Solar Panel Savings Calculator: Output, Bill Savings and Payback by Town
Work out what a solar system would make on your roof in 63 UK towns, using the European Commission's PVGIS simulations, the Ofgem price cap of 26.32p and the export payment you are offered. Shows the yearly saving and payback on your quote. Checked 13 November 2026.
Updated
A 4 kWp system on a south-facing roof should make about 3,808 kWh a year in Leeds, 4,624 in Brighton and 3,412 in Glasgow.
Those come from the European Commission's own solar simulations for each town, not from a brochure. Pick your town, your roof and the price on your quote below.
Put your own roof through the sum
The shares for using the power yourself are our assumptions, because they depend on when you are in. The export rate of 8p is only an example: each supplier sets its own and, by Ofgem's rules, it must be above zero. The price starts at about GBP 1,340 for each kWp, the middle of the installers on this site that publish a price per kilowatt, so replace it with your quote.
Sunnier and duller towns, side by side
Yearly output of one kWp on a south-facing roof at 35 degrees. Your own town is shown in solid colour.
The same numbers for all 63 towns, as a table
| Town | kWh a year per kWp, south | East or west | 4 kWp system, south |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton | 1,156 | 897 | 4,624 |
| Bournemouth | 1,122 | 878 | 4,488 |
| Plymouth | 1,121 | 883 | 4,484 |
| Portsmouth | 1,119 | 874 | 4,476 |
| Poole | 1,107 | 870 | 4,428 |
| Colchester | 1,095 | 854 | 4,380 |
| Southend-on-Sea | 1,088 | 846 | 4,352 |
| Ipswich | 1,083 | 844 | 4,332 |
| Basildon | 1,072 | 841 | 4,288 |
| Southampton | 1,064 | 840 | 4,256 |
| Exeter | 1,052 | 836 | 4,208 |
| Cardiff | 1,042 | 822 | 4,168 |
| Cambridge | 1,041 | 813 | 4,164 |
| Peterborough | 1,036 | 807 | 4,144 |
| Newport | 1,032 | 815 | 4,128 |
| Blackpool | 1,030 | 796 | 4,120 |
| Norwich | 1,030 | 806 | 4,120 |
| Slough | 1,030 | 813 | 4,120 |
| Luton | 1,024 | 808 | 4,096 |
| Bristol | 1,023 | 810 | 4,092 |
| Northampton | 1,021 | 802 | 4,084 |
| Reading | 1,021 | 808 | 4,084 |
| Swindon | 1,021 | 810 | 4,084 |
| London | 1,019 | 802 | 4,076 |
| Oxford | 1,018 | 805 | 4,072 |
| Milton Keynes | 1,015 | 800 | 4,060 |
| Swansea | 1,014 | 802 | 4,056 |
| High Wycombe | 1,013 | 803 | 4,052 |
| Gloucester | 999 | 794 | 3,996 |
| Coventry | 987 | 780 | 3,948 |
| Leicester | 981 | 774 | 3,924 |
| Nottingham | 979 | 770 | 3,916 |
| Derby | 974 | 770 | 3,896 |
| Telford | 971 | 771 | 3,884 |
| York | 969 | 758 | 3,876 |
| Birmingham | 968 | 766 | 3,872 |
| Mansfield | 968 | 765 | 3,872 |
| Liverpool | 965 | 758 | 3,860 |
| Walsall | 961 | 762 | 3,844 |
| Dudley | 958 | 762 | 3,832 |
| Wolverhampton | 956 | 759 | 3,824 |
| Leeds | 952 | 747 | 3,808 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 950 | 734 | 3,800 |
| Middlesbrough | 948 | 738 | 3,792 |
| Sheffield | 944 | 744 | 3,776 |
| Sunderland | 942 | 727 | 3,768 |
| Dundee | 938 | 722 | 3,752 |
| Warrington | 938 | 746 | 3,752 |
| Bradford | 935 | 739 | 3,740 |
| Huddersfield | 935 | 742 | 3,740 |
| Wigan | 927 | 740 | 3,708 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 926 | 742 | 3,704 |
| Preston | 920 | 732 | 3,680 |
| Belfast | 918 | 725 | 3,672 |
| Bolton | 896 | 720 | 3,584 |
| Aberdeen | 890 | 683 | 3,560 |
| Manchester | 886 | 709 | 3,544 |
| Stockport | 885 | 710 | 3,540 |
| Blackburn | 882 | 713 | 3,528 |
| Burnley | 873 | 709 | 3,492 |
| Edinburgh | 864 | 690 | 3,456 |
| Oldham | 861 | 695 | 3,444 |
| Glasgow | 853 | 678 | 3,412 |
What this sum leaves out
- Prices rising or falling. It uses today's price for every year.
- Panels losing a little output as they age, and an inverter that may need replacing within about 15 years.
- Shade from a neighbour's tree or chimney. The simulation does include the horizon of hills around each town, which is why hilly Burnley comes out lower than flat towns near it.
- A battery. It raises the share you use yourself, so pick the 60% choice and weigh it against the extra price on your quote.
- Northern Ireland. The export guarantee is a Great Britain scheme, so a Belfast roof needs a separate check with the supplier.
Check the paperwork before you sign
To be paid for exported power, a system of this size normally needs an MCS certificate, so the installer should be MCS certified. A supplied and installed system carries 0% VAT until 31 March 2027, then 5%, so a quote for work finishing after that date should say which rate it uses.
How to check an installer's registration, what installers on this site publish and solar panel installers in your town.
Behind each figure in the calculator
- PVGIS 5.3, European Commission Joint Research Centre: yearly output per kWp, radiation data 2005 to 2023, 14% system losses, 35 degree tilt, run for the centre of each town on 13 November 2026.
- Ofgem energy price cap: 26.32p per kWh for electricity from 1 October to 31 December 2026 (average, Direct Debit, no VAT on electricity until 31 March 2027). Checked 13 November 2026.
- Ofgem, Smart Export Guarantee for generators: suppliers set the rate and it must stay above zero. Checked 13 November 2026.
- HMRC VAT Notice 708/6: zero rate on installed solar panels and batteries to 31 March 2027. Checked 13 November 2026.
- Price per kWp: our reading of prices published on the websites of installers listed on Energy Installers, November 2026 (14 installers state a size and a price on their own page, and the middle of their prices per kilowatt gives the figure).