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Big Roof Britain Solar Payback Index Standing Charge Drag

Solar Panels in YO18 (North Yorkshire)

See if solar pays off for you in North Yorkshire — 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
13.3 years
After this, it's pure profit
Upfront Cost
£12,207
What you pay to get started
Annual Benefit
£919
What you save every year
Profit Over 25 Years
£10,774
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 Northern, the current unit rate is 25.43p/kWh with a 59.86p/day standing charge. Your postcode’s south-facing sunshine yield is 947 kWh/kW — 22 above the regional median (926).

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 947 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)
947 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: £766, Upfront: £10,173, 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 1895 kWh 758 kWh 1137 kWh £193 £114 £306 £4,069 13.3 yrs £2,059
3 kW 2842 kWh 1137 kWh 1705 kWh £289 £171 £460 £6,104 13.3 yrs £3,089
4 kW 3789 kWh 1516 kWh 2274 kWh £385 £227 £613 £8,138 13.3 yrs £4,118
5 kW 4737 kWh 1895 kWh 2842 kWh £482 £284 £766 £10,173 13.3 yrs £5,148
6 kW 5684 kWh 2274 kWh 3410 kWh £578 £341 £919 £12,207 13.3 yrs £6,177
7 kW 6631 kWh 2653 kWh 3979 kWh £675 £398 £1,072 £14,242 13.3 yrs £7,207
8 kW 7579 kWh 3031 kWh 4547 kWh £771 £455 £1,226 £16,276 13.3 yrs £8,237

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: £912, Upfront: £12,273, 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 1895 kWh 1137 kWh 758 kWh £289 £76 £365 £6,169 16.9 yrs £1,129
3 kW 2842 kWh 1705 kWh 1137 kWh £434 £114 £547 £8,204 15.0 yrs £2,743
4 kW 3789 kWh 2274 kWh 1516 kWh £578 £152 £730 £10,238 14.0 yrs £4,357
5 kW 4737 kWh 2842 kWh 1895 kWh £723 £189 £912 £12,273 13.5 yrs £5,971
6 kW 5684 kWh 3410 kWh 2274 kWh £867 £227 £1,095 £14,307 13.1 yrs £7,586
7 kW 6631 kWh 3979 kWh 2653 kWh £1,012 £265 £1,277 £16,342 12.8 yrs £9,200
8 kW 7579 kWh 4547 kWh 3031 kWh £1,156 £303 £1,460 £18,376 12.6 yrs £10,814

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: £985, Upfront: £13,673, Break-even: 13.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1895 kWh 1326 kWh 568 kWh £337 £57 £394 £7,569 19.2 yrs £313
3 kW 2842 kWh 1989 kWh 853 kWh £506 £85 £591 £9,604 16.2 yrs £2,220
4 kW 3789 kWh 2653 kWh 1137 kWh £675 £114 £788 £11,638 14.8 yrs £4,126
5 kW 4737 kWh 3316 kWh 1421 kWh £843 £142 £985 £13,673 13.9 yrs £6,033
6 kW 5684 kWh 3979 kWh 1705 kWh £1,012 £171 £1,182 £15,707 13.3 yrs £7,940
7 kW 6631 kWh 4642 kWh 1989 kWh £1,180 £199 £1,379 £17,742 12.9 yrs £9,846
8 kW 7579 kWh 5305 kWh 2274 kWh £1,349 £227 £1,576 £19,776 12.5 yrs £11,753

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: £1,007, Upfront: £15,423, Break-even: 15.3 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1895 kWh 1383 kWh 512 kWh £352 £51 £403 £9,319 23.1 yrs £-1,261
3 kW 2842 kWh 2075 kWh 767 kWh £528 £77 £604 £11,354 18.8 yrs £733
4 kW 3789 kWh 2766 kWh 1023 kWh £703 £102 £806 £13,388 16.6 yrs £2,727
5 kW 4737 kWh 3458 kWh 1279 kWh £879 £128 £1,007 £15,423 15.3 yrs £4,722
6 kW 5684 kWh 4149 kWh 1535 kWh £1,055 £153 £1,209 £17,457 14.4 yrs £6,716
7 kW 6631 kWh 4841 kWh 1790 kWh £1,231 £179 £1,410 £19,492 13.8 yrs £8,710
8 kW 7579 kWh 5532 kWh 2046 kWh £1,407 £205 £1,612 £21,526 13.4 yrs £10,705

