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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in TQ5 (Torbay)

See if solar pays off for you in Torbay — 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
11.3 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£1,079
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£14,775
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 Western, the current unit rate is 26.82p/kWh with a 54.03p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 1075 kWh/kW — 62 above the regional median (1013).

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 1075 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 26.8p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
26.8p/kWh
Standing charge
54.0p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
1075 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: £899, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 11.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2151 kWh 860 kWh 1290 kWh £231 £129 £360 £4,069 11.3 yrs £3,126
3 kW 3226 kWh 1290 kWh 1936 kWh £346 £194 £540 £6,104 11.3 yrs £4,689
4 kW 4301 kWh 1721 kWh 2581 kWh £461 £258 £720 £8,138 11.3 yrs £6,252
5 kW 5377 kWh 2151 kWh 3226 kWh £577 £323 £899 £10,173 11.3 yrs £7,816
6 kW 6452 kWh 2581 kWh 3871 kWh £692 £387 £1,079 £12,207 11.3 yrs £9,379
7 kW 7527 kWh 3011 kWh 4516 kWh £808 £452 £1,259 £14,242 11.3 yrs £10,942
8 kW 8603 kWh 3441 kWh 5162 kWh £923 £516 £1,439 £16,276 11.3 yrs £12,505

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: £1,080, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 11.4 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2151 kWh 1290 kWh 860 kWh £346 £86 £432 £6,169 14.3 yrs £2,473
3 kW 3226 kWh 1936 kWh 1290 kWh £519 £129 £648 £8,204 12.7 yrs £4,760
4 kW 4301 kWh 2581 kWh 1721 kWh £692 £172 £864 £10,238 11.8 yrs £7,046
5 kW 5377 kWh 3226 kWh 2151 kWh £865 £215 £1,080 £12,273 11.4 yrs £9,333
6 kW 6452 kWh 3871 kWh 2581 kWh £1,038 £258 £1,296 £14,307 11.0 yrs £11,620
7 kW 7527 kWh 4516 kWh 3011 kWh £1,211 £301 £1,512 £16,342 10.8 yrs £13,906
8 kW 8603 kWh 5162 kWh 3441 kWh £1,384 £344 £1,728 £18,376 10.6 yrs £16,193

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: £1,171, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 11.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2151 kWh 1505 kWh 645 kWh £404 £65 £468 £7,569 16.2 yrs £1,797
3 kW 3226 kWh 2258 kWh 968 kWh £606 £97 £702 £9,604 13.7 yrs £4,445
4 kW 4301 kWh 3011 kWh 1290 kWh £808 £129 £937 £11,638 12.4 yrs £7,093
5 kW 5377 kWh 3764 kWh 1613 kWh £1,009 £161 £1,171 £13,673 11.7 yrs £9,742
6 kW 6452 kWh 4516 kWh 1936 kWh £1,211 £194 £1,405 £15,707 11.2 yrs £12,390
7 kW 7527 kWh 5269 kWh 2258 kWh £1,413 £226 £1,639 £17,742 10.8 yrs £15,038
8 kW 8603 kWh 6022 kWh 2581 kWh £1,615 £258 £1,873 £19,776 10.6 yrs £17,687

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: £1,198, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 12.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2151 kWh 1570 kWh 581 kWh £421 £58 £479 £9,319 19.4 yrs £264
3 kW 3226 kWh 2355 kWh 871 kWh £632 £87 £719 £11,354 15.8 yrs £3,021
4 kW 4301 kWh 3140 kWh 1161 kWh £842 £116 £958 £13,388 14.0 yrs £5,777
5 kW 5377 kWh 3925 kWh 1452 kWh £1,053 £145 £1,198 £15,423 12.9 yrs £8,534
6 kW 6452 kWh 4710 kWh 1742 kWh £1,263 £174 £1,437 £17,457 12.1 yrs £11,291
7 kW 7527 kWh 5495 kWh 2032 kWh £1,474 £203 £1,677 £19,492 11.6 yrs £14,048
8 kW 8603 kWh 6280 kWh 2323 kWh £1,684 £232 £1,917 £21,526 11.2 yrs £16,805

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: £1,216, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 14.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2151 kWh 1613 kWh 538 kWh £433 £54 £486 £11,069 22.8 yrs £-1,342
3 kW 3226 kWh 2419 kWh 806 kWh £649 £81 £730 £13,104 18.0 yrs £1,488
4 kW 4301 kWh 3226 kWh 1075 kWh £865 £108 £973 £15,138 15.6 yrs £4,317
5 kW 5377 kWh 4032 kWh 1344 kWh £1,082 £134 £1,216 £17,173 14.1 yrs £7,146
6 kW 6452 kWh 4839 kWh 1613 kWh £1,298 £161 £1,459 £19,207 13.2 yrs £9,975
7 kW 7527 kWh 5645 kWh 1882 kWh £1,514 £188 £1,702 £21,242 12.5 yrs £12,804
8 kW 8603 kWh 6452 kWh 2151 kWh £1,730 £215 £1,945 £23,276 12.0 yrs £15,634

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: £1,234, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 15.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 2151 kWh 1656 kWh 495 kWh £444 £49 £494 £13,519 27.4 yrs £-3,647
3 kW 3226 kWh 2484 kWh 742 kWh £666 £74 £740 £15,554 21.0 yrs £-745
4 kW 4301 kWh 3312 kWh 989 kWh £888 £99 £987 £17,588 17.8 yrs £2,156
5 kW 5377 kWh 4140 kWh 1237 kWh £1,110 £124 £1,234 £19,623 15.9 yrs £5,058
6 kW 6452 kWh 4968 kWh 1484 kWh £1,332 £148 £1,481 £21,657 14.6 yrs £7,959
7 kW 7527 kWh 5796 kWh 1731 kWh £1,554 £173 £1,728 £23,692 13.7 yrs £10,861
8 kW 8603 kWh 6624 kWh 1979 kWh £1,777 £198 £1,974 £25,726 13.0 yrs £13,762

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 TQ5

Figures below are tailored to TQ5 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #557 of 2182
5.5 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~11 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #141 of 2997
9.8 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,242 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #545 of 2997
15.9% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£197 fixed • ~£1,242 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
26.82p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
54.03p/day
Local Sunshine
1075kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~1075 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: 49% • Flats: 22% • Bungalows: 26% Based on 5,620 properties

Coverage

Torbay (97%)|South Hams (3%)

Areas Covered

Furzeham with Summercombe, St Peter's with St Mary's, Churston with Galmpton, Dartmouth & East Dart

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 Western

TQ4 (Torbay)
≈5.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,058 kWh/kWp · -2% vs TQ5
TQ3 (Torbay)
≈6.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,044 kWh/kWp · -3% vs TQ5
TQ6 (South Hams)
≈6.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,062 kWh/kWp · -1% vs TQ5
TQ1 (Torbay)
≈8.9 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,016 kWh/kWp · -6% vs TQ5
TQ2 (Torbay)
≈9.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,043 kWh/kWp · -3% vs TQ5
TQ9 (South Hams)
≈12.7 km away
Local sunshine: ~1,058 kWh/kWp · -2% vs TQ5

Similar sunshine across the UK

BH10 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)
~1,075 kWh/kWp · -0% vs TQ5
BH14 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole)
~1,075 kWh/kWp · -0% vs TQ5
SO31 (Fareham)
~1,076 kWh/kWp · +0% vs TQ5