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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in S70 (Barnsley)

See if solar pays off for you in Barnsley — 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
13.4 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£8,138
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£606
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£7,011
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 939 kWh/kW — 10 above the regional median (929).

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 4.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 939 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)
939 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: £757, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 13.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1878 kWh 751 kWh 1127 kWh £190 £113 £303 £4,069 13.4 yrs £1,990
3 kW 2817 kWh 1127 kWh 1690 kWh £285 £169 £454 £6,104 13.4 yrs £2,986
4 kW 3756 kWh 1502 kWh 2254 kWh £381 £225 £606 £8,138 13.4 yrs £3,981
5 kW 4695 kWh 1878 kWh 2817 kWh £476 £282 £757 £10,173 13.4 yrs £4,976
6 kW 5634 kWh 2254 kWh 3381 kWh £571 £338 £909 £12,207 13.4 yrs £5,971
7 kW 6573 kWh 2629 kWh 3944 kWh £666 £394 £1,060 £14,242 13.4 yrs £6,966
8 kW 7512 kWh 3005 kWh 4507 kWh £761 £451 £1,212 £16,276 13.4 yrs £7,962

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: £901, Upfront: £12,273, 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 1878 kWh 1127 kWh 751 kWh £285 £75 £361 £6,169 17.1 yrs £1,042
3 kW 2817 kWh 1690 kWh 1127 kWh £428 £113 £541 £8,204 15.2 yrs £2,613
4 kW 3756 kWh 2254 kWh 1502 kWh £571 £150 £721 £10,238 14.2 yrs £4,184
5 kW 4695 kWh 2817 kWh 1878 kWh £714 £188 £901 £12,273 13.6 yrs £5,755
6 kW 5634 kWh 3381 kWh 2254 kWh £856 £225 £1,082 £14,307 13.2 yrs £7,326
7 kW 6573 kWh 3944 kWh 2629 kWh £999 £263 £1,262 £16,342 12.9 yrs £8,897
8 kW 7512 kWh 4507 kWh 3005 kWh £1,142 £300 £1,442 £18,376 12.7 yrs £10,468

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: £973, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 14.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1878 kWh 1315 kWh 563 kWh £333 £56 £389 £7,569 19.4 yrs £218
3 kW 2817 kWh 1972 kWh 845 kWh £500 £85 £584 £9,604 16.4 yrs £2,077
4 kW 3756 kWh 2629 kWh 1127 kWh £666 £113 £779 £11,638 14.9 yrs £3,936
5 kW 4695 kWh 3287 kWh 1409 kWh £833 £141 £973 £13,673 14.0 yrs £5,795
6 kW 5634 kWh 3944 kWh 1690 kWh £999 £169 £1,168 £15,707 13.4 yrs £7,654
7 kW 6573 kWh 4601 kWh 1972 kWh £1,166 £197 £1,363 £17,742 13.0 yrs £9,513
8 kW 7512 kWh 5259 kWh 2254 kWh £1,332 £225 £1,557 £19,776 12.7 yrs £11,372

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: £995, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 15.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1878 kWh 1371 kWh 507 kWh £347 £51 £398 £9,319 23.4 yrs £-1,359
3 kW 2817 kWh 2056 kWh 761 kWh £521 £76 £597 £11,354 19.0 yrs £586
4 kW 3756 kWh 2742 kWh 1014 kWh £695 £101 £796 £13,388 16.8 yrs £2,531
5 kW 4695 kWh 3427 kWh 1268 kWh £868 £127 £995 £15,423 15.5 yrs £4,477
6 kW 5634 kWh 4113 kWh 1521 kWh £1,042 £152 £1,194 £17,457 14.6 yrs £6,422
7 kW 6573 kWh 4798 kWh 1775 kWh £1,215 £177 £1,393 £19,492 14.0 yrs £8,367
8 kW 7512 kWh 5484 kWh 2028 kWh £1,389 £203 £1,592 £21,526 13.5 yrs £10,312

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: £1,009, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 17.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1878 kWh 1409 kWh 470 kWh £357 £47 £404 £11,069 27.4 yrs £-2,994
3 kW 2817 kWh 2113 kWh 704 kWh £535 £70 £606 £13,104 21.6 yrs £-991
4 kW 3756 kWh 2817 kWh 939 kWh £714 £94 £807 £15,138 18.7 yrs £1,012
5 kW 4695 kWh 3521 kWh 1174 kWh £892 £117 £1,009 £17,173 17.0 yrs £3,014
6 kW 5634 kWh 4226 kWh 1409 kWh £1,070 £141 £1,211 £19,207 15.9 yrs £5,017
7 kW 6573 kWh 4930 kWh 1643 kWh £1,249 £164 £1,413 £21,242 15.0 yrs £7,020
8 kW 7512 kWh 5634 kWh 1878 kWh £1,427 £188 £1,615 £23,276 14.4 yrs £9,023

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: £1,024, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 19.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1878 kWh 1446 kWh 432 kWh £366 £43 £409 £13,519 33.0 yrs £-5,329
3 kW 2817 kWh 2169 kWh 648 kWh £549 £65 £614 £15,554 25.3 yrs £-3,269
4 kW 3756 kWh 2892 kWh 864 kWh £733 £86 £819 £17,588 21.5 yrs £-1,208
5 kW 4695 kWh 3615 kWh 1080 kWh £916 £108 £1,024 £19,623 19.2 yrs £852
6 kW 5634 kWh 4338 kWh 1296 kWh £1,099 £130 £1,228 £21,657 17.6 yrs £2,913
7 kW 6573 kWh 5061 kWh 1512 kWh £1,282 £151 £1,433 £23,692 16.5 yrs £4,973
8 kW 7512 kWh 5784 kWh 1728 kWh £1,465 £173 £1,638 £25,726 15.7 yrs £7,034

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 S70

Figures below are tailored to S70 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1900 of 2182
4.3 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~9 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #2147 of 2997
11.8 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£692 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2652 of 2997
30.9% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£214 fixed • ~£692 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.33p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
58.65p/day
Local Sunshine
939kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~939 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
4.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

Local Property Data

Property Types

Houses: 69% • Flats: 22% • Bungalows: 8% Based on 14,106 properties

Coverage

Barnsley (100%)

Areas Covered

Central, Kingstone, Worsbrough, Stairfoot, Rockingham, Dodworth, Penistone East, Hoyland Milton + 1 more

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

S75 (Barnsley)
≈2.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~939 kWh/kWp · -0% vs S70
S71 (Barnsley)
≈3.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~935 kWh/kWp · -0% vs S70
S74 (Barnsley)
≈5.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~932 kWh/kWp · -1% vs S70
S73 (Barnsley)
≈6.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~939 kWh/kWp · -0% vs S70
S72 (Barnsley)
≈6.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~943 kWh/kWp · +0% vs S70
S36 (Barnsley)
≈9.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~911 kWh/kWp · -3% vs S70

Similar sunshine across the UK

CF46 (Merthyr Tydfil)
~939 kWh/kWp · +0% vs S70
B62 (Dudley)
~939 kWh/kWp · +0% vs S70
B11 (Birmingham)
~939 kWh/kWp · +0% vs S70