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 PA33 (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).

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
17.0 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£600
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£4,827
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 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 713 kWh/kW — 102 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 713 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)
713 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: £600, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 17.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1426 kWh 571 kWh 856 kWh £154 £86 £240 £4,069 17.0 yrs £731
3 kW 2140 kWh 856 kWh 1284 kWh £232 £128 £360 £6,104 17.0 yrs £1,096
4 kW 2853 kWh 1141 kWh 1712 kWh £309 £171 £480 £8,138 17.0 yrs £1,462
5 kW 3566 kWh 1426 kWh 2140 kWh £386 £214 £600 £10,173 17.0 yrs £1,827
6 kW 4280 kWh 1712 kWh 2568 kWh £463 £257 £720 £12,207 17.0 yrs £2,193
7 kW 4993 kWh 1997 kWh 2996 kWh £540 £300 £840 £14,242 17.0 yrs £2,558
8 kW 5706 kWh 2282 kWh 3424 kWh £618 £342 £960 £16,276 17.0 yrs £2,923

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: £722, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 17.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1426 kWh 856 kWh 571 kWh £232 £57 £289 £6,169 21.4 yrs £-396
3 kW 2140 kWh 1284 kWh 856 kWh £347 £86 £433 £8,204 18.9 yrs £456
4 kW 2853 kWh 1712 kWh 1141 kWh £463 £114 £577 £10,238 17.7 yrs £1,309
5 kW 3566 kWh 2140 kWh 1426 kWh £579 £143 £722 £12,273 17.0 yrs £2,161
6 kW 4280 kWh 2568 kWh 1712 kWh £695 £171 £866 £14,307 16.5 yrs £3,013
7 kW 4993 kWh 2996 kWh 1997 kWh £811 £200 £1,010 £16,342 16.2 yrs £3,865
8 kW 5706 kWh 3424 kWh 2282 kWh £926 £228 £1,155 £18,376 15.9 yrs £4,717

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: £783, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 17.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1426 kWh 999 kWh 428 kWh £270 £43 £313 £7,569 24.2 yrs £-1,309
3 kW 2140 kWh 1498 kWh 642 kWh £405 £64 £470 £9,604 20.5 yrs £-213
4 kW 2853 kWh 1997 kWh 856 kWh £540 £86 £626 £11,638 18.6 yrs £882
5 kW 3566 kWh 2496 kWh 1070 kWh £676 £107 £783 £13,673 17.5 yrs £1,978
6 kW 4280 kWh 2996 kWh 1284 kWh £811 £128 £939 £15,707 16.7 yrs £3,073
7 kW 4993 kWh 3495 kWh 1498 kWh £946 £150 £1,096 £17,742 16.2 yrs £4,169
8 kW 5706 kWh 3994 kWh 1712 kWh £1,081 £171 £1,252 £19,776 15.8 yrs £5,264

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: £801, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 19.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1426 kWh 1041 kWh 385 kWh £282 £39 £320 £9,319 29.1 yrs £-2,913
3 kW 2140 kWh 1562 kWh 578 kWh £423 £58 £480 £11,354 23.6 yrs £-1,744
4 kW 2853 kWh 2083 kWh 770 kWh £564 £77 £641 £13,388 20.9 yrs £-576
5 kW 3566 kWh 2603 kWh 963 kWh £704 £96 £801 £15,423 19.3 yrs £593
6 kW 4280 kWh 3124 kWh 1155 kWh £845 £116 £961 £17,457 18.2 yrs £1,761
7 kW 4993 kWh 3645 kWh 1348 kWh £986 £135 £1,121 £19,492 17.4 yrs £2,930
8 kW 5706 kWh 4165 kWh 1541 kWh £1,127 £154 £1,281 £21,526 16.8 yrs £4,098

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: £813, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 21.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1426 kWh 1070 kWh 357 kWh £290 £36 £325 £11,069 34.0 yrs £-4,566
3 kW 2140 kWh 1605 kWh 535 kWh £434 £53 £488 £13,104 26.9 yrs £-3,348
4 kW 2853 kWh 2140 kWh 713 kWh £579 £71 £650 £15,138 23.3 yrs £-2,131
5 kW 3566 kWh 2675 kWh 892 kWh £724 £89 £813 £17,173 21.1 yrs £-914
6 kW 4280 kWh 3210 kWh 1070 kWh £869 £107 £976 £19,207 19.7 yrs £303
7 kW 4993 kWh 3745 kWh 1248 kWh £1,013 £125 £1,138 £21,242 18.7 yrs £1,520
8 kW 5706 kWh 4280 kWh 1426 kWh £1,158 £143 £1,301 £23,276 17.9 yrs £2,738

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: £825, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 23.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1426 kWh 1098 kWh 328 kWh £297 £33 £330 £13,519 41.0 yrs £-6,918
3 kW 2140 kWh 1648 kWh 492 kWh £446 £49 £495 £15,554 31.4 yrs £-5,652
4 kW 2853 kWh 2197 kWh 656 kWh £594 £66 £660 £17,588 26.6 yrs £-4,387
5 kW 3566 kWh 2746 kWh 820 kWh £743 £82 £825 £19,623 23.8 yrs £-3,121
6 kW 4280 kWh 3295 kWh 984 kWh £892 £98 £990 £21,657 21.9 yrs £-1,855
7 kW 4993 kWh 3844 kWh 1148 kWh £1,040 £115 £1,155 £23,692 20.5 yrs £-589
8 kW 5706 kWh 4394 kWh 1312 kWh £1,189 £131 £1,320 £25,726 19.5 yrs £677

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 PA33

Figures below are tailored to PA33 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2976 of 2997
14.7 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£553 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2974 of 2997
40.3% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£223 fixed • ~£553 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.06p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
61.00p/day
Local Sunshine
713kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~713 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

Oban North and Lorn, Mid Argyll

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

PA35 (Argyll and Bute)
≈15.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~729 kWh/kWp · +2% vs PA33
PA26 (Argyll and Bute)
≈16.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~684 kWh/kWp · -4% vs PA33
PA36 (Argyll and Bute)
≈19.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~698 kWh/kWp · -2% vs PA33
PA25 (Argyll and Bute)
≈20.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~713 kWh/kWp · -0% vs PA33
PA32 (Argyll and Bute)
≈20.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~719 kWh/kWp · +1% vs PA33
FK20 (Stirling)
≈23.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~735 kWh/kWp · +3% vs PA33

Similar sunshine across the UK

PA19 (Inverclyde)
~756 kWh/kWp · +6% vs PA33
PA25 (Argyll and Bute)
~713 kWh/kWp · -0% vs PA33
IV41 (Highland)
~712 kWh/kWp · -0% vs PA33