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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in WA7 (Halton)

See if solar pays off for you in Halton — 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
13.0 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£10,173
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£785
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£9,441
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 918 kWh/kW — 12 below the regional median (930).

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 918 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)
918 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: £785, Upfront: £10,173, Break-even: 13.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1836 kWh 735 kWh 1102 kWh £204 £110 £314 £4,069 13.0 yrs £2,207
3 kW 2755 kWh 1102 kWh 1653 kWh £305 £165 £471 £6,104 13.0 yrs £3,311
4 kW 3673 kWh 1469 kWh 2204 kWh £407 £220 £628 £8,138 13.0 yrs £4,414
5 kW 4591 kWh 1836 kWh 2755 kWh £509 £275 £785 £10,173 13.0 yrs £5,518
6 kW 5509 kWh 2204 kWh 3306 kWh £611 £331 £941 £12,207 13.0 yrs £6,622
7 kW 6428 kWh 2571 kWh 3857 kWh £713 £386 £1,098 £14,242 13.0 yrs £7,725
8 kW 7346 kWh 2938 kWh 4407 kWh £814 £441 £1,255 £16,276 13.0 yrs £8,829

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: £947, Upfront: £12,273, Break-even: 13.0 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1836 kWh 1102 kWh 735 kWh £305 £73 £379 £6,169 16.3 yrs £1,409
3 kW 2755 kWh 1653 kWh 1102 kWh £458 £110 £568 £8,204 14.4 yrs £3,163
4 kW 3673 kWh 2204 kWh 1469 kWh £611 £147 £758 £10,238 13.5 yrs £4,918
5 kW 4591 kWh 2755 kWh 1836 kWh £764 £184 £947 £12,273 13.0 yrs £6,672
6 kW 5509 kWh 3306 kWh 2204 kWh £916 £220 £1,137 £14,307 12.6 yrs £8,427
7 kW 6428 kWh 3857 kWh 2571 kWh £1,069 £257 £1,326 £16,342 12.3 yrs £10,181
8 kW 7346 kWh 4407 kWh 2938 kWh £1,222 £294 £1,516 £18,376 12.1 yrs £11,935

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: £1,029, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 13.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1836 kWh 1286 kWh 551 kWh £356 £55 £411 £7,569 18.4 yrs £660
3 kW 2755 kWh 1928 kWh 826 kWh £535 £83 £617 £9,604 15.6 yrs £2,740
4 kW 3673 kWh 2571 kWh 1102 kWh £713 £110 £823 £11,638 14.1 yrs £4,819
5 kW 4591 kWh 3214 kWh 1377 kWh £891 £138 £1,029 £13,673 13.3 yrs £6,899
6 kW 5509 kWh 3857 kWh 1653 kWh £1,069 £165 £1,234 £15,707 12.7 yrs £8,979
7 kW 6428 kWh 4499 kWh 1928 kWh £1,247 £193 £1,440 £17,742 12.3 yrs £11,059
8 kW 7346 kWh 5142 kWh 2204 kWh £1,425 £220 £1,646 £19,776 12.0 yrs £13,139

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: £1,053, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 14.6 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1836 kWh 1341 kWh 496 kWh £372 £50 £421 £9,319 22.1 yrs £-895
3 kW 2755 kWh 2011 kWh 744 kWh £557 £74 £632 £11,354 18.0 yrs £1,282
4 kW 3673 kWh 2681 kWh 992 kWh £743 £99 £842 £13,388 15.9 yrs £3,460
5 kW 4591 kWh 3352 kWh 1240 kWh £929 £124 £1,053 £15,423 14.6 yrs £5,637
6 kW 5509 kWh 4022 kWh 1488 kWh £1,115 £149 £1,264 £17,457 13.8 yrs £7,815
7 kW 6428 kWh 4692 kWh 1735 kWh £1,301 £174 £1,474 £19,492 13.2 yrs £9,992
8 kW 7346 kWh 5362 kWh 1983 kWh £1,486 £198 £1,685 £21,526 12.8 yrs £12,170

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: £1,069, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 16.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1836 kWh 1377 kWh 459 kWh £382 £46 £428 £11,069 25.9 yrs £-2,515
3 kW 2755 kWh 2066 kWh 689 kWh £573 £69 £642 £13,104 20.4 yrs £-272
4 kW 3673 kWh 2755 kWh 918 kWh £764 £92 £855 £15,138 17.7 yrs £1,970
5 kW 4591 kWh 3443 kWh 1148 kWh £954 £115 £1,069 £17,173 16.1 yrs £4,213
6 kW 5509 kWh 4132 kWh 1377 kWh £1,145 £138 £1,283 £19,207 15.0 yrs £6,455
7 kW 6428 kWh 4821 kWh 1607 kWh £1,336 £161 £1,497 £21,242 14.2 yrs £8,698
8 kW 7346 kWh 5509 kWh 1836 kWh £1,527 £184 £1,711 £23,276 13.6 yrs £10,940

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: £1,086, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 18.1 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1836 kWh 1414 kWh 422 kWh £392 £42 £434 £13,519 31.1 yrs £-4,835
3 kW 2755 kWh 2121 kWh 634 kWh £588 £63 £651 £15,554 23.9 yrs £-2,527
4 kW 3673 kWh 2828 kWh 845 kWh £784 £84 £868 £17,588 20.3 yrs £-219
5 kW 4591 kWh 3535 kWh 1056 kWh £980 £106 £1,086 £19,623 18.1 yrs £2,088
6 kW 5509 kWh 4242 kWh 1267 kWh £1,176 £127 £1,303 £21,657 16.6 yrs £4,396
7 kW 6428 kWh 4949 kWh 1478 kWh £1,372 £148 £1,520 £23,692 15.6 yrs £6,703
8 kW 7346 kWh 5656 kWh 1690 kWh £1,568 £169 £1,737 £25,726 14.8 yrs £9,011

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 WA7

Figures below are tailored to WA7 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #1280 of 2182
4.8 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~10 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #1557 of 2997
11.2 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£907 /yr • £10,173 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #2569 of 2997
28.1% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£255 fixed • ~£907 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
27.72p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
69.95p/day
Local Sunshine
918kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~918 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: 70% • Flats: 18% • Bungalows: 12% Based on 16,538 properties

Coverage

Halton (98%)|Cheshire West and Chester (2%)

Areas Covered

Halton Lea, Mersey & Weston, Beechwood & Heath, Bridgewater, Halton Castle, Norton North, Grange, Norton South & Preston Brook + 3 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

WA8 (Halton)
≈5.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~912 kWh/kWp · -1% vs WA7
WA6 (Cheshire West and Chester)
≈6.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~915 kWh/kWp · -0% vs WA7
WA88 (Halton)
≈6.3 km away
Local sunshine: ~912 kWh/kWp · -1% vs WA7
WA5 (Warrington)
≈8.8 km away
Local sunshine: ~907 kWh/kWp · -1% vs WA7
WA55 (Warrington)
≈9.0 km away
Local sunshine: ~911 kWh/kWp · -1% vs WA7
WA4 (Warrington)
≈9.4 km away
Local sunshine: ~910 kWh/kWp · -1% vs WA7

Similar sunshine across the UK

NE40 (Gateshead)
~918 kWh/kWp · -0% vs WA7
DL15 (County Durham)
~918 kWh/kWp · -0% vs WA7
ST9 (Staffordshire Moorlands)
~918 kWh/kWp · +0% vs WA7