

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: £910, Upfront: £17,173, 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 1664 kWh 1248 kWh 416 kWh £322 £42 £364 £11,069 30.4 yrs £-3,788
3 kW 2496 kWh 1872 kWh 624 kWh £484 £62 £546 £13,104 24.0 yrs £-2,181
4 kW 3328 kWh 2496 kWh 832 kWh £645 £83 £728 £15,138 20.8 yrs £-575
5 kW 4160 kWh 3120 kWh 1040 kWh £806 £104 £910 £17,173 18.9 yrs £1,031
6 kW 4992 kWh 3744 kWh 1248 kWh £967 £125 £1,092 £19,207 17.6 yrs £2,637
7 kW 5824 kWh 4368 kWh 1456 kWh £1,129 £146 £1,274 £21,242 16.7 yrs £4,244
8 kW 6656 kWh 4992 kWh 1664 kWh £1,290 £166 £1,456 £23,276 16.0 yrs £5,850

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: £923, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 21.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1664 kWh 1281 kWh 383 kWh £331 £38 £369 £13,519 36.6 yrs £-6,132
3 kW 2496 kWh 1922 kWh 574 kWh £497 £57 £554 £15,554 28.1 yrs £-4,473
4 kW 3328 kWh 2562 kWh 765 kWh £662 £77 £739 £17,588 23.8 yrs £-2,814
5 kW 4160 kWh 3203 kWh 957 kWh £828 £96 £923 £19,623 21.3 yrs £-1,155
6 kW 4992 kWh 3844 kWh 1148 kWh £993 £115 £1,108 £21,657 19.5 yrs £504
7 kW 5824 kWh 4484 kWh 1339 kWh £1,159 £134 £1,293 £23,692 18.3 yrs £2,163
8 kW 6656 kWh 5125 kWh 1531 kWh £1,324 £153 £1,477 £25,726 17.4 yrs £3,822

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 PA10

Figures below are tailored to PA10 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2858 of 2997
13.1 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£934 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1917 of 2997
22.1% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£206 fixed • ~£934 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.84p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
56.55p/day
Local Sunshine
832kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~832 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
6.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

Local Property Data

Property Types

No EPC data available for this outcode

Coverage

Renfrewshire (100%)

Areas Covered

Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch, Johnstone South and Elderslie, Bishopton, Bridge of Weir and Langbank

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 Southern Scotland

PA5 (Renfrewshire)
≈2.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~831 kWh/kWp · -0% vs PA10
PA9 (Renfrewshire)
≈2.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~825 kWh/kWp · -1% vs PA10
PA11 (Renfrewshire)
≈3.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~837 kWh/kWp · +1% vs PA10
PA6 (Renfrewshire)
≈3.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~832 kWh/kWp · -0% vs PA10
PA12 (Renfrewshire)
≈6.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~848 kWh/kWp · +2% vs PA10
PA3 (Renfrewshire)
≈7.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~834 kWh/kWp · +0% vs PA10

Similar sunshine across the UK

BT78 (Fermanagh and Omagh)
~832 kWh/kWp · +0% vs PA10
KW2 (Highland)
~832 kWh/kWp · +0% vs PA10
OL2 (Oldham)
~832 kWh/kWp · -0% vs PA10