How much will solar panels save me?

It depends on your roof, your electricity usage during daylight hours and your unit rate. Our calculators produce indicative estimates from your own inputs and state the assumptions used; we do not promise a saving or a payback period.

What is the difference between SEG income and bill savings?

Bill savings come from electricity you generate and use yourself, valued at your import rate. SEG income comes from surplus units exported to the grid, paid at your supplier's export rate, which is normally much lower.

Is a battery worth adding to solar?

A battery raises self-consumption and can arbitrage a time-of-use tariff, but it adds cost. Whether it improves the overall return depends on your usage pattern, tariff and the installed price, which the battery ROI calculator lets you test.

Do your figures include VAT?

Where an installation cost is quoted we state the data source and whether the figure includes VAT. Always check the same on any installer quotation, as VAT treatment can differ.

Solar & Battery Hub | PowerGuardian Knowledge Centre

Solar Savings Calculator

Estimate the savings from installing solar panels.

Battery Storage Guide

How home batteries work and whether they pay off.

SEG Export Tariffs

Get paid for the solar power you export to the grid.

Read the full solar & battery guide

Installation cost ranges used in our solar tools are taken from published UK datasets and carry the data date on the tool page. See the methodology behind these figures.

What do you need help with?

Solar panels and battery storage: the essentials

Three different numbers, often confused

Solar economics involve three distinct figures. Bill savings come from electricity you generate and use yourself. Export income comes from surplus units sold back under the Smart Export Guarantee, paid at an export rate that is usually far below your import rate. Total financial return combines both against the installed cost. