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Solar panel cost in Argyll and Bute (PA71)

See realistic solar installation costs, savings and payback for PA71 (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
17.3 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£589
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£4,564
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 23.40p/kWh with a 58.28p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 768 kWh/kW — 47 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 768 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 23.4p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
23.4p/kWh
Standing charge
58.3p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
768 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: £589, Upfront: £10,173, 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 1535 kWh 614 kWh 921 kWh £144 £92 £236 £4,069 17.3 yrs £647
3 kW 2303 kWh 921 kWh 1382 kWh £216 £138 £354 £6,104 17.3 yrs £970
4 kW 3070 kWh 1228 kWh 1842 kWh £287 £184 £472 £8,138 17.3 yrs £1,294
5 kW 3838 kWh 1535 kWh 2303 kWh £359 £230 £589 £10,173 17.3 yrs £1,617
6 kW 4605 kWh 1842 kWh 2763 kWh £431 £276 £707 £12,207 17.3 yrs £1,940
7 kW 5373 kWh 2149 kWh 3224 kWh £503 £322 £825 £14,242 17.3 yrs £2,264
8 kW 6140 kWh 2456 kWh 3684 kWh £575 £368 £943 £16,276 17.3 yrs £2,587

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: £692, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 17.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1535 kWh 921 kWh 614 kWh £216 £61 £277 £6,169 22.3 yrs £-630
3 kW 2303 kWh 1382 kWh 921 kWh £323 £92 £415 £8,204 19.7 yrs £104
4 kW 3070 kWh 1842 kWh 1228 kWh £431 £123 £554 £10,238 18.5 yrs £839
5 kW 3838 kWh 2303 kWh 1535 kWh £539 £154 £692 £12,273 17.7 yrs £1,574
6 kW 4605 kWh 2763 kWh 1842 kWh £647 £184 £831 £14,307 17.2 yrs £2,309
7 kW 5373 kWh 3224 kWh 2149 kWh £754 £215 £969 £16,342 16.9 yrs £3,044
8 kW 6140 kWh 3684 kWh 2456 kWh £862 £246 £1,108 £18,376 16.6 yrs £3,778

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: £744, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 18.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1535 kWh 1075 kWh 461 kWh £251 £46 £298 £7,569 25.4 yrs £-1,619
3 kW 2303 kWh 1612 kWh 691 kWh £377 £69 £446 £9,604 21.5 yrs £-678
4 kW 3070 kWh 2149 kWh 921 kWh £503 £92 £595 £11,638 19.6 yrs £262
5 kW 3838 kWh 2686 kWh 1151 kWh £629 £115 £744 £13,673 18.4 yrs £1,203
6 kW 4605 kWh 3224 kWh 1382 kWh £754 £138 £893 £15,707 17.6 yrs £2,143
7 kW 5373 kWh 3761 kWh 1612 kWh £880 £161 £1,041 £17,742 17.0 yrs £3,084
8 kW 6140 kWh 4298 kWh 1842 kWh £1,006 £184 £1,190 £19,776 16.6 yrs £4,024

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: £759, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 20.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1535 kWh 1121 kWh 414 kWh £262 £41 £304 £9,319 30.7 yrs £-3,246
3 kW 2303 kWh 1681 kWh 622 kWh £393 £62 £456 £11,354 24.9 yrs £-2,243
4 kW 3070 kWh 2241 kWh 829 kWh £524 £83 £607 £13,388 22.0 yrs £-1,241
5 kW 3838 kWh 2802 kWh 1036 kWh £656 £104 £759 £15,423 20.3 yrs £-239
6 kW 4605 kWh 3362 kWh 1243 kWh £787 £124 £911 £17,457 19.2 yrs £763
7 kW 5373 kWh 3922 kWh 1451 kWh £918 £145 £1,063 £19,492 18.3 yrs £1,766
8 kW 6140 kWh 4482 kWh 1658 kWh £1,049 £166 £1,215 £21,526 17.7 yrs £2,768

