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Solar panel cost in Argyll and Bute (PA26)

See realistic solar installation costs, savings and payback for PA26 (Argyll and Bute) 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
14.4 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£8,139
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£567
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£6,035
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

In Northern Scotland, the current unit rate is 26.42p/kWh with a 57.55p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 684 kWh/kW — 131 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 684 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 26.4p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
26.4p/kWh
Standing charge
57.5p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
684 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: £567, Upfront: £8,139, Break-even: 14.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1369 kWh 548 kWh 821 kWh £145 £82 £227 £3,256 14.4 yrs £1,280
3 kW 2053 kWh 821 kWh 1232 kWh £217 £123 £340 £4,883 14.4 yrs £1,920
4 kW 2738 kWh 1095 kWh 1643 kWh £289 £164 £454 £6,511 14.4 yrs £2,560
5 kW 3422 kWh 1369 kWh 2053 kWh £362 £205 £567 £8,139 14.4 yrs £3,201
6 kW 4106 kWh 1643 kWh 2464 kWh £434 £246 £680 £9,767 14.4 yrs £3,841
7 kW 4791 kWh 1916 kWh 2875 kWh £506 £287 £794 £11,394 14.4 yrs £4,481
8 kW 5475 kWh 2190 kWh 3285 kWh £579 £329 £907 £13,022 14.4 yrs £5,121

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: £679, Upfront: £10,239, 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 1369 kWh 821 kWh 548 kWh £217 £55 £272 £5,356 19.7 yrs £79
3 kW 2053 kWh 1232 kWh 821 kWh £325 £82 £408 £6,983 17.1 yrs £1,169
4 kW 2738 kWh 1643 kWh 1095 kWh £434 £110 £543 £8,611 15.8 yrs £2,258
5 kW 3422 kWh 2053 kWh 1369 kWh £542 £137 £679 £10,239 15.1 yrs £3,348
6 kW 4106 kWh 2464 kWh 1643 kWh £651 £164 £815 £11,867 14.6 yrs £4,438
7 kW 4791 kWh 2875 kWh 1916 kWh £759 £192 £951 £13,494 14.2 yrs £5,527
8 kW 5475 kWh 3285 kWh 2190 kWh £868 £219 £1,087 £15,122 13.9 yrs £6,617

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: £736, Upfront: £11,639, Break-even: 15.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1369 kWh 958 kWh 411 kWh £253 £41 £294 £6,756 23.0 yrs £-871
3 kW 2053 kWh 1437 kWh 616 kWh £380 £62 £441 £8,383 19.0 yrs £443
4 kW 2738 kWh 1916 kWh 821 kWh £506 £82 £588 £10,011 17.0 yrs £1,758
5 kW 3422 kWh 2395 kWh 1027 kWh £633 £103 £736 £11,639 15.8 yrs £3,072
6 kW 4106 kWh 2875 kWh 1232 kWh £759 £123 £883 £13,267 15.0 yrs £4,386
7 kW 4791 kWh 3354 kWh 1437 kWh £886 £144 £1,030 £14,894 14.5 yrs £5,701
8 kW 5475 kWh 3833 kWh 1643 kWh £1,013 £164 £1,177 £16,522 14.0 yrs £7,015

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: £752, Upfront: £13,389, Break-even: 17.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1369 kWh 999 kWh 370 kWh £264 £37 £301 £8,506 28.3 yrs £-2,486
3 kW 2053 kWh 1499 kWh 554 kWh £396 £55 £451 £10,133 22.4 yrs £-1,105
4 kW 2738 kWh 1998 kWh 739 kWh £528 £74 £602 £11,761 19.5 yrs £277
5 kW 3422 kWh 2498 kWh 924 kWh £660 £92 £752 £13,389 17.8 yrs £1,659
6 kW 4106 kWh 2998 kWh 1109 kWh £792 £111 £903 £15,017 16.6 yrs £3,041
7 kW 4791 kWh 3497 kWh 1294 kWh £924 £129 £1,053 £16,644 15.8 yrs £4,423
8 kW 5475 kWh 3997 kWh 1478 kWh £1,056 £148 £1,204 £18,272 15.2 yrs £5,804