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: £1,022, Upfront: £17,173, Break-even: 16.8 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1895 kWh 1421 kWh 474 kWh £361 £47 £409 £11,069 27.1 yrs £-2,894
3 kW 2842 kWh 2132 kWh 711 kWh £542 £71 £613 £13,104 21.4 yrs £-842
4 kW 3789 kWh 2842 kWh 947 kWh £723 £95 £817 £15,138 18.5 yrs £1,211
5 kW 4737 kWh 3553 kWh 1184 kWh £903 £118 £1,022 £17,173 16.8 yrs £3,264
6 kW 5684 kWh 4263 kWh 1421 kWh £1,084 £142 £1,226 £19,207 15.7 yrs £5,317
7 kW 6631 kWh 4974 kWh 1658 kWh £1,265 £166 £1,431 £21,242 14.8 yrs £7,370
8 kW 7579 kWh 5684 kWh 1895 kWh £1,445 £189 £1,635 £23,276 14.2 yrs £9,422

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: £1,036, Upfront: £19,623, Break-even: 18.9 yrs
System Annual output Self-use Exported Bill saving Export income Annual benefit Upfront cost Break-even 20-year net
2 kW 1895 kWh 1459 kWh 436 kWh £371 £44 £415 £13,519 32.6 yrs £-5,227
3 kW 2842 kWh 2188 kWh 654 kWh £556 £65 £622 £15,554 25.0 yrs £-3,116
4 kW 3789 kWh 2918 kWh 872 kWh £742 £87 £829 £17,588 21.2 yrs £-1,005
5 kW 4737 kWh 3647 kWh 1089 kWh £927 £109 £1,036 £19,623 18.9 yrs £1,106
6 kW 5684 kWh 4377 kWh 1307 kWh £1,113 £131 £1,244 £21,657 17.4 yrs £3,218
7 kW 6631 kWh 5106 kWh 1525 kWh £1,298 £153 £1,451 £23,692 16.3 yrs £5,329
8 kW 7579 kWh 5836 kWh 1743 kWh £1,484 £174 £1,658 £25,726 15.5 yrs £7,440

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 YO18

Figures below are tailored to YO18 — click through for full league tables.

Big-Roof Britain Rank #456 of 2182
5.7 kWp (UK avg 5.1 kWp)
~12 panels (≈430 W)
Solar Payback Index Rank #1926 of 2997
11.6 years (UK avg 11.3 years)
~£1,051 /yr • £12,207 upfront
Standing-Charge Drag Rank #1565 of 2997
20.8% (UK avg 21.7%) drag on savings
£218 fixed • ~£1,051 /yr value

Your Area at a Glance

Your Electricity Rate
25.43p/kWh
Daily Fixed Charge
59.86p/day
Local Sunshine
947kWh/kW
A 1 kW system generates ~947 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: 64% • Flats: 9% • Bungalows: 26% Based on 3,610 properties

Coverage

North Yorkshire (100%)

Areas Covered

Pickering, Thornton Dale & Wolds, Kirkbymoorside & Dales

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 Northern

YO17 (North Yorkshire)
≈12.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~943 kWh/kWp · -0% vs YO18
YO62 (North Yorkshire)
≈13.6 km away
Local sunshine: ~940 kWh/kWp · -1% vs YO18
YO13 (North Yorkshire)
≈20.1 km away
Local sunshine: ~935 kWh/kWp · -1% vs YO18
YO60 (North Yorkshire)
≈21.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~936 kWh/kWp · -1% vs YO18
YO12 (North Yorkshire)
≈23.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~956 kWh/kWp · +1% vs YO18
YO6 (North Yorkshire)
≈24.2 km away
Local sunshine: ~938 kWh/kWp · -1% vs YO18

Similar sunshine across the UK

GL16 (Forest of Dean)
~947 kWh/kWp · -0% vs YO18
DN7 (Doncaster)
~947 kWh/kWp · -0% vs YO18
SY8 (Shropshire)
~948 kWh/kWp · +0% vs YO18