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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in SG19 (Central Bedfordshire)

See if solar pays off for you in Central Bedfordshire — 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
12.2 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£833
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£10,641
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 1002 kWh/kW — 7 below the regional median (1009).

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 1002 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)
1002 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: £833, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 12.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2005 kWh 802 kWh 1203 kWh £213 £120 £333 £4,069 12.2 yrs £2,591
3 kW 3007 kWh 1203 kWh 1804 kWh £319 £180 £500 £6,104 12.2 yrs £3,887
4 kW 4009 kWh 1604 kWh 2406 kWh £425 £241 £666 £8,138 12.2 yrs £5,183
5 kW 5012 kWh 2005 kWh 3007 kWh £532 £301 £833 £10,173 12.2 yrs £6,478
6 kW 6014 kWh 2406 kWh 3608 kWh £638 £361 £999 £12,207 12.2 yrs £7,774
7 kW 7016 kWh 2807 kWh 4210 kWh £745 £421 £1,166 £14,242 12.2 yrs £9,069
8 kW 8019 kWh 3207 kWh 4811 kWh £851 £481 £1,332 £16,276 12.2 yrs £10,365

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: £998, Upfront: £12,273, 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 2005 kWh 1203 kWh 802 kWh £319 £80 £399 £6,169 15.5 yrs £1,817
3 kW 3007 kWh 1804 kWh 1203 kWh £479 £120 £599 £8,204 13.7 yrs £3,775
4 kW 4009 kWh 2406 kWh 1604 kWh £638 £160 £799 £10,238 12.8 yrs £5,733
5 kW 5012 kWh 3007 kWh 2005 kWh £798 £200 £998 £12,273 12.3 yrs £7,692
6 kW 6014 kWh 3608 kWh 2406 kWh £957 £241 £1,198 £14,307 11.9 yrs £9,650
7 kW 7016 kWh 4210 kWh 2807 kWh £1,117 £281 £1,398 £16,342 11.7 yrs £11,609
8 kW 8019 kWh 4811 kWh 3207 kWh £1,276 £321 £1,597 £18,376 11.5 yrs £13,567

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: £1,081, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 12.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2005 kWh 1403 kWh 601 kWh £372 £60 £432 £7,569 17.5 yrs £1,079
3 kW 3007 kWh 2105 kWh 902 kWh £558 £90 £649 £9,604 14.8 yrs £3,369
4 kW 4009 kWh 2807 kWh 1203 kWh £745 £120 £865 £11,638 13.5 yrs £5,659
5 kW 5012 kWh 3508 kWh 1503 kWh £931 £150 £1,081 £13,673 12.6 yrs £7,949
6 kW 6014 kWh 4210 kWh 1804 kWh £1,117 £180 £1,297 £15,707 12.1 yrs £10,238
7 kW 7016 kWh 4911 kWh 2105 kWh £1,303 £210 £1,513 £17,742 11.7 yrs £12,528
8 kW 8019 kWh 5613 kWh 2406 kWh £1,489 £241 £1,730 £19,776 11.4 yrs £14,818

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: £1,106, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 13.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2005 kWh 1463 kWh 541 kWh £388 £54 £442 £9,319 21.1 yrs £-472
3 kW 3007 kWh 2195 kWh 812 kWh £582 £81 £664 £11,354 17.1 yrs £1,917
4 kW 4009 kWh 2927 kWh 1083 kWh £776 £108 £885 £13,388 15.1 yrs £4,307
5 kW 5012 kWh 3659 kWh 1353 kWh £971 £135 £1,106 £15,423 13.9 yrs £6,696
6 kW 6014 kWh 4390 kWh 1624 kWh £1,165 £162 £1,327 £17,457 13.2 yrs £9,085
7 kW 7016 kWh 5122 kWh 1894 kWh £1,359 £189 £1,548 £19,492 12.6 yrs £11,474
8 kW 8019 kWh 5854 kWh 2165 kWh £1,553 £217 £1,769 £21,526 12.2 yrs £13,863

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: £1,122, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 15.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2005 kWh 1503 kWh 501 kWh £399 £50 £449 £11,069 24.7 yrs £-2,089
3 kW 3007 kWh 2255 kWh 752 kWh £598 £75 £673 £13,104 19.5 yrs £366
4 kW 4009 kWh 3007 kWh 1002 kWh £798 £100 £898 £15,138 16.9 yrs £2,822
5 kW 5012 kWh 3759 kWh 1253 kWh £997 £125 £1,122 £17,173 15.3 yrs £5,277
6 kW 6014 kWh 4510 kWh 1503 kWh £1,197 £150 £1,347 £19,207 14.3 yrs £7,733
7 kW 7016 kWh 5262 kWh 1754 kWh £1,396 £175 £1,571 £21,242 13.5 yrs £10,188
8 kW 8019 kWh 6014 kWh 2005 kWh £1,596 £200 £1,796 £23,276 13.0 yrs £12,643

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: £1,139, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 17.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2005 kWh 1544 kWh 461 kWh £410 £46 £456 £13,519 29.7 yrs £-4,407
3 kW 3007 kWh 2315 kWh 692 kWh £614 £69 £683 £15,554 22.8 yrs £-1,885
4 kW 4009 kWh 3087 kWh 922 kWh £819 £92 £911 £17,588 19.3 yrs £637
5 kW 5012 kWh 3859 kWh 1153 kWh £1,024 £115 £1,139 £19,623 17.2 yrs £3,159
6 kW 6014 kWh 4631 kWh 1383 kWh £1,229 £138 £1,367 £21,657 15.8 yrs £5,680
7 kW 7016 kWh 5403 kWh 1614 kWh £1,433 £161 £1,595 £23,692 14.9 yrs £8,202
8 kW 8019 kWh 6174 kWh 1844 kWh £1,638 £184 £1,822 £25,726 14.1 yrs £10,724

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 SG19

Figures below are tailored to SG19 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #821 of 2182
5.2 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~11 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #726 of 2997
10.6 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£957 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1126 of 2997
18.4% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£176 fixed • ~£957 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.53p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
48.25p/day
Local Sunshine
1002kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~1002 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: 77% • Flats: 11% • Bungalows: 10% Based on 6,660 properties

Coverage

Central Bedfordshire (78%)|South Cambridgeshire (15%)|Huntingdonshire (6%)

Areas Covered

Sandy, Potton, Gamlingay, Great Paxton, Caldecote, The Mordens, Northill

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

SG18 (Central Bedfordshire)
≈5.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,002 kWh/kWp · -0% vs SG19
SG17 (Central Bedfordshire)
≈11.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,000 kWh/kWp · -0% vs SG19
PE19 (Huntingdonshire)
≈11.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,004 kWh/kWp · +0% vs SG19
MK41 (Bedford)
≈11.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,002 kWh/kWp · -0% vs SG19
MK44 (Bedford)
≈11.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,007 kWh/kWp · +0% vs SG19
MK40 (Bedford)
≈13.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,000 kWh/kWp · -0% vs SG19

Similar sunshine across the UK

IG8 (Redbridge)
~1,002 kWh/kWp · -0% vs SG19
SL0 (Buckinghamshire)
~1,002 kWh/kWp · +0% vs SG19
NG34 (North Kesteven)
~1,002 kWh/kWp · +0% vs SG19