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: £764, Upfront: £15,139, Break-even: 19.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1369 kWh 1027 kWh 342 kWh £271 £34 £305 £10,256 33.6 yrs £-4,146
3 kW 2053 kWh 1540 kWh 513 kWh £407 £51 £458 £11,883 25.9 yrs £-2,720
4 kW 2738 kWh 2053 kWh 684 kWh £542 £68 £611 £13,511 22.1 yrs £-1,293
5 kW 3422 kWh 2567 kWh 856 kWh £678 £86 £764 £15,139 19.8 yrs £134
6 kW 4106 kWh 3080 kWh 1027 kWh £814 £103 £916 £16,767 18.3 yrs £1,561
7 kW 4791 kWh 3593 kWh 1198 kWh £949 £120 £1,069 £18,394 17.2 yrs £2,987
8 kW 5475 kWh 4106 kWh 1369 kWh £1,085 £137 £1,222 £20,022 16.4 yrs £4,414

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: £775, Upfront: £17,589, Break-even: 22.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1369 kWh 1054 kWh 315 kWh £278 £31 £310 £12,706 41.0 yrs £-6,507
3 kW 2053 kWh 1581 kWh 472 kWh £418 £47 £465 £14,333 30.8 yrs £-5,035
4 kW 2738 kWh 2108 kWh 630 kWh £557 £63 £620 £15,961 25.7 yrs £-3,563
5 kW 3422 kWh 2635 kWh 787 kWh £696 £79 £775 £17,589 22.7 yrs £-2,091
6 kW 4106 kWh 3162 kWh 944 kWh £835 £94 £930 £19,217 20.7 yrs £-620
7 kW 4791 kWh 3689 kWh 1102 kWh £975 £110 £1,085 £20,844 19.2 yrs £852
8 kW 5475 kWh 4216 kWh 1259 kWh £1,114 £126 £1,240 £22,472 18.1 yrs £2,324

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 Argyll and Bute

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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Insights for PA26

Figures below are tailored to PA26 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2987 of 2996
16.1 years (UK avg 10.8 years)
~£453 /yr • £7,307 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2986 of 2996
46.4% (UK avg 26.6%) drag on savings
£210 fixed • ~£453 /yr value
Aspect Penalty View ranking →
East −16.3% West −19.1%
Typical output loss versus a south-facing roof (lower is better)

Seasonal solar output in PA26

Monthly generation per kilowatt of solar panels

kWh 10 Jan 29 Feb 59 Mar 93 Apr 104 May 97 Jun 95 Jul 81 Aug 58 Sep 35 Oct 17 Nov 7 Dec
Best month Worst month Winter (Dec–Feb) Other months

Winter output: 27.0% 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 15 kWh per month; the average month produces around 57 kWh. So a typical 4 kW home system would generate roughly 62 kWh in winter, or 228 kWh in an average month.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.42p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
57.55p/day
Local Sunshine
684kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~684 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, 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.

Compare nearby areas

Nearby in Northern Scotland

PA25 (Argyll and Bute)
≈6.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~713 kWh/kWp · +4% vs PA26
PA32 (Argyll and Bute)
≈9.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~719 kWh/kWp · +5% vs PA26
PA24 (Argyll and Bute)
≈9.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~719 kWh/kWp · +5% vs PA26
PA27 (Argyll and Bute)
≈13.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~723 kWh/kWp · +6% vs PA26
PA33 (Argyll and Bute)
≈16.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~713 kWh/kWp · +4% vs PA26
FK20 (Stirling)
≈25.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~735 kWh/kWp · +7% vs PA26

Similar sunshine across the UK

PH35 (Highland)
~687 kWh/kWp · +0% vs PA26
IV54 (Highland)
~689 kWh/kWp · +1% vs PA26
IV53 (Highland)
~678 kWh/kWp · -1% vs PA26