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: £769, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 22.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1535 kWh 1151 kWh 384 kWh £269 £38 £308 £11,069 36.0 yrs £-4,913
3 kW 2303 kWh 1727 kWh 576 kWh £404 £58 £462 £13,104 28.4 yrs £-3,870
4 kW 3070 kWh 2303 kWh 768 kWh £539 £77 £616 £15,138 24.6 yrs £-2,827
5 kW 3838 kWh 2878 kWh 959 kWh £674 £96 £769 £17,173 22.3 yrs £-1,783
6 kW 4605 kWh 3454 kWh 1151 kWh £808 £115 £923 £19,207 20.8 yrs £-740
7 kW 5373 kWh 4030 kWh 1343 kWh £943 £134 £1,077 £21,242 19.7 yrs £304
8 kW 6140 kWh 4605 kWh 1535 kWh £1,078 £154 £1,231 £23,276 18.9 yrs £1,347

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: £780, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 25.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1535 kWh 1182 kWh 353 kWh £277 £35 £312 £13,519 43.3 yrs £-7,281
3 kW 2303 kWh 1773 kWh 530 kWh £415 £53 £468 £15,554 33.2 yrs £-6,196
4 kW 3070 kWh 2364 kWh 706 kWh £553 £71 £624 £17,588 28.2 yrs £-5,112
5 kW 3838 kWh 2955 kWh 883 kWh £691 £88 £780 £19,623 25.2 yrs £-4,027
6 kW 4605 kWh 3546 kWh 1059 kWh £830 £106 £936 £21,657 23.1 yrs £-2,943
7 kW 5373 kWh 4137 kWh 1236 kWh £968 £124 £1,092 £23,692 21.7 yrs £-1,858
8 kW 6140 kWh 4728 kWh 1412 kWh £1,106 £141 £1,248 £25,726 20.6 yrs £-774

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 PA71

Figures below are tailored to PA71 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2939 of 2997
15.3 years (UK avg 12.6 years)
~£532 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2939 of 2997
42.6% (UK avg 24.6%) drag on savings
£227 fixed • ~£532 /yr value
Aspect Penalty View ranking →
East −17.0% West −20.3%
Typical output loss versus a south-facing roof (lower is better)

Seasonal solar output in PA71

Monthly generation per kilowatt of solar panels

kWh 13 Jan 34 Feb 67 Mar 103 Apr 114 May 109 Jun 105 Jul 89 Aug 62 Sep 41 Oct 22 Nov 8 Dec
Best month Worst month Winter (Dec–Feb) Other months

Winter output: 28.6% 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 18 kWh per month; the average month produces around 64 kWh. So a typical 4 kW home system would generate roughly 73 kWh in winter, or 256 kWh in an average month.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
23.40p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
58.28p/day
Local Sunshine
768kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~768 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 South and the Isles

Data Sources & Assumptions

Solar yield: PVGIS (EU Joint Research Centre), January 2025 data

Electricity rates: Ofgem price cap, Q1 2026

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

PA72 (Argyll and Bute)
≈4.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~745 kWh/kWp · -3% vs PA71
PA68 (Argyll and Bute)
≈10.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~809 kWh/kWp · +5% vs PA71
PA73 (Argyll and Bute)
≈11.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~772 kWh/kWp · +1% vs PA71
PA69 (Argyll and Bute)
≈12.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~827 kWh/kWp · +8% vs PA71
PA70 (Argyll and Bute)
≈13.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~804 kWh/kWp · +5% vs PA71
PA62 (Argyll and Bute)
≈15.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~829 kWh/kWp · +8% vs PA71

Similar sunshine across the UK

CA12 (Cumberland)
~767 kWh/kWp · -0% vs PA71
G84 (Argyll and Bute)
~766 kWh/kWp · -0% vs PA71
DL11 (North Yorkshire)
~765 kWh/kWp · -0% vs PA71