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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in TN2 (Tunbridge Wells)

See if solar pays off for you in Tunbridge Wells — 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
11.8 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£863
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£11,395
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 South East, the current unit rate is 26.92p/kWh with a 47.60p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 1029 kWh/kW — 0 above the regional median (1029).

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 5.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 1029 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 26.9p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
26.9p/kWh
Standing charge
47.6p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
1029 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: £863, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 11.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2058 kWh 823 kWh 1235 kWh £222 £123 £345 £4,069 11.8 yrs £2,833
3 kW 3087 kWh 1235 kWh 1852 kWh £332 £185 £518 £6,104 11.8 yrs £4,249
4 kW 4116 kWh 1646 kWh 2470 kWh £443 £247 £690 £8,138 11.8 yrs £5,665
5 kW 5145 kWh 2058 kWh 3087 kWh £554 £309 £863 £10,173 11.8 yrs £7,082
6 kW 6174 kWh 2470 kWh 3704 kWh £665 £370 £1,035 £12,207 11.8 yrs £8,498
7 kW 7203 kWh 2881 kWh 4322 kWh £776 £432 £1,208 £14,242 11.8 yrs £9,914
8 kW 8232 kWh 3293 kWh 4939 kWh £886 £494 £1,380 £16,276 11.8 yrs £11,330

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: £1,037, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 11.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2058 kWh 1235 kWh 823 kWh £332 £82 £415 £6,169 14.9 yrs £2,125
3 kW 3087 kWh 1852 kWh 1235 kWh £499 £123 £622 £8,204 13.2 yrs £4,238
4 kW 4116 kWh 2470 kWh 1646 kWh £665 £165 £829 £10,238 12.3 yrs £6,351
5 kW 5145 kWh 3087 kWh 2058 kWh £831 £206 £1,037 £12,273 11.8 yrs £8,464
6 kW 6174 kWh 3704 kWh 2470 kWh £997 £247 £1,244 £14,307 11.5 yrs £10,576
7 kW 7203 kWh 4322 kWh 2881 kWh £1,163 £288 £1,452 £16,342 11.3 yrs £12,689
8 kW 8232 kWh 4939 kWh 3293 kWh £1,330 £329 £1,659 £18,376 11.1 yrs £14,802

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: £1,124, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 12.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2058 kWh 1441 kWh 617 kWh £388 £62 £450 £7,569 16.8 yrs £1,422
3 kW 3087 kWh 2161 kWh 926 kWh £582 £93 £674 £9,604 14.2 yrs £3,883
4 kW 4116 kWh 2881 kWh 1235 kWh £776 £123 £899 £11,638 12.9 yrs £6,344
5 kW 5145 kWh 3601 kWh 1543 kWh £970 £154 £1,124 £13,673 12.2 yrs £8,805
6 kW 6174 kWh 4322 kWh 1852 kWh £1,163 £185 £1,349 £15,707 11.6 yrs £11,266
7 kW 7203 kWh 5042 kWh 2161 kWh £1,357 £216 £1,573 £17,742 11.3 yrs £13,727
8 kW 8232 kWh 5762 kWh 2470 kWh £1,551 £247 £1,798 £19,776 11.0 yrs £16,188

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: £1,150, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 13.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2058 kWh 1502 kWh 556 kWh £404 £56 £460 £9,319 20.3 yrs £-119
3 kW 3087 kWh 2253 kWh 833 kWh £607 £83 £690 £11,354 16.5 yrs £2,446
4 kW 4116 kWh 3005 kWh 1111 kWh £809 £111 £920 £13,388 14.6 yrs £5,012
5 kW 5145 kWh 3756 kWh 1389 kWh £1,011 £139 £1,150 £15,423 13.4 yrs £7,577
6 kW 6174 kWh 4507 kWh 1667 kWh £1,213 £167 £1,380 £17,457 12.7 yrs £10,142
7 kW 7203 kWh 5258 kWh 1945 kWh £1,415 £194 £1,610 £19,492 12.1 yrs £12,708
8 kW 8232 kWh 6009 kWh 2223 kWh £1,618 £222 £1,840 £21,526 11.7 yrs £15,273

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: £1,167, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 14.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2058 kWh 1543 kWh 514 kWh £416 £51 £467 £11,069 23.7 yrs £-1,730
3 kW 3087 kWh 2315 kWh 772 kWh £623 £77 £700 £13,104 18.7 yrs £905
4 kW 4116 kWh 3087 kWh 1029 kWh £831 £103 £934 £15,138 16.2 yrs £3,540
5 kW 5145 kWh 3859 kWh 1286 kWh £1,039 £129 £1,167 £17,173 14.7 yrs £6,175
6 kW 6174 kWh 4630 kWh 1543 kWh £1,247 £154 £1,401 £19,207 13.7 yrs £8,810
7 kW 7203 kWh 5402 kWh 1801 kWh £1,454 £180 £1,634 £21,242 13.0 yrs £11,445
8 kW 8232 kWh 6174 kWh 2058 kWh £1,662 £206 £1,868 £23,276 12.5 yrs £14,080

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: £1,185, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 16.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2058 kWh 1585 kWh 473 kWh £427 £47 £474 £13,519 28.5 yrs £-4,041
3 kW 3087 kWh 2377 kWh 710 kWh £640 £71 £711 £15,554 21.9 yrs £-1,336
4 kW 4116 kWh 3169 kWh 947 kWh £853 £95 £948 £17,588 18.6 yrs £1,369
5 kW 5145 kWh 3962 kWh 1183 kWh £1,066 £118 £1,185 £19,623 16.6 yrs £4,073
6 kW 6174 kWh 4754 kWh 1420 kWh £1,280 £142 £1,422 £21,657 15.2 yrs £6,778
7 kW 7203 kWh 5546 kWh 1657 kWh £1,493 £166 £1,659 £23,692 14.3 yrs £9,483
8 kW 8232 kWh 6339 kWh 1893 kWh £1,706 £189 £1,896 £25,726 13.6 yrs £12,188

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 TN2

Figures below are tailored to TN2 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1333 of 2182
4.8 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~10 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #297 of 2997
10.2 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£993 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #874 of 2997
17.5% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£174 fixed • ~£993 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.92p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
47.60p/day
Local Sunshine
1029kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~1029 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
5.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

Local Property Data

Property Types

Houses: 58% • Flats: 35% • Bungalows: 4% Based on 8,505 properties

Coverage

Tunbridge Wells (90%)|Wealden (9%)|Tonbridge and Malling (1%)

Areas Covered

Sherwood, Pantiles, Park, Pembury & Capel, Uckfield New Town, St James', High Brooms, Cage Green & Angel + 2 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.

Compare nearby areas

Nearby in South East

TN1 (Tunbridge Wells)
≈1.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,029 kWh/kWp · -0% vs TN2
TN4 (Tunbridge Wells)
≈1.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,028 kWh/kWp · -0% vs TN2
TN3 (Tunbridge Wells)
≈4.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,023 kWh/kWp · -1% vs TN2
TN9 (Tonbridge and Malling)
≈5.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,028 kWh/kWp · -0% vs TN2
TN11 (Tonbridge and Malling)
≈7.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,042 kWh/kWp · +1% vs TN2
TN10 (Tonbridge and Malling)
≈7.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,034 kWh/kWp · +0% vs TN2

Similar sunshine across the UK

BS22 (North Somerset)
~1,029 kWh/kWp · +0% vs TN2
DT10 (Dorset)
~1,029 kWh/kWp · +0% vs TN2
TQ11 (Teignbridge)
~1,029 kWh/kWp · -0% vs TN2