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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in PL29 (Cornwall)

See if solar pays off for you in Cornwall — 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
12.4 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£987
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£12,469
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 Southern Western, the current unit rate is 26.82p/kWh with a 54.03p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 983 kWh/kW — 30 below the regional median (1013).

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 983 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 26.8p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
26.8p/kWh
Standing charge
54.0p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
983 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: £823, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 12.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1967 kWh 787 kWh 1180 kWh £211 £118 £329 £4,069 12.4 yrs £2,511
3 kW 2950 kWh 1180 kWh 1770 kWh £317 £177 £494 £6,104 12.4 yrs £3,767
4 kW 3934 kWh 1573 kWh 2360 kWh £422 £236 £658 £8,138 12.4 yrs £5,023
5 kW 4917 kWh 1967 kWh 2950 kWh £528 £295 £823 £10,173 12.4 yrs £6,278
6 kW 5901 kWh 2360 kWh 3540 kWh £633 £354 £987 £12,207 12.4 yrs £7,534
7 kW 6884 kWh 2754 kWh 4130 kWh £739 £413 £1,152 £14,242 12.4 yrs £8,790
8 kW 7867 kWh 3147 kWh 4720 kWh £844 £472 £1,316 £16,276 12.4 yrs £10,045

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: £988, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 12.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1967 kWh 1180 kWh 787 kWh £317 £79 £395 £6,169 15.6 yrs £1,735
3 kW 2950 kWh 1770 kWh 1180 kWh £475 £118 £593 £8,204 13.8 yrs £3,652
4 kW 3934 kWh 2360 kWh 1573 kWh £633 £157 £790 £10,238 13.0 yrs £5,569
5 kW 4917 kWh 2950 kWh 1967 kWh £791 £197 £988 £12,273 12.4 yrs £7,487
6 kW 5901 kWh 3540 kWh 2360 kWh £950 £236 £1,186 £14,307 12.1 yrs £9,404
7 kW 6884 kWh 4130 kWh 2754 kWh £1,108 £275 £1,383 £16,342 11.8 yrs £11,321
8 kW 7867 kWh 4720 kWh 3147 kWh £1,266 £315 £1,581 £18,376 11.6 yrs £13,238

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: £1,071, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 12.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1967 kWh 1377 kWh 590 kWh £369 £59 £428 £7,569 17.7 yrs £996
3 kW 2950 kWh 2065 kWh 885 kWh £554 £89 £642 £9,604 14.9 yrs £3,244
4 kW 3934 kWh 2754 kWh 1180 kWh £739 £118 £857 £11,638 13.6 yrs £5,493
5 kW 4917 kWh 3442 kWh 1475 kWh £923 £148 £1,071 £13,673 12.8 yrs £7,741
6 kW 5901 kWh 4130 kWh 1770 kWh £1,108 £177 £1,285 £15,707 12.2 yrs £9,989
7 kW 6884 kWh 4819 kWh 2065 kWh £1,292 £207 £1,499 £17,742 11.8 yrs £12,237
8 kW 7867 kWh 5507 kWh 2360 kWh £1,477 £236 £1,713 £19,776 11.5 yrs £14,485

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: £1,095, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 14.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1967 kWh 1436 kWh 531 kWh £385 £53 £438 £9,319 21.3 yrs £-555
3 kW 2950 kWh 2154 kWh 797 kWh £578 £80 £657 £11,354 17.3 yrs £1,792
4 kW 3934 kWh 2872 kWh 1062 kWh £770 £106 £876 £13,388 15.3 yrs £4,140
5 kW 4917 kWh 3590 kWh 1328 kWh £963 £133 £1,095 £15,423 14.1 yrs £6,487
6 kW 5901 kWh 4307 kWh 1593 kWh £1,155 £159 £1,315 £17,457 13.3 yrs £8,834
7 kW 6884 kWh 5025 kWh 1859 kWh £1,348 £186 £1,534 £19,492 12.7 yrs £11,182
8 kW 7867 kWh 5743 kWh 2124 kWh £1,540 £212 £1,753 £21,526 12.3 yrs £13,529

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: £1,112, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 15.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1967 kWh 1475 kWh 492 kWh £396 £49 £445 £11,069 24.9 yrs £-2,173
3 kW 2950 kWh 2213 kWh 738 kWh £593 £74 £667 £13,104 19.6 yrs £241
4 kW 3934 kWh 2950 kWh 983 kWh £791 £98 £890 £15,138 17.0 yrs £2,654
5 kW 4917 kWh 3688 kWh 1229 kWh £989 £123 £1,112 £17,173 15.4 yrs £5,068
6 kW 5901 kWh 4425 kWh 1475 kWh £1,187 £148 £1,334 £19,207 14.4 yrs £7,481
7 kW 6884 kWh 5163 kWh 1721 kWh £1,385 £172 £1,557 £21,242 13.6 yrs £9,895
8 kW 7867 kWh 5901 kWh 1967 kWh £1,583 £197 £1,779 £23,276 13.1 yrs £12,308

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: £1,129, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 17.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1967 kWh 1514 kWh 452 kWh £406 £45 £451 £13,519 29.9 yrs £-4,491
3 kW 2950 kWh 2272 kWh 679 kWh £609 £68 £677 £15,554 23.0 yrs £-2,011
4 kW 3934 kWh 3029 kWh 905 kWh £812 £90 £903 £17,588 19.5 yrs £469
5 kW 4917 kWh 3786 kWh 1131 kWh £1,015 £113 £1,129 £19,623 17.4 yrs £2,949
6 kW 5901 kWh 4543 kWh 1357 kWh £1,219 £136 £1,354 £21,657 16.0 yrs £5,428
7 kW 6884 kWh 5301 kWh 1583 kWh £1,422 £158 £1,580 £23,692 15.0 yrs £7,908
8 kW 7867 kWh 6058 kWh 1810 kWh £1,625 £181 £1,806 £25,726 14.2 yrs £10,388

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 PL29

Figures below are tailored to PL29 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #388 of 2182
5.8 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~12 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #840 of 2997
10.7 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,136 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #852 of 2997
17.4% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£197 fixed • ~£1,136 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.82p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
54.03p/day
Local Sunshine
983kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~983 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: 66% • Flats: 6% • Bungalows: 26% Based on 481 properties

Coverage

Cornwall (100%)

Areas Covered

Wadebridge East & St Minver, Wadebridge West & St Mabyn, Bodmin St Petroc's

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 Southern Western

PL33 (Cornwall)
≈8.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~959 kWh/kWp · -2% vs PL29
PL27 (Cornwall)
≈8.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~995 kWh/kWp · +1% vs PL29
PL34 (Cornwall)
≈10.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~964 kWh/kWp · -2% vs PL29
PL32 (Cornwall)
≈11.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~968 kWh/kWp · -2% vs PL29
PL28 (Cornwall)
≈11.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,013 kWh/kWp · +3% vs PL29
PL30 (Cornwall)
≈12.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~990 kWh/kWp · +1% vs PL29

Similar sunshine across the UK

MK13 (Milton Keynes)
~984 kWh/kWp · +0% vs PL29
CR5 (Croydon)
~983 kWh/kWp · -0% vs PL29
NG23 (Newark and Sherwood)
~983 kWh/kWp · -0% vs PL29