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Solar panel cost in Argyll and Bute (PA30)

See realistic solar installation costs, savings and payback for PA30 (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
12.5 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£8,139
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£650
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£8,122
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 785 kWh/kW — 30 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 785 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)
785 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: £650, Upfront: £8,139, 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 1570 kWh 628 kWh 942 kWh £166 £94 £260 £3,256 12.5 yrs £1,948
3 kW 2355 kWh 942 kWh 1413 kWh £249 £141 £390 £4,883 12.5 yrs £2,922
4 kW 3141 kWh 1256 kWh 1884 kWh £332 £188 £520 £6,511 12.5 yrs £3,896
5 kW 3926 kWh 1570 kWh 2355 kWh £415 £236 £650 £8,139 12.5 yrs £4,870
6 kW 4711 kWh 1884 kWh 2827 kWh £498 £283 £781 £9,767 12.5 yrs £5,843
7 kW 5496 kWh 2198 kWh 3298 kWh £581 £330 £911 £11,394 12.5 yrs £6,817
8 kW 6281 kWh 2512 kWh 3769 kWh £664 £377 £1,041 £13,022 12.5 yrs £7,791

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: £779, Upfront: £10,239, Break-even: 13.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1570 kWh 942 kWh 628 kWh £249 £63 £312 £5,356 17.2 yrs £879
3 kW 2355 kWh 1413 kWh 942 kWh £373 £94 £468 £6,983 14.9 yrs £2,369
4 kW 3141 kWh 1884 kWh 1256 kWh £498 £126 £623 £8,611 13.8 yrs £3,858
5 kW 3926 kWh 2355 kWh 1570 kWh £622 £157 £779 £10,239 13.1 yrs £5,348
6 kW 4711 kWh 2827 kWh 1884 kWh £747 £188 £935 £11,867 12.7 yrs £6,838
7 kW 5496 kWh 3298 kWh 2198 kWh £871 £220 £1,091 £13,494 12.4 yrs £8,327
8 kW 6281 kWh 3769 kWh 2512 kWh £996 £251 £1,247 £15,122 12.1 yrs £9,817

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: £844, Upfront: £11,639, 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 1570 kWh 1099 kWh 471 kWh £290 £47 £338 £6,756 20.0 yrs £-5
3 kW 2355 kWh 1649 kWh 707 kWh £436 £71 £506 £8,383 16.6 yrs £1,742
4 kW 3141 kWh 2198 kWh 942 kWh £581 £94 £675 £10,011 14.8 yrs £3,490
5 kW 3926 kWh 2748 kWh 1178 kWh £726 £118 £844 £11,639 13.8 yrs £5,237
6 kW 4711 kWh 3298 kWh 1413 kWh £871 £141 £1,013 £13,267 13.1 yrs £6,985
7 kW 5496 kWh 3847 kWh 1649 kWh £1,016 £165 £1,181 £14,894 12.6 yrs £8,732
8 kW 6281 kWh 4397 kWh 1884 kWh £1,162 £188 £1,350 £16,522 12.2 yrs £10,480

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: £863, Upfront: £13,389, Break-even: 15.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1570 kWh 1146 kWh 424 kWh £303 £42 £345 £8,506 24.6 yrs £-1,600
3 kW 2355 kWh 1719 kWh 636 kWh £454 £64 £518 £10,133 19.6 yrs £224
4 kW 3141 kWh 2293 kWh 848 kWh £606 £85 £691 £11,761 17.0 yrs £2,049
5 kW 3926 kWh 2866 kWh 1060 kWh £757 £106 £863 £13,389 15.5 yrs £3,874
6 kW 4711 kWh 3439 kWh 1272 kWh £909 £127 £1,036 £15,017 14.5 yrs £5,699
7 kW 5496 kWh 4012 kWh 1484 kWh £1,060 £148 £1,208 £16,644 13.8 yrs £7,524
8 kW 6281 kWh 4585 kWh 1696 kWh £1,211 £170 £1,381 £18,272 13.2 yrs £9,348

