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Solar Panels in TD3 (Scottish Borders)

See if solar pays off for you in Scottish Borders — price, savings and payback in under a minute (official UK data).

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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
13.8 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£885
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£9,924
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 Scotland, the current unit rate is 25.84p/kWh with a 56.55p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 903 kWh/kW — 53 above the regional median (850).

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 903 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.8p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.8p/kWh
Standing charge
56.5p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
903 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: £738, Upfront: £10,173, 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 1806 kWh 723 kWh 1084 kWh £187 £108 £295 £4,069 13.8 yrs £1,833
3 kW 2710 kWh 1084 kWh 1626 kWh £280 £163 £443 £6,104 13.8 yrs £2,749
4 kW 3613 kWh 1445 kWh 2168 kWh £373 £217 £590 £8,138 13.8 yrs £3,665
5 kW 4516 kWh 1806 kWh 2710 kWh £467 £271 £738 £10,173 13.8 yrs £4,582
6 kW 5419 kWh 2168 kWh 3251 kWh £560 £325 £885 £12,207 13.8 yrs £5,498
7 kW 6322 kWh 2529 kWh 3793 kWh £653 £379 £1,033 £14,242 13.8 yrs £6,414
8 kW 7225 kWh 2890 kWh 4335 kWh £747 £434 £1,180 £16,276 13.8 yrs £7,331

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: £881, Upfront: £12,273, 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 1806 kWh 1084 kWh 723 kWh £280 £72 £352 £6,169 17.5 yrs £877
3 kW 2710 kWh 1626 kWh 1084 kWh £420 £108 £528 £8,204 15.5 yrs £2,366
4 kW 3613 kWh 2168 kWh 1445 kWh £560 £145 £705 £10,238 14.5 yrs £3,854
5 kW 4516 kWh 2710 kWh 1806 kWh £700 £181 £881 £12,273 13.9 yrs £5,343
6 kW 5419 kWh 3251 kWh 2168 kWh £840 £217 £1,057 £14,307 13.5 yrs £6,831
7 kW 6322 kWh 3793 kWh 2529 kWh £980 £253 £1,233 £16,342 13.3 yrs £8,320
8 kW 7225 kWh 4335 kWh 2890 kWh £1,120 £289 £1,409 £18,376 13.0 yrs £9,809

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: £952, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 14.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1806 kWh 1264 kWh 542 kWh £327 £54 £381 £7,569 19.9 yrs £49
3 kW 2710 kWh 1897 kWh 813 kWh £490 £81 £571 £9,604 16.8 yrs £1,824
4 kW 3613 kWh 2529 kWh 1084 kWh £653 £108 £762 £11,638 15.3 yrs £3,599
5 kW 4516 kWh 3161 kWh 1355 kWh £817 £135 £952 £13,673 14.4 yrs £5,373
6 kW 5419 kWh 3793 kWh 1626 kWh £980 £163 £1,143 £15,707 13.7 yrs £7,148
7 kW 6322 kWh 4426 kWh 1897 kWh £1,144 £190 £1,333 £17,742 13.3 yrs £8,923
8 kW 7225 kWh 5058 kWh 2168 kWh £1,307 £217 £1,524 £19,776 13.0 yrs £10,698

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: £974, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 15.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1806 kWh 1319 kWh 488 kWh £341 £49 £390 £9,319 23.9 yrs £-1,529
3 kW 2710 kWh 1978 kWh 732 kWh £511 £73 £584 £11,354 19.4 yrs £332
4 kW 3613 kWh 2637 kWh 975 kWh £681 £98 £779 £13,388 17.2 yrs £2,192
5 kW 4516 kWh 3297 kWh 1219 kWh £852 £122 £974 £15,423 15.8 yrs £4,053
6 kW 5419 kWh 3956 kWh 1463 kWh £1,022 £146 £1,169 £17,457 14.9 yrs £5,913
7 kW 6322 kWh 4615 kWh 1707 kWh £1,193 £171 £1,363 £19,492 14.3 yrs £7,774
8 kW 7225 kWh 5275 kWh 1951 kWh £1,363 £195 £1,558 £21,526 13.8 yrs £9,634

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: £988, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 17.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1806 kWh 1355 kWh 452 kWh £350 £45 £395 £11,069 28.0 yrs £-3,164
3 kW 2710 kWh 2032 kWh 677 kWh £525 £68 £593 £13,104 22.1 yrs £-1,247
4 kW 3613 kWh 2710 kWh 903 kWh £700 £90 £790 £15,138 19.2 yrs £671
5 kW 4516 kWh 3387 kWh 1129 kWh £875 £113 £988 £17,173 17.4 yrs £2,589
6 kW 5419 kWh 4064 kWh 1355 kWh £1,050 £135 £1,186 £19,207 16.2 yrs £4,507
7 kW 6322 kWh 4742 kWh 1581 kWh £1,225 £158 £1,383 £21,242 15.4 yrs £6,424
8 kW 7225 kWh 5419 kWh 1806 kWh £1,400 £181 £1,581 £23,276 14.7 yrs £8,342

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: £1,002, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 19.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1806 kWh 1391 kWh 415 kWh £359 £42 £401 £13,519 33.7 yrs £-5,500
3 kW 2710 kWh 2086 kWh 623 kWh £539 £62 £601 £15,554 25.9 yrs £-3,525
4 kW 3613 kWh 2782 kWh 831 kWh £719 £83 £802 £17,588 21.9 yrs £-1,550
5 kW 4516 kWh 3477 kWh 1039 kWh £899 £104 £1,002 £19,623 19.6 yrs £425
6 kW 5419 kWh 4173 kWh 1246 kWh £1,078 £125 £1,203 £21,657 18.0 yrs £2,400
7 kW 6322 kWh 4868 kWh 1454 kWh £1,258 £145 £1,403 £23,692 16.9 yrs £4,375
8 kW 7225 kWh 5564 kWh 1662 kWh £1,438 £166 £1,604 £25,726 16.0 yrs £6,350

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 TD3

Figures below are tailored to TD3 — click through for full league tables.

Solar Payback Index Rank #2361 of 2997
12.0 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,014 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1489 of 2997
20.4% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£206 fixed • ~£1,014 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.84p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
56.55p/day
Local Sunshine
903kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~903 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

No EPC data available for this outcode

Coverage

Scottish Borders (100%)

Areas Covered

Mid Berwickshire, Leaderdale and Melrose

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 Scotland

TD10 (Scottish Borders)
≈7.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~913 kWh/kWp · +1% vs TD3
TD4 (Scottish Borders)
≈8.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~883 kWh/kWp · -2% vs TD3
TD2 (Scottish Borders)
≈12.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~892 kWh/kWp · -1% vs TD3
TD5 (Scottish Borders)
≈12.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~874 kWh/kWp · -3% vs TD3
TD6 (Scottish Borders)
≈14.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~897 kWh/kWp · -1% vs TD3
TD1 (Scottish Borders)
≈17.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~884 kWh/kWp · -2% vs TD3

Similar sunshine across the UK

HD3 (Kirklees)
~903 kWh/kWp · -0% vs TD3
WA3 (Warrington)
~903 kWh/kWp · -0% vs TD3
CW4 (Cheshire East)
~903 kWh/kWp · -0% vs TD3