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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in WA11 (St. Helens)

See if solar pays off for you in St. Helens — 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
13.1 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£8,138
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£621
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£7,377
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 North Wales and Mersey, the current unit rate is 27.72p/kWh with a 69.95p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 908 kWh/kW — 22 below the regional median (930).

Read the full story

A typical roof here lands around 4.0 kW, with most eligible homes comfortably fitting within 3–6 kW. Each kilowatt of panels produces roughly 908 kWh per year on a south-facing roof. We value self-used electricity at 27.7p and exported surplus at a baseline 10p via SEG. Use the calculator above for your exact tariff.

Unit rate
27.7p/kWh
Standing charge
70.0p/day
Sunshine yield (south)
908 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: £776, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 13.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1816 kWh 726 kWh 1090 kWh £201 £109 £310 £4,069 13.1 yrs £2,137
3 kW 2724 kWh 1090 kWh 1634 kWh £302 £163 £465 £6,104 13.1 yrs £3,206
4 kW 3632 kWh 1453 kWh 2179 kWh £403 £218 £621 £8,138 13.1 yrs £4,274
5 kW 4540 kWh 1816 kWh 2724 kWh £503 £272 £776 £10,173 13.1 yrs £5,343
6 kW 5448 kWh 2179 kWh 3269 kWh £604 £327 £931 £12,207 13.1 yrs £6,411
7 kW 6356 kWh 2542 kWh 3813 kWh £705 £381 £1,086 £14,242 13.1 yrs £7,480
8 kW 7264 kWh 2906 kWh 4358 kWh £805 £436 £1,241 £16,276 13.1 yrs £8,549

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: £937, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 13.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1816 kWh 1090 kWh 726 kWh £302 £73 £375 £6,169 16.5 yrs £1,324
3 kW 2724 kWh 1634 kWh 1090 kWh £453 £109 £562 £8,204 14.6 yrs £3,036
4 kW 3632 kWh 2179 kWh 1453 kWh £604 £145 £749 £10,238 13.7 yrs £4,749
5 kW 4540 kWh 2724 kWh 1816 kWh £755 £182 £937 £12,273 13.1 yrs £6,461
6 kW 5448 kWh 3269 kWh 2179 kWh £906 £218 £1,124 £14,307 12.7 yrs £8,173
7 kW 6356 kWh 3813 kWh 2542 kWh £1,057 £254 £1,311 £16,342 12.5 yrs £9,885
8 kW 7264 kWh 4358 kWh 2906 kWh £1,208 £291 £1,499 £18,376 12.3 yrs £11,597

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: £1,017, Upfront: £13,673, 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 1816 kWh 1271 kWh 545 kWh £352 £54 £407 £7,569 18.6 yrs £568
3 kW 2724 kWh 1907 kWh 817 kWh £529 £82 £610 £9,604 15.7 yrs £2,602
4 kW 3632 kWh 2542 kWh 1090 kWh £705 £109 £814 £11,638 14.3 yrs £4,636
5 kW 4540 kWh 3178 kWh 1362 kWh £881 £136 £1,017 £13,673 13.4 yrs £6,670
6 kW 5448 kWh 3813 kWh 1634 kWh £1,057 £163 £1,221 £15,707 12.9 yrs £8,704
7 kW 6356 kWh 4449 kWh 1907 kWh £1,233 £191 £1,424 £17,742 12.5 yrs £10,737
8 kW 7264 kWh 5085 kWh 2179 kWh £1,409 £218 £1,627 £19,776 12.2 yrs £12,771

