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Solar Panels in PH33 (Highland)

See if solar pays off for you in Highland — 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
18.1 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£562
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£3,866
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 668 kWh/kW — 147 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 668 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)
668 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: £562, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 18.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1335 kWh 534 kWh 801 kWh £145 £80 £225 £4,069 18.1 yrs £423
3 kW 2003 kWh 801 kWh 1202 kWh £217 £120 £337 £6,104 18.1 yrs £635
4 kW 2670 kWh 1068 kWh 1602 kWh £289 £160 £449 £8,138 18.1 yrs £847
5 kW 3338 kWh 1335 kWh 2003 kWh £361 £200 £562 £10,173 18.1 yrs £1,058
6 kW 4005 kWh 1602 kWh 2403 kWh £434 £240 £674 £12,207 18.1 yrs £1,270
7 kW 4673 kWh 1869 kWh 2804 kWh £506 £280 £786 £14,242 18.1 yrs £1,482
8 kW 5340 kWh 2136 kWh 3204 kWh £578 £320 £898 £16,276 18.1 yrs £1,693

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: £675, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 18.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1335 kWh 801 kWh 534 kWh £217 £53 £270 £6,169 22.8 yrs £-766
3 kW 2003 kWh 1202 kWh 801 kWh £325 £80 £405 £8,204 20.2 yrs £-98
4 kW 2670 kWh 1602 kWh 1068 kWh £434 £107 £540 £10,238 18.9 yrs £569
5 kW 3338 kWh 2003 kWh 1335 kWh £542 £134 £675 £12,273 18.2 yrs £1,236
6 kW 4005 kWh 2403 kWh 1602 kWh £650 £160 £811 £14,307 17.7 yrs £1,903
7 kW 4673 kWh 2804 kWh 1869 kWh £759 £187 £946 £16,342 17.3 yrs £2,570
8 kW 5340 kWh 3204 kWh 2136 kWh £867 £214 £1,081 £18,376 17.0 yrs £3,238

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: £732, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 18.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1335 kWh 935 kWh 401 kWh £253 £40 £293 £7,569 25.8 yrs £-1,710
3 kW 2003 kWh 1402 kWh 601 kWh £379 £60 £439 £9,604 21.9 yrs £-815
4 kW 2670 kWh 1869 kWh 801 kWh £506 £80 £586 £11,638 19.9 yrs £80
5 kW 3338 kWh 2336 kWh 1001 kWh £632 £100 £732 £13,673 18.7 yrs £975
6 kW 4005 kWh 2804 kWh 1202 kWh £759 £120 £879 £15,707 17.9 yrs £1,870
7 kW 4673 kWh 3271 kWh 1402 kWh £885 £140 £1,025 £17,742 17.3 yrs £2,765
8 kW 5340 kWh 3738 kWh 1602 kWh £1,012 £160 £1,172 £19,776 16.9 yrs £3,660

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: £749, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 20.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1335 kWh 975 kWh 360 kWh £264 £36 £300 £9,319 31.1 yrs £-3,323
3 kW 2003 kWh 1462 kWh 541 kWh £396 £54 £450 £11,354 25.2 yrs £-2,360
4 kW 2670 kWh 1949 kWh 721 kWh £527 £72 £600 £13,388 22.3 yrs £-1,397
5 kW 3338 kWh 2437 kWh 901 kWh £659 £90 £749 £15,423 20.6 yrs £-434
6 kW 4005 kWh 2924 kWh 1081 kWh £791 £108 £899 £17,457 19.4 yrs £530
7 kW 4673 kWh 3411 kWh 1262 kWh £923 £126 £1,049 £19,492 18.6 yrs £1,493
8 kW 5340 kWh 3898 kWh 1442 kWh £1,055 £144 £1,199 £21,526 18.0 yrs £2,456

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: £761, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 22.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1335 kWh 1001 kWh 334 kWh £271 £33 £304 £11,069 36.4 yrs £-4,982
3 kW 2003 kWh 1502 kWh 501 kWh £406 £50 £457 £13,104 28.7 yrs £-3,973
4 kW 2670 kWh 2003 kWh 668 kWh £542 £67 £609 £15,138 24.9 yrs £-2,965
5 kW 3338 kWh 2503 kWh 834 kWh £677 £83 £761 £17,173 22.6 yrs £-1,956
6 kW 4005 kWh 3004 kWh 1001 kWh £813 £100 £913 £19,207 21.0 yrs £-947
7 kW 4673 kWh 3505 kWh 1168 kWh £948 £117 £1,065 £21,242 19.9 yrs £62
8 kW 5340 kWh 4005 kWh 1335 kWh £1,084 £134 £1,217 £23,276 19.1 yrs £1,071

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: £772, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 25.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1335 kWh 1028 kWh 307 kWh £278 £31 £309 £13,519 43.8 yrs £-7,341
3 kW 2003 kWh 1542 kWh 461 kWh £417 £46 £463 £15,554 33.6 yrs £-6,287
4 kW 2670 kWh 2056 kWh 614 kWh £556 £61 £618 £17,588 28.5 yrs £-5,232
5 kW 3338 kWh 2570 kWh 768 kWh £695 £77 £772 £19,623 25.4 yrs £-4,178
6 kW 4005 kWh 3084 kWh 921 kWh £835 £92 £927 £21,657 23.4 yrs £-3,124
7 kW 4673 kWh 3598 kWh 1075 kWh £974 £107 £1,081 £23,692 21.9 yrs £-2,069
8 kW 5340 kWh 4112 kWh 1228 kWh £1,113 £123 £1,236 £25,726 20.8 yrs £-1,015

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 PH33

Figures below are tailored to PH33 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2992 of 2997
15.7 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£518 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2992 of 2997
43.0% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£223 fixed • ~£518 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.06p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
61.00p/day
Local Sunshine
668kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~668 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

Highland (98%)|Perth and Kinross (2%)

Areas Covered

Fort William and Ardnamurchan, Caol and Mallaig, Perth City South

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

PH34 (Highland)
≈13.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~701 kWh/kWp · +5% vs PH33
PA40 (Highland)
≈14.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~633 kWh/kWp · -5% vs PH33
PH50 (Highland)
≈14.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~653 kWh/kWp · -2% vs PH33
PH49 (Highland)
≈16.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~627 kWh/kWp · -6% vs PH33
PA39 (Highland)
≈16.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~583 kWh/kWp · -13% vs PH33
PH31 (Highland)
≈18.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~711 kWh/kWp · +7% vs PH33

Similar sunshine across the UK

IV42 (Highland)
~677 kWh/kWp · +1% vs PH33
IV53 (Highland)
~678 kWh/kWp · +2% vs PH33
PH50 (Highland)
~653 kWh/kWp · -2% vs PH33