Solar explained to clever people by people who are not trying to be clever

Solar Panels in SK13 (High Peak)

See if solar pays off for you in High Peak — 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
14.6 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£8,138
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£559
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£5,836
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

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 830 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 27.1p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
27.1p/kWh
Standing charge
51.2p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
830 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: £699, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 14.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1659 kWh 664 kWh 996 kWh £180 £100 £279 £4,069 14.6 yrs £1,520
3 kW 2489 kWh 996 kWh 1493 kWh £270 £149 £419 £6,104 14.6 yrs £2,281
4 kW 3318 kWh 1327 kWh 1991 kWh £360 £199 £559 £8,138 14.6 yrs £3,041
5 kW 4148 kWh 1659 kWh 2489 kWh £450 £249 £699 £10,173 14.6 yrs £3,801
6 kW 4978 kWh 1991 kWh 2987 kWh £540 £299 £838 £12,207 14.6 yrs £4,561
7 kW 5807 kWh 2323 kWh 3484 kWh £630 £348 £978 £14,242 14.6 yrs £5,321
8 kW 6637 kWh 2655 kWh 3982 kWh £720 £398 £1,118 £16,276 14.6 yrs £6,082

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: £841, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 14.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1659 kWh 996 kWh 664 kWh £270 £66 £336 £6,169 18.3 yrs £556
3 kW 2489 kWh 1493 kWh 996 kWh £405 £100 £504 £8,204 16.3 yrs £1,884
4 kW 3318 kWh 1991 kWh 1327 kWh £540 £133 £672 £10,238 15.2 yrs £3,212
5 kW 4148 kWh 2489 kWh 1659 kWh £675 £166 £841 £12,273 14.6 yrs £4,540
6 kW 4978 kWh 2987 kWh 1991 kWh £810 £199 £1,009 £14,307 14.2 yrs £5,868
7 kW 5807 kWh 3484 kWh 2323 kWh £945 £232 £1,177 £16,342 13.9 yrs £7,196
8 kW 6637 kWh 3982 kWh 2655 kWh £1,080 £265 £1,345 £18,376 13.7 yrs £8,524

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: £912, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 15.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1659 kWh 1161 kWh 498 kWh £315 £50 £365 £7,569 20.8 yrs £-276
3 kW 2489 kWh 1742 kWh 747 kWh £472 £75 £547 £9,604 17.6 yrs £1,336
4 kW 3318 kWh 2323 kWh 996 kWh £630 £100 £729 £11,638 16.0 yrs £2,947
5 kW 4148 kWh 2904 kWh 1244 kWh £787 £124 £912 £13,673 15.0 yrs £4,559
6 kW 4978 kWh 3484 kWh 1493 kWh £945 £149 £1,094 £15,707 14.4 yrs £6,171
7 kW 5807 kWh 4065 kWh 1742 kWh £1,102 £174 £1,276 £17,742 13.9 yrs £7,783
8 kW 6637 kWh 4646 kWh 1991 kWh £1,259 £199 £1,459 £19,776 13.6 yrs £9,395

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: £933, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 16.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1659 kWh 1211 kWh 448 kWh £328 £45 £373 £9,319 25.0 yrs £-1,856
3 kW 2489 kWh 1817 kWh 672 kWh £493 £67 £560 £11,354 20.3 yrs £-159
4 kW 3318 kWh 2422 kWh 896 kWh £657 £90 £746 £13,388 17.9 yrs £1,538
5 kW 4148 kWh 3028 kWh 1120 kWh £821 £112 £933 £15,423 16.5 yrs £3,235
6 kW 4978 kWh 3634 kWh 1344 kWh £985 £134 £1,119 £17,457 15.6 yrs £4,932
7 kW 5807 kWh 4239 kWh 1568 kWh £1,149 £157 £1,306 £19,492 14.9 yrs £6,629
8 kW 6637 kWh 4845 kWh 1792 kWh £1,313 £179 £1,493 £21,526 14.4 yrs £8,326

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: £947, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 18.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1659 kWh 1244 kWh 415 kWh £337 £41 £379 £11,069 29.2 yrs £-3,492
3 kW 2489 kWh 1867 kWh 622 kWh £506 £62 £568 £13,104 23.1 yrs £-1,739
4 kW 3318 kWh 2489 kWh 830 kWh £675 £83 £758 £15,138 20.0 yrs £15
5 kW 4148 kWh 3111 kWh 1037 kWh £843 £104 £947 £17,173 18.1 yrs £1,769
6 kW 4978 kWh 3733 kWh 1244 kWh £1,012 £124 £1,136 £19,207 16.9 yrs £3,523
7 kW 5807 kWh 4355 kWh 1452 kWh £1,181 £145 £1,326 £21,242 16.0 yrs £5,277
8 kW 6637 kWh 4978 kWh 1659 kWh £1,349 £166 £1,515 £23,276 15.4 yrs £7,031

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: £961, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 20.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1659 kWh 1278 kWh 382 kWh £346 £38 £385 £13,519 35.2 yrs £-5,829
3 kW 2489 kWh 1916 kWh 572 kWh £520 £57 £577 £15,554 27.0 yrs £-4,018
4 kW 3318 kWh 2555 kWh 763 kWh £693 £76 £769 £17,588 22.9 yrs £-2,208
5 kW 4148 kWh 3194 kWh 954 kWh £866 £95 £961 £19,623 20.4 yrs £-397
6 kW 4978 kWh 3833 kWh 1145 kWh £1,039 £114 £1,154 £21,657 18.8 yrs £1,414
7 kW 5807 kWh 4471 kWh 1336 kWh £1,212 £134 £1,346 £23,692 17.6 yrs £3,224
8 kW 6637 kWh 5110 kWh 1526 kWh £1,385 £153 £1,538 £25,726 16.7 yrs £5,035

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.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.11p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
51.16p/day
Local Sunshine
830kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~830 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: 81% • Flats: 13% • Bungalows: 6% Based on 7,592 properties

Coverage

High Peak (99%)|Tameside (1%)

Areas Covered

Howard Town, Gamesley, Simmondley, Hadfield South, Old Glossop, Dinting, Hadfield North, St John's + 4 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.