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: £1,041, Upfront: £15,423, 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 1816 kWh 1326 kWh 490 kWh £367 £49 £416 £9,319 22.4 yrs £-989
3 kW 2724 kWh 1988 kWh 735 kWh £551 £74 £625 £11,354 18.2 yrs £1,141
4 kW 3632 kWh 2651 kWh 981 kWh £735 £98 £833 £13,388 16.1 yrs £3,272
5 kW 4540 kWh 3314 kWh 1226 kWh £919 £123 £1,041 £15,423 14.8 yrs £5,402
6 kW 5448 kWh 3977 kWh 1471 kWh £1,102 £147 £1,249 £17,457 14.0 yrs £7,533
7 kW 6356 kWh 4640 kWh 1716 kWh £1,286 £172 £1,458 £19,492 13.4 yrs £9,663
8 kW 7264 kWh 5303 kWh 1961 kWh £1,470 £196 £1,666 £21,526 12.9 yrs £11,794

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: £1,057, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 16.2 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1816 kWh 1362 kWh 454 kWh £378 £45 £423 £11,069 26.2 yrs £-2,610
3 kW 2724 kWh 2043 kWh 681 kWh £566 £68 £634 £13,104 20.7 yrs £-416
4 kW 3632 kWh 2724 kWh 908 kWh £755 £91 £846 £15,138 17.9 yrs £1,779
5 kW 4540 kWh 3405 kWh 1135 kWh £944 £113 £1,057 £17,173 16.2 yrs £3,974
6 kW 5448 kWh 4086 kWh 1362 kWh £1,133 £136 £1,269 £19,207 15.1 yrs £6,169
7 kW 6356 kWh 4767 kWh 1589 kWh £1,321 £159 £1,480 £21,242 14.3 yrs £8,364
8 kW 7264 kWh 5448 kWh 1816 kWh £1,510 £182 £1,692 £23,276 13.8 yrs £10,559

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: £1,073, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 18.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1816 kWh 1398 kWh 418 kWh £388 £42 £429 £13,519 31.5 yrs £-4,932
3 kW 2724 kWh 2097 kWh 626 kWh £581 £63 £644 £15,554 24.1 yrs £-2,672
4 kW 3632 kWh 2797 kWh 835 kWh £775 £84 £859 £17,588 20.5 yrs £-413
5 kW 4540 kWh 3496 kWh 1044 kWh £969 £104 £1,073 £19,623 18.3 yrs £1,846
6 kW 5448 kWh 4195 kWh 1253 kWh £1,163 £125 £1,288 £21,657 16.8 yrs £4,105
7 kW 6356 kWh 4894 kWh 1462 kWh £1,357 £146 £1,503 £23,692 15.8 yrs £6,364
8 kW 7264 kWh 5593 kWh 1671 kWh £1,550 £167 £1,717 £25,726 15.0 yrs £8,623

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 WA11

Figures below are tailored to WA11 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1540 of 2182
4.7 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~10 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #1625 of 2997
11.3 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£717 /yr • £8,138 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2882 of 2997
35.6% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£255 fixed • ~£717 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.72p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
69.95p/day
Local Sunshine
908kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~908 kWh per year. A typical home uses ~2,700 kWh per year.
Typical System Size
4.0kW
For houses & bungalows in this area

Local Property Data

Property Types

Houses: 76% • Flats: 12% • Bungalows: 12% Based on 10,152 properties

Coverage

St. Helens (100%)

Areas Covered

Haydock, Rainford, Moss Bank, Blackbrook, St Helens Town Centre, Windle, Rural South, Billinge & Seneley Green + 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 North Wales and Mersey

WA10 (St. Helens)
≈2.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~911 kWh/kWp · +0% vs WA11
WA9 (St. Helens)
≈4.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~911 kWh/kWp · +0% vs WA11
L34 (Knowsley)
≈7.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~922 kWh/kWp · +2% vs WA11
L35 (Knowsley)
≈7.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~914 kWh/kWp · +1% vs WA11
WA5 (Warrington)
≈10.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~907 kWh/kWp · -0% vs WA11
L36 (Knowsley)
≈10.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~919 kWh/kWp · +1% vs WA11

Similar sunshine across the UK

TS7 (Middlesbrough)
~908 kWh/kWp · +0% vs WA11
BD7 (Bradford)
~908 kWh/kWp · -0% vs WA11
BD6 (Bradford)
~908 kWh/kWp · -0% vs WA11