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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in RM14 (Havering)

See if solar pays off for you in Havering — 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
£1,024
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£13,396
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 Eastern, the current unit rate is 26.53p/kWh with a 48.25p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 1027 kWh/kW — 18 above the regional median (1009).

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 1027 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)
1027 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: £853, 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 2055 kWh 822 kWh 1233 kWh £218 £123 £341 £4,069 11.9 yrs £2,758
3 kW 3082 kWh 1233 kWh 1849 kWh £327 £185 £512 £6,104 11.9 yrs £4,138
4 kW 4110 kWh 1644 kWh 2466 kWh £436 £247 £683 £8,138 11.9 yrs £5,517
5 kW 5137 kWh 2055 kWh 3082 kWh £545 £308 £853 £10,173 11.9 yrs £6,896
6 kW 6165 kWh 2466 kWh 3699 kWh £654 £370 £1,024 £12,207 11.9 yrs £8,275
7 kW 7192 kWh 2877 kWh 4315 kWh £763 £432 £1,195 £14,242 11.9 yrs £9,654
8 kW 8220 kWh 3288 kWh 4932 kWh £872 £493 £1,365 £16,276 11.9 yrs £11,034

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: £1,023, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 12.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2055 kWh 1233 kWh 822 kWh £327 £82 £409 £6,169 15.1 yrs £2,017
3 kW 3082 kWh 1849 kWh 1233 kWh £491 £123 £614 £8,204 13.4 yrs £4,076
4 kW 4110 kWh 2466 kWh 1644 kWh £654 £164 £819 £10,238 12.5 yrs £6,134
5 kW 5137 kWh 3082 kWh 2055 kWh £818 £205 £1,023 £12,273 12.0 yrs £8,193
6 kW 6165 kWh 3699 kWh 2466 kWh £981 £247 £1,228 £14,307 11.7 yrs £10,251
7 kW 7192 kWh 4315 kWh 2877 kWh £1,145 £288 £1,433 £16,342 11.4 yrs £12,310
8 kW 8220 kWh 4932 kWh 3288 kWh £1,308 £329 £1,637 £18,376 11.2 yrs £14,368

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: £1,108, 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 2055 kWh 1438 kWh 616 kWh £382 £62 £443 £7,569 17.1 yrs £1,296
3 kW 3082 kWh 2158 kWh 925 kWh £572 £92 £665 £9,604 14.4 yrs £3,695
4 kW 4110 kWh 2877 kWh 1233 kWh £763 £123 £887 £11,638 13.1 yrs £6,093
5 kW 5137 kWh 3596 kWh 1541 kWh £954 £154 £1,108 £13,673 12.3 yrs £8,491
6 kW 6165 kWh 4315 kWh 1849 kWh £1,145 £185 £1,330 £15,707 11.8 yrs £10,889
7 kW 7192 kWh 5035 kWh 2158 kWh £1,336 £216 £1,551 £17,742 11.4 yrs £13,288
8 kW 8220 kWh 5754 kWh 2466 kWh £1,527 £247 £1,773 £19,776 11.2 yrs £15,686

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: £1,134, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 13.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2055 kWh 1500 kWh 555 kWh £398 £55 £453 £9,319 20.6 yrs £-250
3 kW 3082 kWh 2250 kWh 832 kWh £597 £83 £680 £11,354 16.7 yrs £2,250
4 kW 4110 kWh 3000 kWh 1110 kWh £796 £111 £907 £13,388 14.8 yrs £4,751
5 kW 5137 kWh 3750 kWh 1387 kWh £995 £139 £1,134 £15,423 13.6 yrs £7,251
6 kW 6165 kWh 4500 kWh 1665 kWh £1,194 £166 £1,360 £17,457 12.8 yrs £9,751
7 kW 7192 kWh 5250 kWh 1942 kWh £1,393 £194 £1,587 £19,492 12.3 yrs £12,251
8 kW 8220 kWh 6000 kWh 2219 kWh £1,592 £222 £1,814 £21,526 11.9 yrs £14,751

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: £1,151, 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 2055 kWh 1541 kWh 514 kWh £409 £51 £460 £11,069 24.0 yrs £-1,864
3 kW 3082 kWh 2312 kWh 771 kWh £613 £77 £690 £13,104 19.0 yrs £704
4 kW 4110 kWh 3082 kWh 1027 kWh £818 £103 £921 £15,138 16.4 yrs £3,272
5 kW 5137 kWh 3853 kWh 1284 kWh £1,022 £128 £1,151 £17,173 14.9 yrs £5,840
6 kW 6165 kWh 4624 kWh 1541 kWh £1,227 £154 £1,381 £19,207 13.9 yrs £8,409
7 kW 7192 kWh 5394 kWh 1798 kWh £1,431 £180 £1,611 £21,242 13.2 yrs £10,977
8 kW 8220 kWh 6165 kWh 2055 kWh £1,636 £205 £1,841 £23,276 12.6 yrs £13,545

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: £1,168, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 16.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2055 kWh 1582 kWh 473 kWh £420 £47 £467 £13,519 28.9 yrs £-4,178
3 kW 3082 kWh 2373 kWh 709 kWh £630 £71 £701 £15,554 22.2 yrs £-1,542
4 kW 4110 kWh 3165 kWh 945 kWh £840 £95 £934 £17,588 18.8 yrs £1,094
5 kW 5137 kWh 3956 kWh 1182 kWh £1,049 £118 £1,168 £19,623 16.8 yrs £3,730
6 kW 6165 kWh 4747 kWh 1418 kWh £1,259 £142 £1,401 £21,657 15.5 yrs £6,366
7 kW 7192 kWh 5538 kWh 1654 kWh £1,469 £165 £1,635 £23,692 14.5 yrs £9,002
8 kW 8220 kWh 6329 kWh 1891 kWh £1,679 £189 £1,868 £25,726 13.8 yrs £11,638

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 RM14

Figures below are tailored to RM14 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #313 of 2182
5.9 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~12 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #431 of 2997
10.4 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,177 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #260 of 2997
15.0% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£176 fixed • ~£1,177 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.53p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
48.25p/day
Local Sunshine
1027kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~1027 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: 62% • Flats: 17% • Bungalows: 17% Based on 5,629 properties

Coverage

Havering (94%)|Thurrock (5%)

Areas Covered

Upminster, Cranham, Orsett, St Andrew's, Harold Wood, Herongate, Ingrave & West Horndon, Ockendon

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 Eastern

RM12 (Havering)
≈2.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,014 kWh/kWp · -1% vs RM14
RM11 (Havering)
≈2.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,014 kWh/kWp · -1% vs RM14
RM2 (Havering)
≈4.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,014 kWh/kWp · -1% vs RM14
RM15 (Thurrock)
≈5.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,024 kWh/kWp · -0% vs RM14
RM13 (Havering)
≈5.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,015 kWh/kWp · -1% vs RM14
RM1 (Havering)
≈5.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,014 kWh/kWp · -1% vs RM14

Similar sunshine across the UK

DA10 (Dartford)
~1,027 kWh/kWp · -0% vs RM14
DA13 (Gravesham)
~1,027 kWh/kWp · -0% vs RM14
TN4 (Tunbridge Wells)
~1,028 kWh/kWp · +0% vs RM14