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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in SN16 (Wiltshire)

See if solar pays off for you in Wiltshire — 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
12.5 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£977
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£12,224
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 Southern, the current unit rate is 26.48p/kWh with a 44.62p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 982 kWh/kW — 20 below the regional median (1001).

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 982 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
44.6p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
982 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: £814, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 12.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1963 kWh 785 kWh 1178 kWh £208 £118 £326 £4,069 12.5 yrs £2,446
3 kW 2945 kWh 1178 kWh 1767 kWh £312 £177 £489 £6,104 12.5 yrs £3,669
4 kW 3927 kWh 1571 kWh 2356 kWh £416 £236 £651 £8,138 12.5 yrs £4,892
5 kW 4908 kWh 1963 kWh 2945 kWh £520 £294 £814 £10,173 12.5 yrs £6,115
6 kW 5890 kWh 2356 kWh 3534 kWh £624 £353 £977 £12,207 12.5 yrs £7,338
7 kW 6871 kWh 2749 kWh 4123 kWh £728 £412 £1,140 £14,242 12.5 yrs £8,561
8 kW 7853 kWh 3141 kWh 4712 kWh £832 £471 £1,303 £16,276 12.5 yrs £9,784

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: £976, Upfront: £12,273, 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 1963 kWh 1178 kWh 785 kWh £312 £79 £390 £6,169 15.8 yrs £1,640
3 kW 2945 kWh 1767 kWh 1178 kWh £468 £118 £586 £8,204 14.0 yrs £3,510
4 kW 3927 kWh 2356 kWh 1571 kWh £624 £157 £781 £10,238 13.1 yrs £5,380
5 kW 4908 kWh 2945 kWh 1963 kWh £780 £196 £976 £12,273 12.6 yrs £7,250
6 kW 5890 kWh 3534 kWh 2356 kWh £936 £236 £1,171 £14,307 12.2 yrs £9,120
7 kW 6871 kWh 4123 kWh 2749 kWh £1,092 £275 £1,367 £16,342 12.0 yrs £10,990
8 kW 7853 kWh 4712 kWh 3141 kWh £1,248 £314 £1,562 £18,376 11.8 yrs £12,860

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: £1,057, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 12.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1963 kWh 1374 kWh 589 kWh £364 £59 £423 £7,569 17.9 yrs £887
3 kW 2945 kWh 2061 kWh 883 kWh £546 £88 £634 £9,604 15.1 yrs £3,081
4 kW 3927 kWh 2749 kWh 1178 kWh £728 £118 £846 £11,638 13.8 yrs £5,274
5 kW 4908 kWh 3436 kWh 1472 kWh £910 £147 £1,057 £13,673 12.9 yrs £7,468
6 kW 5890 kWh 4123 kWh 1767 kWh £1,092 £177 £1,268 £15,707 12.4 yrs £9,662
7 kW 6871 kWh 4810 kWh 2061 kWh £1,274 £206 £1,480 £17,742 12.0 yrs £11,855
8 kW 7853 kWh 5497 kWh 2356 kWh £1,456 £236 £1,691 £19,776 11.7 yrs £14,049

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: £1,081, Upfront: £15,423, 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 1963 kWh 1433 kWh 530 kWh £380 £53 £433 £9,319 21.5 yrs £-669
3 kW 2945 kWh 2150 kWh 795 kWh £569 £80 £649 £11,354 17.5 yrs £1,622
4 kW 3927 kWh 2866 kWh 1060 kWh £759 £106 £865 £13,388 15.5 yrs £3,913
5 kW 4908 kWh 3583 kWh 1325 kWh £949 £133 £1,081 £15,423 14.3 yrs £6,203
6 kW 5890 kWh 4300 kWh 1590 kWh £1,139 £159 £1,298 £17,457 13.5 yrs £8,494
7 kW 6871 kWh 5016 kWh 1855 kWh £1,328 £186 £1,514 £19,492 12.9 yrs £10,785
8 kW 7853 kWh 5733 kWh 2120 kWh £1,518 £212 £1,730 £21,526 12.4 yrs £13,075

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: £1,097, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 15.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1963 kWh 1472 kWh 491 kWh £390 £49 £439 £11,069 25.2 yrs £-2,289
3 kW 2945 kWh 2209 kWh 736 kWh £585 £74 £658 £13,104 19.9 yrs £66
4 kW 3927 kWh 2945 kWh 982 kWh £780 £98 £878 £15,138 17.2 yrs £2,422
5 kW 4908 kWh 3681 kWh 1227 kWh £975 £123 £1,097 £17,173 15.6 yrs £4,777
6 kW 5890 kWh 4417 kWh 1472 kWh £1,170 £147 £1,317 £19,207 14.6 yrs £7,132
7 kW 6871 kWh 5154 kWh 1718 kWh £1,365 £172 £1,536 £21,242 13.8 yrs £9,488
8 kW 7853 kWh 5890 kWh 1963 kWh £1,560 £196 £1,756 £23,276 13.3 yrs £11,843

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: £1,114, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 17.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1963 kWh 1512 kWh 452 kWh £400 £45 £445 £13,519 30.3 yrs £-4,610
3 kW 2945 kWh 2268 kWh 677 kWh £600 £68 £668 £15,554 23.3 yrs £-2,190
4 kW 3927 kWh 3023 kWh 903 kWh £801 £90 £891 £17,588 19.7 yrs £230
5 kW 4908 kWh 3779 kWh 1129 kWh £1,001 £113 £1,114 £19,623 17.6 yrs £2,650
6 kW 5890 kWh 4535 kWh 1355 kWh £1,201 £135 £1,336 £21,657 16.2 yrs £5,071
7 kW 6871 kWh 5291 kWh 1580 kWh £1,401 £158 £1,559 £23,692 15.2 yrs £7,491
8 kW 7853 kWh 6047 kWh 1806 kWh £1,601 £181 £1,782 £25,726 14.4 yrs £9,911

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 SN16

Figures below are tailored to SN16 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #544 of 2182
5.5 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~11 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #1184 of 2997
10.9 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,123 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #183 of 2997
14.5% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£163 fixed • ~£1,123 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.48p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
44.62p/day
Local Sunshine
982kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~982 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: 73% • Flats: 11% • Bungalows: 14% Based on 4,327 properties

Coverage

Wiltshire (100%)

Areas Covered

Malmesbury, Sherston, Minety, Brinkworth, Royal Wootton Bassett South & West, By Brook, Purton, Tetbury East & Rural

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 Southern

GL8 (Cotswold)
≈7.5 km away
Local sunshine: ~991 kWh/kWp · +1% vs SN16
SN15 (Wiltshire)
≈13.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~985 kWh/kWp · +0% vs SN16
SN14 (Wiltshire)
≈14.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~985 kWh/kWp · +0% vs SN16
SN4 (Wiltshire)
≈15.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~998 kWh/kWp · +2% vs SN16
GL7 (Cotswold)
≈16.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~982 kWh/kWp · +0% vs SN16
SN11 (Wiltshire)
≈17.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~988 kWh/kWp · +1% vs SN16

Similar sunshine across the UK

PL31 (Cornwall)
~982 kWh/kWp · +0% vs SN16
LN12 (East Lindsey)
~982 kWh/kWp · +0% vs SN16
OX17 (West Northamptonshire)
~981 kWh/kWp · -0% vs SN16