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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in S18 (North East Derbyshire)

See if solar pays off for you in North East Derbyshire — 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
13.7 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£745
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£8,444
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 Yorkshire, the current unit rate is 25.33p/kWh with a 58.65p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 923 kWh/kW — 6 below the regional median (929).

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 923 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.3p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.3p/kWh
Standing charge
58.6p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
923 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: £745, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 13.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1846 kWh 739 kWh 1108 kWh £187 £111 £298 £4,069 13.7 yrs £1,888
3 kW 2770 kWh 1108 kWh 1662 kWh £281 £166 £447 £6,104 13.7 yrs £2,833
4 kW 3693 kWh 1477 kWh 2216 kWh £374 £222 £596 £8,138 13.7 yrs £3,777
5 kW 4616 kWh 1846 kWh 2770 kWh £468 £277 £745 £10,173 13.7 yrs £4,721
6 kW 5539 kWh 2216 kWh 3324 kWh £561 £332 £894 £12,207 13.7 yrs £5,665
7 kW 6463 kWh 2585 kWh 3878 kWh £655 £388 £1,043 £14,242 13.7 yrs £6,609
8 kW 7386 kWh 2954 kWh 4431 kWh £748 £443 £1,191 £16,276 13.7 yrs £7,553

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: £886, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 13.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1846 kWh 1108 kWh 739 kWh £281 £74 £354 £6,169 17.4 yrs £921
3 kW 2770 kWh 1662 kWh 1108 kWh £421 £111 £532 £8,204 15.4 yrs £2,431
4 kW 3693 kWh 2216 kWh 1477 kWh £561 £148 £709 £10,238 14.4 yrs £3,941
5 kW 4616 kWh 2770 kWh 1846 kWh £702 £185 £886 £12,273 13.8 yrs £5,451
6 kW 5539 kWh 3324 kWh 2216 kWh £842 £222 £1,063 £14,307 13.5 yrs £6,962
7 kW 6463 kWh 3878 kWh 2585 kWh £982 £259 £1,241 £16,342 13.2 yrs £8,472
8 kW 7386 kWh 4431 kWh 2954 kWh £1,122 £295 £1,418 £18,376 13.0 yrs £9,982

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: £957, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 14.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1846 kWh 1293 kWh 554 kWh £327 £55 £383 £7,569 19.8 yrs £87
3 kW 2770 kWh 1939 kWh 831 kWh £491 £83 £574 £9,604 16.7 yrs £1,880
4 kW 3693 kWh 2585 kWh 1108 kWh £655 £111 £766 £11,638 15.2 yrs £3,673
5 kW 4616 kWh 3231 kWh 1385 kWh £818 £138 £957 £13,673 14.3 yrs £5,467
6 kW 5539 kWh 3878 kWh 1662 kWh £982 £166 £1,148 £15,707 13.7 yrs £7,260
7 kW 6463 kWh 4524 kWh 1939 kWh £1,146 £194 £1,340 £17,742 13.2 yrs £9,053
8 kW 7386 kWh 5170 kWh 2216 kWh £1,310 £222 £1,531 £19,776 12.9 yrs £10,847

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: £978, Upfront: £15,423, 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 1846 kWh 1348 kWh 499 kWh £341 £50 £391 £9,319 23.8 yrs £-1,493
3 kW 2770 kWh 2022 kWh 748 kWh £512 £75 £587 £11,354 19.3 yrs £385
4 kW 3693 kWh 2696 kWh 997 kWh £683 £100 £783 £13,388 17.1 yrs £2,263
5 kW 4616 kWh 3370 kWh 1246 kWh £854 £125 £978 £15,423 15.8 yrs £4,141
6 kW 5539 kWh 4044 kWh 1496 kWh £1,024 £150 £1,174 £17,457 14.9 yrs £6,020
7 kW 6463 kWh 4718 kWh 1745 kWh £1,195 £174 £1,369 £19,492 14.2 yrs £7,898
8 kW 7386 kWh 5392 kWh 1994 kWh £1,366 £199 £1,565 £21,526 13.8 yrs £9,776

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: £992, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 17.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1846 kWh 1385 kWh 462 kWh £351 £46 £397 £11,069 27.9 yrs £-3,130
3 kW 2770 kWh 2077 kWh 692 kWh £526 £69 £595 £13,104 22.0 yrs £-1,195
4 kW 3693 kWh 2770 kWh 923 kWh £702 £92 £794 £15,138 19.1 yrs £739
5 kW 4616 kWh 3462 kWh 1154 kWh £877 £115 £992 £17,173 17.3 yrs £2,674
6 kW 5539 kWh 4154 kWh 1385 kWh £1,052 £138 £1,191 £19,207 16.1 yrs £4,609
7 kW 6463 kWh 4847 kWh 1616 kWh £1,228 £162 £1,389 £21,242 15.3 yrs £6,544
8 kW 7386 kWh 5539 kWh 1846 kWh £1,403 £185 £1,588 £23,276 14.7 yrs £8,479

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: £1,006, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 19.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1846 kWh 1422 kWh 425 kWh £360 £42 £403 £13,519 33.6 yrs £-5,467
3 kW 2770 kWh 2133 kWh 637 kWh £540 £64 £604 £15,554 25.8 yrs £-3,476
4 kW 3693 kWh 2844 kWh 849 kWh £720 £85 £805 £17,588 21.8 yrs £-1,484
5 kW 4616 kWh 3554 kWh 1062 kWh £900 £106 £1,006 £19,623 19.5 yrs £507
6 kW 5539 kWh 4265 kWh 1274 kWh £1,080 £127 £1,208 £21,657 17.9 yrs £2,499
7 kW 6463 kWh 4976 kWh 1486 kWh £1,260 £149 £1,409 £23,692 16.8 yrs £4,490
8 kW 7386 kWh 5687 kWh 1699 kWh £1,441 £170 £1,610 £25,726 16.0 yrs £6,482

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 S18

Figures below are tailored to S18 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #697 of 2182
5.4 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~11 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #2346 of 2997
12.0 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£851 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2248 of 2997
25.2% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£214 fixed • ~£851 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.33p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
58.65p/day
Local Sunshine
923kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~923 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

Houses: 67% • Flats: 12% • Bungalows: 20% Based on 5,713 properties

Coverage

North East Derbyshire (100%)

Areas Covered

Dronfield North, Dronfield South, Gosforth Valley, Coal Aston, Barlow & Holmesfield, Unstone, Dronfield Woodhouse, Ridgeway & Marsh Lane

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 Yorkshire

S17 (Sheffield)
≈4.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~922 kWh/kWp · -0% vs S18
S8 (Sheffield)
≈5.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~919 kWh/kWp · -0% vs S18
S14 (Sheffield)
≈5.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~924 kWh/kWp · +0% vs S18
S7 (Sheffield)
≈6.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~920 kWh/kWp · -0% vs S18
S12 (Sheffield)
≈6.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~929 kWh/kWp · +1% vs S18
S11 (Sheffield)
≈7.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~909 kWh/kWp · -2% vs S18

Similar sunshine across the UK

DL16 (County Durham)
~923 kWh/kWp · +0% vs S18
LL29 (Conwy)
~923 kWh/kWp · -0% vs S18
NE5 (Newcastle upon Tyne)
~923 kWh/kWp · -0% vs S18