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: £876, Upfront: £15,139, 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 1570 kWh 1178 kWh 393 kWh £311 £39 £350 £10,256 29.3 yrs £-3,247
3 kW 2355 kWh 1767 kWh 589 kWh £467 £59 £526 £11,883 22.6 yrs £-1,371
4 kW 3141 kWh 2355 kWh 785 kWh £622 £79 £701 £13,511 19.3 yrs £505
5 kW 3926 kWh 2944 kWh 981 kWh £778 £98 £876 £15,139 17.3 yrs £2,382
6 kW 4711 kWh 3533 kWh 1178 kWh £933 £118 £1,051 £16,767 15.9 yrs £4,258
7 kW 5496 kWh 4122 kWh 1374 kWh £1,089 £137 £1,226 £18,394 15.0 yrs £6,135
8 kW 6281 kWh 4711 kWh 1570 kWh £1,245 £157 £1,402 £20,022 14.3 yrs £8,011

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: £889, Upfront: £17,589, 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 1570 kWh 1209 kWh 361 kWh £319 £36 £356 £12,706 35.7 yrs £-5,594
3 kW 2355 kWh 1814 kWh 542 kWh £479 £54 £533 £14,333 26.9 yrs £-3,666
4 kW 3141 kWh 2418 kWh 722 kWh £639 £72 £711 £15,961 22.4 yrs £-1,738
5 kW 3926 kWh 3023 kWh 903 kWh £799 £90 £889 £17,589 19.8 yrs £190
6 kW 4711 kWh 3627 kWh 1084 kWh £958 £108 £1,067 £19,217 18.0 yrs £2,118
7 kW 5496 kWh 4232 kWh 1264 kWh £1,118 £126 £1,244 £20,844 16.7 yrs £4,046
8 kW 6281 kWh 4837 kWh 1445 kWh £1,278 £144 £1,422 £22,472 15.8 yrs £5,973

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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Understand DNO, G98 and G99 export limits

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Insights for PA30

Figures below are tailored to PA30 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2921 of 2996
14.1 years (UK avg 10.8 years)
~£520 /yr • £7,307 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2889 of 2996
40.4% (UK avg 26.6%) drag on savings
£210 fixed • ~£520 /yr value
Aspect Penalty View ranking →
East −20.6% West −20.1%
Typical output loss versus a south-facing roof (lower is better)

Seasonal solar output in PA30

Monthly generation per kilowatt of solar panels

kWh 19 Jan 36 Feb 66 Mar 100 Apr 112 May 106 Jun 104 Jul 90 Aug 65 Sep 44 Oct 26 Nov 16 Dec
Best month Worst month Winter (Dec–Feb) Other months

Winter output: 36.6% 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 24 kWh per month; the average month produces around 65 kWh. So a typical 4 kW home system would generate roughly 96 kWh in winter, or 262 kWh in an average month.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.42p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
57.55p/day
Local Sunshine
785kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~785 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

Mid Argyll

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

PA31 (Argyll and Bute)
≈2.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~787 kWh/kWp · +0% vs PA30
PA29 (Argyll and Bute)
≈17.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~820 kWh/kWp · +4% vs PA30
PA21 (Argyll and Bute)
≈17.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~844 kWh/kWp · +8% vs PA30
PA22 (Argyll and Bute)
≈19.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~766 kWh/kWp · -2% vs PA30
PA27 (Argyll and Bute)
≈28.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~723 kWh/kWp · -8% vs PA30
PA20 (Argyll and Bute)
≈31.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~841 kWh/kWp · +7% vs PA30

Similar sunshine across the UK

LL21 (Denbighshire)
~785 kWh/kWp · -0% vs PA30
CA8 (Cumberland)
~786 kWh/kWp · +0% vs PA30
PA18 (Inverclyde)
~789 kWh/kWp · +1% vs PA30