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

Solar Panels in ST9 (Staffordshire Moorlands)

See if solar pays off for you in Staffordshire Moorlands — 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
13.6 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£896
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£10,186
After paying itself off, you're this much ahead

Ready to Get Started?

Get your free quote from Blue Ape Renewables. They'll connect you with MCS-certified installers in your area and handle all the paperwork.

Get Solar Quote →
4.8★ Trustpilot • Octopus Energy trusted partner • MCS certified • No obligation
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 6.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 918 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.6p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.6p/kWh
Standing charge
53.0p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
918 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: £746, Upfront: £10,173, 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 1837 kWh 735 kWh 1102 kWh £188 £110 £299 £4,069 13.6 yrs £1,902
3 kW 2755 kWh 1102 kWh 1653 kWh £283 £165 £448 £6,104 13.6 yrs £2,854
4 kW 3673 kWh 1469 kWh 2204 kWh £377 £220 £597 £8,138 13.6 yrs £3,805
5 kW 4592 kWh 1837 kWh 2755 kWh £471 £276 £746 £10,173 13.6 yrs £4,756
6 kW 5510 kWh 2204 kWh 3306 kWh £565 £331 £896 £12,207 13.6 yrs £5,707
7 kW 6428 kWh 2571 kWh 3857 kWh £659 £386 £1,045 £14,242 13.6 yrs £6,658
8 kW 7347 kWh 2939 kWh 4408 kWh £753 £441 £1,194 £16,276 13.6 yrs £7,610

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: £890, 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 1837 kWh 1102 kWh 735 kWh £283 £73 £356 £6,169 17.3 yrs £951
3 kW 2755 kWh 1653 kWh 1102 kWh £424 £110 £534 £8,204 15.4 yrs £2,477
4 kW 3673 kWh 2204 kWh 1469 kWh £565 £147 £712 £10,238 14.4 yrs £4,003
5 kW 4592 kWh 2755 kWh 1837 kWh £706 £184 £890 £12,273 13.8 yrs £5,529
6 kW 5510 kWh 3306 kWh 2204 kWh £848 £220 £1,068 £14,307 13.4 yrs £7,054
7 kW 6428 kWh 3857 kWh 2571 kWh £989 £257 £1,246 £16,342 13.1 yrs £8,580
8 kW 7347 kWh 4408 kWh 2939 kWh £1,130 £294 £1,424 £18,376 12.9 yrs £10,106

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: £962, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 14.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1837 kWh 1286 kWh 551 kWh £330 £55 £385 £7,569 19.7 yrs £126
3 kW 2755 kWh 1929 kWh 827 kWh £494 £83 £577 £9,604 16.6 yrs £1,939
4 kW 3673 kWh 2571 kWh 1102 kWh £659 £110 £769 £11,638 15.1 yrs £3,752
5 kW 4592 kWh 3214 kWh 1378 kWh £824 £138 £962 £13,673 14.2 yrs £5,565
6 kW 5510 kWh 3857 kWh 1653 kWh £989 £165 £1,154 £15,707 13.6 yrs £7,378
7 kW 6428 kWh 4500 kWh 1929 kWh £1,154 £193 £1,347 £17,742 13.2 yrs £9,191
8 kW 7347 kWh 5143 kWh 2204 kWh £1,319 £220 £1,539 £19,776 12.9 yrs £11,004

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: £983, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 15.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1837 kWh 1341 kWh 496 kWh £344 £50 £393 £9,319 23.7 yrs £-1,452
3 kW 2755 kWh 2011 kWh 744 kWh £516 £74 £590 £11,354 19.2 yrs £447
4 kW 3673 kWh 2682 kWh 992 kWh £688 £99 £787 £13,388 17.0 yrs £2,347
5 kW 4592 kWh 3352 kWh 1240 kWh £859 £124 £983 £15,423 15.7 yrs £4,246
6 kW 5510 kWh 4022 kWh 1488 kWh £1,031 £149 £1,180 £17,457 14.8 yrs £6,145
7 kW 6428 kWh 4693 kWh 1736 kWh £1,203 £174 £1,377 £19,492 14.2 yrs £8,044
8 kW 7347 kWh 5363 kWh 1984 kWh £1,375 £198 £1,573 £21,526 13.7 yrs £9,943

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: £998, Upfront: £17,173, 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 1837 kWh 1378 kWh 459 kWh £353 £46 £399 £11,069 27.7 yrs £-3,087
3 kW 2755 kWh 2066 kWh 689 kWh £530 £69 £599 £13,104 21.9 yrs £-1,130
4 kW 3673 kWh 2755 kWh 918 kWh £706 £92 £798 £15,138 19.0 yrs £826
5 kW 4592 kWh 3444 kWh 1148 kWh £883 £115 £998 £17,173 17.2 yrs £2,783
6 kW 5510 kWh 4133 kWh 1378 kWh £1,060 £138 £1,197 £19,207 16.0 yrs £4,740
7 kW 6428 kWh 4821 kWh 1607 kWh £1,236 £161 £1,397 £21,242 15.2 yrs £6,696
8 kW 7347 kWh 5510 kWh 1837 kWh £1,413 £184 £1,596 £23,276 14.6 yrs £8,653

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: £1,012, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 19.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1837 kWh 1414 kWh 422 kWh £363 £42 £405 £13,519 33.4 yrs £-5,422
3 kW 2755 kWh 2121 kWh 634 kWh £544 £63 £607 £15,554 25.6 yrs £-3,408
4 kW 3673 kWh 2828 kWh 845 kWh £725 £84 £810 £17,588 21.7 yrs £-1,394
5 kW 4592 kWh 3536 kWh 1056 kWh £907 £106 £1,012 £19,623 19.4 yrs £620
6 kW 5510 kWh 4243 kWh 1267 kWh £1,088 £127 £1,215 £21,657 17.8 yrs £2,634
7 kW 6428 kWh 4950 kWh 1479 kWh £1,269 £148 £1,417 £23,692 16.7 yrs £4,648
8 kW 7347 kWh 5657 kWh 1690 kWh £1,450 £169 £1,619 £25,726 15.9 yrs £6,662

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
25.64p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
53.00p/day
Local Sunshine
918kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~918 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: 75% • Flats: 2% • Bungalows: 23% Based on 2,218 properties

Coverage

Staffordshire Moorlands (86%)|Stoke-on-Trent (14%)

Areas Covered

Brown Edge and Endon, Bagnall and Stanley, Cellarhead, Werrington, Cheddleton, Hanley Park, Joiner's Square & Shelton, Horton + 5 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.