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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in PL33 (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
12.7 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£962
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£11,853
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 959 kWh/kW — 55 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 959 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)
959 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: £802, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 12.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1918 kWh 767 kWh 1151 kWh £206 £115 £321 £4,069 12.7 yrs £2,347
3 kW 2877 kWh 1151 kWh 1726 kWh £309 £173 £481 £6,104 12.7 yrs £3,520
4 kW 3835 kWh 1534 kWh 2301 kWh £411 £230 £642 £8,138 12.7 yrs £4,694
5 kW 4794 kWh 1918 kWh 2877 kWh £514 £288 £802 £10,173 12.7 yrs £5,867
6 kW 5753 kWh 2301 kWh 3452 kWh £617 £345 £962 £12,207 12.7 yrs £7,041
7 kW 6712 kWh 2685 kWh 4027 kWh £720 £403 £1,123 £14,242 12.7 yrs £8,214
8 kW 7671 kWh 3068 kWh 4603 kWh £823 £460 £1,283 £16,276 12.7 yrs £9,388

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: £963, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 12.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1918 kWh 1151 kWh 767 kWh £309 £77 £385 £6,169 16.0 yrs £1,537
3 kW 2877 kWh 1726 kWh 1151 kWh £463 £115 £578 £8,204 14.2 yrs £3,356
4 kW 3835 kWh 2301 kWh 1534 kWh £617 £153 £771 £10,238 13.3 yrs £5,174
5 kW 4794 kWh 2877 kWh 1918 kWh £771 £192 £963 £12,273 12.7 yrs £6,993
6 kW 5753 kWh 3452 kWh 2301 kWh £926 £230 £1,156 £14,307 12.4 yrs £8,811
7 kW 6712 kWh 4027 kWh 2685 kWh £1,080 £268 £1,349 £16,342 12.1 yrs £10,630
8 kW 7671 kWh 4603 kWh 3068 kWh £1,234 £307 £1,541 £18,376 11.9 yrs £12,449

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: £1,044, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 13.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1918 kWh 1342 kWh 575 kWh £360 £58 £418 £7,569 18.1 yrs £782
3 kW 2877 kWh 2014 kWh 863 kWh £540 £86 £626 £9,604 15.3 yrs £2,923
4 kW 3835 kWh 2685 kWh 1151 kWh £720 £115 £835 £11,638 13.9 yrs £5,065
5 kW 4794 kWh 3356 kWh 1438 kWh £900 £144 £1,044 £13,673 13.1 yrs £7,206
6 kW 5753 kWh 4027 kWh 1726 kWh £1,080 £173 £1,253 £15,707 12.5 yrs £9,347
7 kW 6712 kWh 4698 kWh 2014 kWh £1,260 £201 £1,461 £17,742 12.1 yrs £11,488
8 kW 7671 kWh 5370 kWh 2301 kWh £1,440 £230 £1,670 £19,776 11.8 yrs £13,629

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: £1,068, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 14.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1918 kWh 1400 kWh 518 kWh £375 £52 £427 £9,319 21.8 yrs £-774
3 kW 2877 kWh 2100 kWh 777 kWh £563 £78 £641 £11,354 17.7 yrs £1,464
4 kW 3835 kWh 2800 kWh 1036 kWh £751 £104 £854 £13,388 15.7 yrs £3,702
5 kW 4794 kWh 3500 kWh 1294 kWh £939 £129 £1,068 £15,423 14.4 yrs £5,940
6 kW 5753 kWh 4200 kWh 1553 kWh £1,126 £155 £1,282 £17,457 13.6 yrs £8,177
7 kW 6712 kWh 4900 kWh 1812 kWh £1,314 £181 £1,495 £19,492 13.0 yrs £10,415
8 kW 7671 kWh 5600 kWh 2071 kWh £1,502 £207 £1,709 £21,526 12.6 yrs £12,653

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: £1,084, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 15.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1918 kWh 1438 kWh 479 kWh £386 £48 £434 £11,069 25.5 yrs £-2,395
3 kW 2877 kWh 2157 kWh 719 kWh £579 £72 £651 £13,104 20.1 yrs £-93
4 kW 3835 kWh 2877 kWh 959 kWh £771 £96 £867 £15,138 17.5 yrs £2,210
5 kW 4794 kWh 3596 kWh 1199 kWh £964 £120 £1,084 £17,173 15.8 yrs £4,512
6 kW 5753 kWh 4315 kWh 1438 kWh £1,157 £144 £1,301 £19,207 14.8 yrs £6,814
7 kW 6712 kWh 5034 kWh 1678 kWh £1,350 £168 £1,518 £21,242 14.0 yrs £9,117
8 kW 7671 kWh 5753 kWh 1918 kWh £1,543 £192 £1,735 £23,276 13.4 yrs £11,419

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: £1,100, Upfront: £19,623, 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 1918 kWh 1477 kWh 441 kWh £396 £44 £440 £13,519 30.7 yrs £-4,716
3 kW 2877 kWh 2215 kWh 662 kWh £594 £66 £660 £15,554 23.6 yrs £-2,349
4 kW 3835 kWh 2953 kWh 882 kWh £792 £88 £880 £17,588 20.0 yrs £18
5 kW 4794 kWh 3692 kWh 1103 kWh £990 £110 £1,100 £19,623 17.8 yrs £2,385
6 kW 5753 kWh 4430 kWh 1323 kWh £1,188 £132 £1,320 £21,657 16.4 yrs £4,752
7 kW 6712 kWh 5168 kWh 1544 kWh £1,386 £154 £1,541 £23,692 15.4 yrs £7,118
8 kW 7671 kWh 5907 kWh 1764 kWh £1,584 £176 £1,761 £25,726 14.6 yrs £9,485

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 PL33

Figures below are tailored to PL33 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #429 of 2182
5.7 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~12 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #1257 of 2997
11.0 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,108 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #930 of 2997
17.8% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£197 fixed • ~£1,108 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.82p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
54.03p/day
Local Sunshine
959kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~959 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: 60% • Flats: 12% • Bungalows: 25% Based on 622 properties

Coverage

Cornwall (100%)

Areas Covered

St Teath & Tintagel, Camelford & Boscastle

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

PL32 (Cornwall)
≈3.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~968 kWh/kWp · +1% vs PL33
PL34 (Cornwall)
≈4.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~964 kWh/kWp · +1% vs PL33
PL35 (Cornwall)
≈7.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~974 kWh/kWp · +2% vs PL33
PL29 (Cornwall)
≈8.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~983 kWh/kWp · +3% vs PL33
PL30 (Cornwall)
≈14.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~990 kWh/kWp · +3% vs PL33
PL27 (Cornwall)
≈14.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~995 kWh/kWp · +4% vs PL33

Similar sunshine across the UK

DN15 (North Lincolnshire)
~959 kWh/kWp · +0% vs PL33
WR9 (Wychavon)
~959 kWh/kWp · -0% vs PL33
TS28 (County Durham)
~959 kWh/kWp · +0% vs PL33