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Solar Panels in PA24 (Argyll and Bute)

See if solar pays off for you in Argyll and Bute — price, savings and payback in under a minute (official UK data).

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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
16.8 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£605
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£4,950
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 Scotland, the current unit rate is 27.06p/kWh with a 61.00p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 719 kWh/kW — 96 below the regional median (815).

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 719 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
61.0p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
719 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: £605, Upfront: £10,173, 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 1438 kWh 575 kWh 863 kWh £156 £86 £242 £4,069 16.8 yrs £770
3 kW 2157 kWh 863 kWh 1294 kWh £234 £129 £363 £6,104 16.8 yrs £1,155
4 kW 2876 kWh 1151 kWh 1726 kWh £311 £173 £484 £8,138 16.8 yrs £1,541
5 kW 3596 kWh 1438 kWh 2157 kWh £389 £216 £605 £10,173 16.8 yrs £1,926
6 kW 4315 kWh 1726 kWh 2589 kWh £467 £259 £726 £12,207 16.8 yrs £2,311
7 kW 5034 kWh 2014 kWh 3020 kWh £545 £302 £847 £14,242 16.8 yrs £2,696
8 kW 5753 kWh 2301 kWh 3452 kWh £623 £345 £968 £16,276 16.8 yrs £3,081

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: £728, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 16.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1438 kWh 863 kWh 575 kWh £234 £58 £291 £6,169 21.2 yrs £-348
3 kW 2157 kWh 1294 kWh 863 kWh £350 £86 £437 £8,204 18.8 yrs £528
4 kW 2876 kWh 1726 kWh 1151 kWh £467 £115 £582 £10,238 17.6 yrs £1,403
5 kW 3596 kWh 2157 kWh 1438 kWh £584 £144 £728 £12,273 16.9 yrs £2,279
6 kW 4315 kWh 2589 kWh 1726 kWh £701 £173 £873 £14,307 16.4 yrs £3,155
7 kW 5034 kWh 3020 kWh 2014 kWh £817 £201 £1,019 £16,342 16.0 yrs £4,031
8 kW 5753 kWh 3452 kWh 2301 kWh £934 £230 £1,164 £18,376 15.8 yrs £4,907

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: £789, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 17.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1438 kWh 1007 kWh 431 kWh £272 £43 £316 £7,569 24.0 yrs £-1,258
3 kW 2157 kWh 1510 kWh 647 kWh £409 £65 £473 £9,604 20.3 yrs £-136
4 kW 2876 kWh 2014 kWh 863 kWh £545 £86 £631 £11,638 18.4 yrs £985
5 kW 3596 kWh 2517 kWh 1079 kWh £681 £108 £789 £13,673 17.3 yrs £2,106
6 kW 4315 kWh 3020 kWh 1294 kWh £817 £129 £947 £15,707 16.6 yrs £3,227
7 kW 5034 kWh 3524 kWh 1510 kWh £953 £151 £1,105 £17,742 16.1 yrs £4,349
8 kW 5753 kWh 4027 kWh 1726 kWh £1,090 £173 £1,262 £19,776 15.7 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.

7.5 kWh battery 5 kW example → Annual benefit: £807, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 19.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1438 kWh 1050 kWh 388 kWh £284 £39 £323 £9,319 28.9 yrs £-2,860
3 kW 2157 kWh 1575 kWh 582 kWh £426 £58 £484 £11,354 23.4 yrs £-1,665
4 kW 2876 kWh 2100 kWh 777 kWh £568 £78 £646 £13,388 20.7 yrs £-471
5 kW 3596 kWh 2625 kWh 971 kWh £710 £97 £807 £15,423 19.1 yrs £724
6 kW 4315 kWh 3150 kWh 1165 kWh £852 £116 £969 £17,457 18.0 yrs £1,919
7 kW 5034 kWh 3675 kWh 1359 kWh £994 £136 £1,130 £19,492 17.2 yrs £3,114
8 kW 5753 kWh 4200 kWh 1553 kWh £1,136 £155 £1,292 £21,526 16.7 yrs £4,309

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: £820, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 21.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1438 kWh 1079 kWh 360 kWh £292 £36 £328 £11,069 33.8 yrs £-4,512
3 kW 2157 kWh 1618 kWh 539 kWh £438 £54 £492 £13,104 26.6 yrs £-3,268
4 kW 2876 kWh 2157 kWh 719 kWh £584 £72 £656 £15,138 23.1 yrs £-2,024
5 kW 3596 kWh 2697 kWh 899 kWh £730 £90 £820 £17,173 21.0 yrs £-780
6 kW 4315 kWh 3236 kWh 1079 kWh £876 £108 £984 £19,207 19.5 yrs £463
7 kW 5034 kWh 3775 kWh 1258 kWh £1,022 £126 £1,147 £21,242 18.5 yrs £1,707
8 kW 5753 kWh 4315 kWh 1438 kWh £1,168 £144 £1,311 £23,276 17.7 yrs £2,951

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: £832, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 23.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1438 kWh 1107 kWh 331 kWh £300 £33 £333 £13,519 40.6 yrs £-6,864
3 kW 2157 kWh 1661 kWh 496 kWh £450 £50 £499 £15,554 31.2 yrs £-5,571
4 kW 2876 kWh 2215 kWh 662 kWh £599 £66 £665 £17,588 26.4 yrs £-4,278
5 kW 3596 kWh 2769 kWh 827 kWh £749 £83 £832 £19,623 23.6 yrs £-2,985
6 kW 4315 kWh 3322 kWh 992 kWh £899 £99 £998 £21,657 21.7 yrs £-1,692
7 kW 5034 kWh 3876 kWh 1158 kWh £1,049 £116 £1,165 £23,692 20.3 yrs £-399
8 kW 5753 kWh 4430 kWh 1323 kWh £1,199 £132 £1,331 £25,726 19.3 yrs £894

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 PA24

Figures below are tailored to PA24 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2971 of 2997
14.6 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£558 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2965 of 2997
39.9% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£223 fixed • ~£558 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.06p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
61.00p/day
Local Sunshine
719kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~719 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

Argyll and Bute (100%)

Areas Covered

Cowal

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 Scotland

PA26 (Argyll and Bute)
≈9.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~684 kWh/kWp · -5% vs PA24
PA25 (Argyll and Bute)
≈10.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~713 kWh/kWp · -1% vs PA24
PA27 (Argyll and Bute)
≈11.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~723 kWh/kWp · +1% vs PA24
PA32 (Argyll and Bute)
≈12.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~719 kWh/kWp · -0% vs PA24
PA23 (Argyll and Bute)
≈23.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~789 kWh/kWp · +10% vs PA24
PA33 (Argyll and Bute)
≈26.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~713 kWh/kWp · -1% vs PA24

Similar sunshine across the UK

PA19 (Inverclyde)
~756 kWh/kWp · +5% vs PA24
DL11 (North Yorkshire)
~765 kWh/kWp · +6% vs PA24
G84 (Argyll and Bute)
~766 kWh/kWp · +7% vs PA24