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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in TD5 (Scottish Borders)

See if solar pays off for you in Scottish Borders — 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
14.3 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£856
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£9,202
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 874 kWh/kW — 24 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 874 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)
874 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: £714, Upfront: £10,173, 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 1747 kWh 699 kWh 1048 kWh £181 £105 £285 £4,069 14.3 yrs £1,640
3 kW 2621 kWh 1048 kWh 1573 kWh £271 £157 £428 £6,104 14.3 yrs £2,460
4 kW 3495 kWh 1398 kWh 2097 kWh £361 £210 £571 £8,138 14.3 yrs £3,280
5 kW 4369 kWh 1747 kWh 2621 kWh £452 £262 £714 £10,173 14.3 yrs £4,100
6 kW 5242 kWh 2097 kWh 3145 kWh £542 £315 £856 £12,207 14.3 yrs £4,920
7 kW 6116 kWh 2446 kWh 3670 kWh £632 £367 £999 £14,242 14.3 yrs £5,741
8 kW 6990 kWh 2796 kWh 4194 kWh £722 £419 £1,142 £16,276 14.3 yrs £6,561

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: £852, Upfront: £12,273, 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 1747 kWh 1048 kWh 699 kWh £271 £70 £341 £6,169 18.1 yrs £647
3 kW 2621 kWh 1573 kWh 1048 kWh £406 £105 £511 £8,204 16.0 yrs £2,021
4 kW 3495 kWh 2097 kWh 1398 kWh £542 £140 £682 £10,238 15.0 yrs £3,395
5 kW 4369 kWh 2621 kWh 1747 kWh £677 £175 £852 £12,273 14.4 yrs £4,768
6 kW 5242 kWh 3145 kWh 2097 kWh £813 £210 £1,022 £14,307 14.0 yrs £6,142
7 kW 6116 kWh 3670 kWh 2446 kWh £948 £245 £1,193 £16,342 13.7 yrs £7,516
8 kW 6990 kWh 4194 kWh 2796 kWh £1,084 £280 £1,363 £18,376 13.5 yrs £8,889

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: £921, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 14.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1747 kWh 1223 kWh 524 kWh £316 £52 £368 £7,569 20.5 yrs £-199
3 kW 2621 kWh 1835 kWh 786 kWh £474 £79 £553 £9,604 17.4 yrs £1,451
4 kW 3495 kWh 2446 kWh 1048 kWh £632 £105 £737 £11,638 15.8 yrs £3,102
5 kW 4369 kWh 3058 kWh 1311 kWh £790 £131 £921 £13,673 14.8 yrs £4,752
6 kW 5242 kWh 3670 kWh 1573 kWh £948 £157 £1,105 £15,707 14.2 yrs £6,403
7 kW 6116 kWh 4281 kWh 1835 kWh £1,106 £183 £1,290 £17,742 13.8 yrs £8,053
8 kW 6990 kWh 4893 kWh 2097 kWh £1,264 £210 £1,474 £19,776 13.4 yrs £9,704

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: £942, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 16.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1747 kWh 1276 kWh 472 kWh £330 £47 £377 £9,319 24.7 yrs £-1,783
3 kW 2621 kWh 1913 kWh 708 kWh £494 £71 £565 £11,354 20.1 yrs £-50
4 kW 3495 kWh 2551 kWh 944 kWh £659 £94 £754 £13,388 17.8 yrs £1,684
5 kW 4369 kWh 3189 kWh 1180 kWh £824 £118 £942 £15,423 16.4 yrs £3,417
6 kW 5242 kWh 3827 kWh 1415 kWh £989 £142 £1,130 £17,457 15.4 yrs £5,151
7 kW 6116 kWh 4465 kWh 1651 kWh £1,154 £165 £1,319 £19,492 14.8 yrs £6,884
8 kW 6990 kWh 5102 kWh 1887 kWh £1,318 £189 £1,507 £21,526 14.3 yrs £8,618

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: £956, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 18.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1747 kWh 1311 kWh 437 kWh £339 £44 £382 £11,069 29.0 yrs £-3,422
3 kW 2621 kWh 1966 kWh 655 kWh £508 £66 £574 £13,104 22.8 yrs £-1,633
4 kW 3495 kWh 2621 kWh 874 kWh £677 £87 £765 £15,138 19.8 yrs £155
5 kW 4369 kWh 3276 kWh 1092 kWh £847 £109 £956 £17,173 18.0 yrs £1,944
6 kW 5242 kWh 3932 kWh 1311 kWh £1,016 £131 £1,147 £19,207 16.7 yrs £3,733
7 kW 6116 kWh 4587 kWh 1529 kWh £1,185 £153 £1,338 £21,242 15.9 yrs £5,522
8 kW 6990 kWh 5242 kWh 1747 kWh £1,355 £175 £1,529 £23,276 15.2 yrs £7,311

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: £970, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 20.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1747 kWh 1346 kWh 402 kWh £348 £40 £388 £13,519 34.9 yrs £-5,762
3 kW 2621 kWh 2018 kWh 603 kWh £522 £60 £582 £15,554 26.7 yrs £-3,917
4 kW 3495 kWh 2691 kWh 804 kWh £695 £80 £776 £17,588 22.7 yrs £-2,073
5 kW 4369 kWh 3364 kWh 1005 kWh £869 £100 £970 £19,623 20.2 yrs £-229
6 kW 5242 kWh 4037 kWh 1206 kWh £1,043 £121 £1,164 £21,657 18.6 yrs £1,615
7 kW 6116 kWh 4709 kWh 1407 kWh £1,217 £141 £1,358 £23,692 17.5 yrs £3,459
8 kW 6990 kWh 5382 kWh 1608 kWh £1,391 £161 £1,551 £25,726 16.6 yrs £5,304

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 TD5

Figures below are tailored to TD5 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #81 of 2182
6.7 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~14 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #2629 of 2997
12.4 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£981 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1603 of 2997
21.0% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£206 fixed • ~£981 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.84p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
56.55p/day
Local Sunshine
874kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~874 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: 67% • Flats: 0% • Bungalows: 33% Based on 12 properties

Coverage

Scottish Borders (100%)

Areas Covered

Kelso and District, Jedburgh and District, Mid Berwickshire, Leaderdale and Melrose, Wooler

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)
≈12.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~913 kWh/kWp · +5% vs TD5
TD12 (Scottish Borders)
≈12.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~921 kWh/kWp · +5% vs TD5
TD3 (Scottish Borders)
≈12.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~903 kWh/kWp · +3% vs TD5
TD8 (Scottish Borders)
≈15.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~876 kWh/kWp · +0% vs TD5
TD4 (Scottish Borders)
≈15.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~883 kWh/kWp · +1% vs TD5
TD6 (Scottish Borders)
≈17.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~897 kWh/kWp · +3% vs TD5

Similar sunshine across the UK

AB12 (Aberdeen City)
~874 kWh/kWp · +0% vs TD5
AB51 (Aberdeenshire)
~873 kWh/kWp · -0% vs TD5
AB5 (Aberdeenshire)
~873 kWh/kWp · -0% vs TD5