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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in SY20 (Powys)

See if solar pays off for you in Powys — 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
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£837
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£8,727
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 North Wales and Mersey, the current unit rate is 27.72p/kWh with a 69.95p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 817 kWh/kW — 113 below the regional median (930).

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 817 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 27.7p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
27.7p/kWh
Standing charge
70.0p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
817 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: £698, 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 1633 kWh 653 kWh 980 kWh £181 £98 £279 £4,069 14.6 yrs £1,513
3 kW 2450 kWh 980 kWh 1470 kWh £272 £147 £419 £6,104 14.6 yrs £2,270
4 kW 3267 kWh 1307 kWh 1960 kWh £362 £196 £558 £8,138 14.6 yrs £3,027
5 kW 4084 kWh 1633 kWh 2450 kWh £453 £245 £698 £10,173 14.6 yrs £3,784
6 kW 4900 kWh 1960 kWh 2940 kWh £543 £294 £837 £12,207 14.6 yrs £4,540
7 kW 5717 kWh 2287 kWh 3430 kWh £634 £343 £977 £14,242 14.6 yrs £5,297
8 kW 6534 kWh 2614 kWh 3920 kWh £724 £392 £1,116 £16,276 14.6 yrs £6,054

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: £843, 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 1633 kWh 980 kWh 653 kWh £272 £65 £337 £6,169 18.3 yrs £571
3 kW 2450 kWh 1470 kWh 980 kWh £408 £98 £506 £8,204 16.2 yrs £1,907
4 kW 3267 kWh 1960 kWh 1307 kWh £543 £131 £674 £10,238 15.2 yrs £3,242
5 kW 4084 kWh 2450 kWh 1633 kWh £679 £163 £843 £12,273 14.6 yrs £4,578
6 kW 4900 kWh 2940 kWh 1960 kWh £815 £196 £1,011 £14,307 14.2 yrs £5,914
7 kW 5717 kWh 3430 kWh 2287 kWh £951 £229 £1,180 £16,342 13.9 yrs £7,249
8 kW 6534 kWh 3920 kWh 2614 kWh £1,087 £261 £1,348 £18,376 13.6 yrs £8,585

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: £915, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 14.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1633 kWh 1143 kWh 490 kWh £317 £49 £366 £7,569 20.7 yrs £-250
3 kW 2450 kWh 1715 kWh 735 kWh £475 £74 £549 £9,604 17.5 yrs £1,375
4 kW 3267 kWh 2287 kWh 980 kWh £634 £98 £732 £11,638 15.9 yrs £3,000
5 kW 4084 kWh 2859 kWh 1225 kWh £792 £123 £915 £13,673 14.9 yrs £4,625
6 kW 4900 kWh 3430 kWh 1470 kWh £951 £147 £1,098 £15,707 14.3 yrs £6,250
7 kW 5717 kWh 4002 kWh 1715 kWh £1,109 £172 £1,281 £17,742 13.9 yrs £7,875
8 kW 6534 kWh 4574 kWh 1960 kWh £1,268 £196 £1,464 £19,776 13.5 yrs £9,500

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: £937, 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 1633 kWh 1192 kWh 441 kWh £331 £44 £375 £9,319 24.9 yrs £-1,826
3 kW 2450 kWh 1789 kWh 662 kWh £496 £66 £562 £11,354 20.2 yrs £-114
4 kW 3267 kWh 2385 kWh 882 kWh £661 £88 £749 £13,388 17.9 yrs £1,598
5 kW 4084 kWh 2981 kWh 1103 kWh £826 £110 £937 £15,423 16.5 yrs £3,309
6 kW 4900 kWh 3577 kWh 1323 kWh £992 £132 £1,124 £17,457 15.5 yrs £5,021
7 kW 5717 kWh 4173 kWh 1544 kWh £1,157 £154 £1,311 £19,492 14.9 yrs £6,733
8 kW 6534 kWh 4770 kWh 1764 kWh £1,322 £176 £1,499 £21,526 14.4 yrs £8,445

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: £951, 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 1633 kWh 1225 kWh 408 kWh £340 £41 £380 £11,069 29.1 yrs £-3,460
3 kW 2450 kWh 1838 kWh 613 kWh £509 £61 £571 £13,104 23.0 yrs £-1,691
4 kW 3267 kWh 2450 kWh 817 kWh £679 £82 £761 £15,138 19.9 yrs £79
5 kW 4084 kWh 3063 kWh 1021 kWh £849 £102 £951 £17,173 18.1 yrs £1,849
6 kW 4900 kWh 3675 kWh 1225 kWh £1,019 £123 £1,141 £19,207 16.8 yrs £3,619
7 kW 5717 kWh 4288 kWh 1429 kWh £1,189 £143 £1,331 £21,242 16.0 yrs £5,388
8 kW 6534 kWh 4900 kWh 1633 kWh £1,358 £163 £1,522 £23,276 15.3 yrs £7,158

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: £966, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 20.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1633 kWh 1258 kWh 376 kWh £349 £38 £386 £13,519 35.0 yrs £-5,795
3 kW 2450 kWh 1887 kWh 564 kWh £523 £56 £579 £15,554 26.8 yrs £-3,967
4 kW 3267 kWh 2515 kWh 751 kWh £697 £75 £772 £17,588 22.8 yrs £-2,139
5 kW 4084 kWh 3144 kWh 939 kWh £872 £94 £966 £19,623 20.3 yrs £-312
6 kW 4900 kWh 3773 kWh 1127 kWh £1,046 £113 £1,159 £21,657 18.7 yrs £1,516
7 kW 5717 kWh 4402 kWh 1315 kWh £1,220 £131 £1,352 £23,692 17.5 yrs £3,344
8 kW 6534 kWh 5031 kWh 1503 kWh £1,395 £150 £1,545 £25,726 16.7 yrs £5,171

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 SY20

Figures below are tailored to SY20 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #586 of 2182
5.5 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~12 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #2696 of 2997
12.6 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£968 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2396 of 2997
26.4% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£255 fixed • ~£968 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.72p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
69.95p/day
Local Sunshine
817kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~817 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: 76% • Flats: 9% • Bungalows: 14% Based on 1,866 properties

Coverage

Powys (62%)|Gwynedd (30%)|Ceredigion (8%)

Areas Covered

Machynlleth, Glantwymyn, Corris a Mawddwy, Ceulan a Maesmawr, Aberdyfi, Llanbrynmair

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 North Wales and Mersey

SY19 (Powys)
≈13.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~892 kWh/kWp · +9% vs SY20
LL35 (Gwynedd)
≈14.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~877 kWh/kWp · +7% vs SY20
LL36 (Gwynedd)
≈16.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~940 kWh/kWp · +15% vs SY20
LL40 (Gwynedd)
≈17.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~805 kWh/kWp · -1% vs SY20
LL39 (Gwynedd)
≈17.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~825 kWh/kWp · +1% vs SY20
SY24 (Ceredigion)
≈17.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~880 kWh/kWp · +8% vs SY20

Similar sunshine across the UK

G67 (North Lanarkshire)
~817 kWh/kWp · +0% vs SY20
G70 (North Lanarkshire)
~817 kWh/kWp · +0% vs SY20
LA10 (Westmorland and Furness)
~816 kWh/kWp · -0% vs SY20