Solar explained to clever people by people who are not trying to be clever

Solar Panels in PE36 (King's Lynn and West Norfolk)

See if solar pays off for you in King's Lynn and West Norfolk — 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
11.9 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£1,029
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£13,515
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

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 6.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 1032 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 26.5p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
26.5p/kWh
Standing charge
48.2p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
1032 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: £857, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 11.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2065 kWh 826 kWh 1239 kWh £219 £124 £343 £4,069 11.9 yrs £2,790
3 kW 3097 kWh 1239 kWh 1858 kWh £329 £186 £514 £6,104 11.9 yrs £4,185
4 kW 4129 kWh 1652 kWh 2477 kWh £438 £248 £686 £8,138 11.9 yrs £5,581
5 kW 5161 kWh 2065 kWh 3097 kWh £548 £310 £857 £10,173 11.9 yrs £6,976
6 kW 6194 kWh 2477 kWh 3716 kWh £657 £372 £1,029 £12,207 11.9 yrs £8,371
7 kW 7226 kWh 2890 kWh 4336 kWh £767 £434 £1,200 £14,242 11.9 yrs £9,766
8 kW 8258 kWh 3303 kWh 4955 kWh £876 £495 £1,372 £16,276 11.9 yrs £11,161

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: £1,028, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 11.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2065 kWh 1239 kWh 826 kWh £329 £83 £411 £6,169 15.0 yrs £2,055
3 kW 3097 kWh 1858 kWh 1239 kWh £493 £124 £617 £8,204 13.3 yrs £4,133
4 kW 4129 kWh 2477 kWh 1652 kWh £657 £165 £822 £10,238 12.4 yrs £6,211
5 kW 5161 kWh 3097 kWh 2065 kWh £822 £206 £1,028 £12,273 11.9 yrs £8,288
6 kW 6194 kWh 3716 kWh 2477 kWh £986 £248 £1,234 £14,307 11.6 yrs £10,366
7 kW 7226 kWh 4336 kWh 2890 kWh £1,150 £289 £1,439 £16,342 11.4 yrs £12,444
8 kW 8258 kWh 4955 kWh 3303 kWh £1,315 £330 £1,645 £18,376 11.2 yrs £14,521

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: £1,113, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 12.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2065 kWh 1445 kWh 619 kWh £383 £62 £445 £7,569 17.0 yrs £1,338
3 kW 3097 kWh 2168 kWh 929 kWh £575 £93 £668 £9,604 14.4 yrs £3,757
4 kW 4129 kWh 2890 kWh 1239 kWh £767 £124 £891 £11,638 13.1 yrs £6,176
5 kW 5161 kWh 3613 kWh 1548 kWh £959 £155 £1,113 £13,673 12.3 yrs £8,595
6 kW 6194 kWh 4336 kWh 1858 kWh £1,150 £186 £1,336 £15,707 11.8 yrs £11,014
7 kW 7226 kWh 5058 kWh 2168 kWh £1,342 £217 £1,559 £17,742 11.4 yrs £13,433
8 kW 8258 kWh 5781 kWh 2477 kWh £1,534 £248 £1,781 £19,776 11.1 yrs £15,852

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: £1,139, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 13.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2065 kWh 1507 kWh 557 kWh £400 £56 £456 £9,319 20.5 yrs £-207
3 kW 3097 kWh 2261 kWh 836 kWh £600 £84 £683 £11,354 16.6 yrs £2,314
4 kW 4129 kWh 3014 kWh 1115 kWh £800 £111 £911 £13,388 14.7 yrs £4,835
5 kW 5161 kWh 3768 kWh 1394 kWh £1,000 £139 £1,139 £15,423 13.5 yrs £7,357
6 kW 6194 kWh 4521 kWh 1672 kWh £1,200 £167 £1,367 £17,457 12.8 yrs £9,878
7 kW 7226 kWh 5275 kWh 1951 kWh £1,399 £195 £1,595 £19,492 12.2 yrs £12,399
8 kW 8258 kWh 6029 kWh 2230 kWh £1,599 £223 £1,822 £21,526 11.8 yrs £14,921

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: £1,156, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 14.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2065 kWh 1548 kWh 516 kWh £411 £52 £462 £11,069 23.9 yrs £-1,821
3 kW 3097 kWh 2323 kWh 774 kWh £616 £77 £694 £13,104 18.9 yrs £769
4 kW 4129 kWh 3097 kWh 1032 kWh £822 £103 £925 £15,138 16.4 yrs £3,358
5 kW 5161 kWh 3871 kWh 1290 kWh £1,027 £129 £1,156 £17,173 14.9 yrs £5,948
6 kW 6194 kWh 4645 kWh 1548 kWh £1,232 £155 £1,387 £19,207 13.8 yrs £8,538
7 kW 7226 kWh 5419 kWh 1806 kWh £1,438 £181 £1,618 £21,242 13.1 yrs £11,127
8 kW 8258 kWh 6194 kWh 2065 kWh £1,643 £206 £1,850 £23,276 12.6 yrs £13,717

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: £1,173, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 16.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2065 kWh 1590 kWh 475 kWh £422 £47 £469 £13,519 28.8 yrs £-4,134
3 kW 3097 kWh 2385 kWh 712 kWh £633 £71 £704 £15,554 22.1 yrs £-1,476
4 kW 4129 kWh 3179 kWh 950 kWh £844 £95 £938 £17,588 18.7 yrs £1,181
5 kW 5161 kWh 3974 kWh 1187 kWh £1,054 £119 £1,173 £19,623 16.7 yrs £3,839
6 kW 6194 kWh 4769 kWh 1425 kWh £1,265 £142 £1,408 £21,657 15.4 yrs £6,497
7 kW 7226 kWh 5564 kWh 1662 kWh £1,476 £166 £1,642 £23,692 14.4 yrs £9,155
8 kW 8258 kWh 6359 kWh 1899 kWh £1,687 £190 £1,877 £25,726 13.7 yrs £11,813

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.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.53p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
48.25p/day
Local Sunshine
1032kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~1032 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
6.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

Local Property Data

Property Types

Houses: 48% • Flats: 27% • Bungalows: 24% Based on 3,260 properties

Coverage

King's Lynn and West Norfolk (100%)

Areas Covered

Hunstanton, Brancaster, Heacham, St. Margaret's with St. Nicholas

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.