Solar explained to clever people by people who are not trying to be clever

Solar Panels in TS12 (Redcar and Cleveland)

See if solar pays off for you in Redcar and Cleveland — 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
13.5 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£754
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£8,687
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

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 933 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 25.4p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
25.4p/kWh
Standing charge
59.9p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
933 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: £754, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 13.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1866 kWh 746 kWh 1120 kWh £190 £112 £302 £4,069 13.5 yrs £1,966
3 kW 2799 kWh 1120 kWh 1679 kWh £285 £168 £453 £6,104 13.5 yrs £2,949
4 kW 3732 kWh 1493 kWh 2239 kWh £380 £224 £604 £8,138 13.5 yrs £3,932
5 kW 4665 kWh 1866 kWh 2799 kWh £474 £280 £754 £10,173 13.5 yrs £4,915
6 kW 5598 kWh 2239 kWh 3359 kWh £569 £336 £905 £12,207 13.5 yrs £5,898
7 kW 6531 kWh 2612 kWh 3918 kWh £664 £392 £1,056 £14,242 13.5 yrs £6,881
8 kW 7464 kWh 2985 kWh 4478 kWh £759 £448 £1,207 £16,276 13.5 yrs £7,864

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: £898, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 13.7 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1866 kWh 1120 kWh 746 kWh £285 £75 £359 £6,169 17.2 yrs £1,018
3 kW 2799 kWh 1679 kWh 1120 kWh £427 £112 £539 £8,204 15.2 yrs £2,577
4 kW 3732 kWh 2239 kWh 1493 kWh £569 £149 £719 £10,238 14.2 yrs £4,135
5 kW 4665 kWh 2799 kWh 1866 kWh £712 £187 £898 £12,273 13.7 yrs £5,694
6 kW 5598 kWh 3359 kWh 2239 kWh £854 £224 £1,078 £14,307 13.3 yrs £7,253
7 kW 6531 kWh 3918 kWh 2612 kWh £996 £261 £1,258 £16,342 13.0 yrs £8,812
8 kW 7464 kWh 4478 kWh 2985 kWh £1,139 £299 £1,437 £18,376 12.8 yrs £10,371

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: £970, Upfront: £13,673, 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 1866 kWh 1306 kWh 560 kWh £332 £56 £388 £7,569 19.5 yrs £193
3 kW 2799 kWh 1959 kWh 840 kWh £498 £84 £582 £9,604 16.5 yrs £2,040
4 kW 3732 kWh 2612 kWh 1120 kWh £664 £112 £776 £11,638 15.0 yrs £3,887
5 kW 4665 kWh 3265 kWh 1399 kWh £830 £140 £970 £13,673 14.1 yrs £5,734
6 kW 5598 kWh 3918 kWh 1679 kWh £996 £168 £1,164 £15,707 13.5 yrs £7,580
7 kW 6531 kWh 4571 kWh 1959 kWh £1,163 £196 £1,358 £17,742 13.1 yrs £9,427
8 kW 7464 kWh 5225 kWh 2239 kWh £1,329 £224 £1,553 £19,776 12.7 yrs £11,274

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: £992, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 15.5 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1866 kWh 1362 kWh 504 kWh £346 £50 £397 £9,319 23.5 yrs £-1,384
3 kW 2799 kWh 2043 kWh 756 kWh £520 £76 £595 £11,354 19.1 yrs £549
4 kW 3732 kWh 2724 kWh 1008 kWh £693 £101 £794 £13,388 16.9 yrs £2,482
5 kW 4665 kWh 3405 kWh 1259 kWh £866 £126 £992 £15,423 15.5 yrs £4,416
6 kW 5598 kWh 4086 kWh 1511 kWh £1,039 £151 £1,190 £17,457 14.7 yrs £6,349
7 kW 6531 kWh 4767 kWh 1763 kWh £1,212 £176 £1,389 £19,492 14.0 yrs £8,282
8 kW 7464 kWh 5448 kWh 2015 kWh £1,386 £202 £1,587 £21,526 13.6 yrs £10,215

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: £1,006, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 17.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1866 kWh 1399 kWh 466 kWh £356 £47 £403 £11,069 27.5 yrs £-3,019
3 kW 2799 kWh 2099 kWh 700 kWh £534 £70 £604 £13,104 21.7 yrs £-1,028
4 kW 3732 kWh 2799 kWh 933 kWh £712 £93 £805 £15,138 18.8 yrs £963
5 kW 4665 kWh 3499 kWh 1166 kWh £890 £117 £1,006 £17,173 17.1 yrs £2,954
6 kW 5598 kWh 4198 kWh 1399 kWh £1,068 £140 £1,208 £19,207 15.9 yrs £4,944
7 kW 6531 kWh 4898 kWh 1633 kWh £1,246 £163 £1,409 £21,242 15.1 yrs £6,935
8 kW 7464 kWh 5598 kWh 1866 kWh £1,423 £187 £1,610 £23,276 14.5 yrs £8,926

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: £1,021, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 19.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1866 kWh 1437 kWh 429 kWh £365 £43 £408 £13,519 33.1 yrs £-5,353
3 kW 2799 kWh 2155 kWh 644 kWh £548 £64 £612 £15,554 25.4 yrs £-3,305
4 kW 3732 kWh 2873 kWh 858 kWh £731 £86 £817 £17,588 21.5 yrs £-1,257
5 kW 4665 kWh 3592 kWh 1073 kWh £913 £107 £1,021 £19,623 19.2 yrs £791
6 kW 5598 kWh 4310 kWh 1287 kWh £1,096 £129 £1,225 £21,657 17.7 yrs £2,840
7 kW 6531 kWh 5029 kWh 1502 kWh £1,279 £150 £1,429 £23,692 16.6 yrs £4,888
8 kW 7464 kWh 5747 kWh 1717 kWh £1,461 £172 £1,633 £25,726 15.8 yrs £6,936

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.

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.43p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
59.86p/day
Local Sunshine
933kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~933 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: 66% • Flats: 20% • Bungalows: 13% Based on 5,955 properties

Coverage

Redcar and Cleveland (100%)

Areas Covered

Saltburn, Skelton East, Skelton West, Brotton, Lockwood, Guisborough

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.