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Solar Panels in PA73 (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
15.7 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£650
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£6,069
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 772 kWh/kW — 43 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 772 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)
772 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: £10,173, Break-even: 15.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1545 kWh 618 kWh 927 kWh £167 £93 £260 £4,069 15.7 yrs £1,128
3 kW 2317 kWh 927 kWh 1390 kWh £251 £139 £390 £6,104 15.7 yrs £1,692
4 kW 3089 kWh 1236 kWh 1854 kWh £334 £185 £520 £8,138 15.7 yrs £2,257
5 kW 3862 kWh 1545 kWh 2317 kWh £418 £232 £650 £10,173 15.7 yrs £2,821
6 kW 4634 kWh 1854 kWh 2780 kWh £502 £278 £780 £12,207 15.7 yrs £3,385
7 kW 5406 kWh 2162 kWh 3244 kWh £585 £324 £910 £14,242 15.7 yrs £3,949
8 kW 6178 kWh 2471 kWh 3707 kWh £669 £371 £1,039 £16,276 15.7 yrs £4,513

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: £781, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 15.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1545 kWh 927 kWh 618 kWh £251 £62 £313 £6,169 19.7 yrs £82
3 kW 2317 kWh 1390 kWh 927 kWh £376 £93 £469 £8,204 17.5 yrs £1,174
4 kW 3089 kWh 1854 kWh 1236 kWh £502 £124 £625 £10,238 16.4 yrs £2,265
5 kW 3862 kWh 2317 kWh 1545 kWh £627 £154 £781 £12,273 15.7 yrs £3,356
6 kW 4634 kWh 2780 kWh 1854 kWh £752 £185 £938 £14,307 15.3 yrs £4,447
7 kW 5406 kWh 3244 kWh 2162 kWh £878 £216 £1,094 £16,342 14.9 yrs £5,538
8 kW 6178 kWh 3707 kWh 2471 kWh £1,003 £247 £1,250 £18,376 14.7 yrs £6,629

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: £847, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 16.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1545 kWh 1081 kWh 463 kWh £293 £46 £339 £7,569 22.3 yrs £-791
3 kW 2317 kWh 1622 kWh 695 kWh £439 £70 £508 £9,604 18.9 yrs £564
4 kW 3089 kWh 2162 kWh 927 kWh £585 £93 £678 £11,638 17.2 yrs £1,919
5 kW 3862 kWh 2703 kWh 1158 kWh £731 £116 £847 £13,673 16.1 yrs £3,273
6 kW 4634 kWh 3244 kWh 1390 kWh £878 £139 £1,017 £15,707 15.4 yrs £4,628
7 kW 5406 kWh 3784 kWh 1622 kWh £1,024 £162 £1,186 £17,742 15.0 yrs £5,983
8 kW 6178 kWh 4325 kWh 1854 kWh £1,170 £185 £1,356 £19,776 14.6 yrs £7,338

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: £867, Upfront: £15,423, 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 1545 kWh 1128 kWh 417 kWh £305 £42 £347 £9,319 26.9 yrs £-2,383
3 kW 2317 kWh 1691 kWh 626 kWh £458 £63 £520 £11,354 21.8 yrs £-949
4 kW 3089 kWh 2255 kWh 834 kWh £610 £83 £694 £13,388 19.3 yrs £485
5 kW 3862 kWh 2819 kWh 1043 kWh £763 £104 £867 £15,423 17.8 yrs £1,919
6 kW 4634 kWh 3383 kWh 1251 kWh £915 £125 £1,040 £17,457 16.8 yrs £3,352
7 kW 5406 kWh 3947 kWh 1460 kWh £1,068 £146 £1,214 £19,492 16.1 yrs £4,786
8 kW 6178 kWh 4510 kWh 1668 kWh £1,220 £167 £1,387 £21,526 15.5 yrs £6,220

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: £880, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 19.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1545 kWh 1158 kWh 386 kWh £313 £39 £352 £11,069 31.4 yrs £-4,027
3 kW 2317 kWh 1738 kWh 579 kWh £470 £58 £528 £13,104 24.8 yrs £-2,541
4 kW 3089 kWh 2317 kWh 772 kWh £627 £77 £704 £15,138 21.5 yrs £-1,054
5 kW 3862 kWh 2896 kWh 965 kWh £784 £97 £880 £17,173 19.5 yrs £432
6 kW 4634 kWh 3475 kWh 1158 kWh £940 £116 £1,056 £19,207 18.2 yrs £1,919
7 kW 5406 kWh 4055 kWh 1352 kWh £1,097 £135 £1,232 £21,242 17.2 yrs £3,405
8 kW 6178 kWh 4634 kWh 1545 kWh £1,254 £154 £1,408 £23,276 16.5 yrs £4,892

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: £893, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 22.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1545 kWh 1189 kWh 355 kWh £322 £36 £357 £13,519 37.8 yrs £-6,372
3 kW 2317 kWh 1784 kWh 533 kWh £483 £53 £536 £15,554 29.0 yrs £-4,833
4 kW 3089 kWh 2379 kWh 711 kWh £644 £71 £715 £17,588 24.6 yrs £-3,293
5 kW 3862 kWh 2973 kWh 888 kWh £805 £89 £893 £19,623 22.0 yrs £-1,754
6 kW 4634 kWh 3568 kWh 1066 kWh £966 £107 £1,072 £21,657 20.2 yrs £-215
7 kW 5406 kWh 4163 kWh 1243 kWh £1,126 £124 £1,251 £23,692 18.9 yrs £1,324
8 kW 6178 kWh 4757 kWh 1421 kWh £1,287 £142 £1,429 £25,726 18.0 yrs £2,863

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 PA73

Figures below are tailored to PA73 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2929 of 2997
13.6 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£599 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2931 of 2997
37.2% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£223 fixed • ~£599 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.06p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
61.00p/day
Local Sunshine
772kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~772 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, 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

PA68 (Argyll and Bute)
≈5.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~809 kWh/kWp · +5% vs PA73
PA74 (Argyll and Bute)
≈6.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~816 kWh/kWp · +6% vs PA73
PA71 (Argyll and Bute)
≈11.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~768 kWh/kWp · -1% vs PA73
PA69 (Argyll and Bute)
≈13.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~827 kWh/kWp · +7% vs PA73
PA72 (Argyll and Bute)
≈14.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~745 kWh/kWp · -4% vs PA73
PA75 (Argyll and Bute)
≈16.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~774 kWh/kWp · +0% vs PA73

Similar sunshine across the UK

PA14 (Inverclyde)
~772 kWh/kWp · +0% vs PA73
LL27 (Conwy)
~777 kWh/kWp · +1% vs PA73
CA12 (Cumberland)
~767 kWh/kWp · -1% vs PA73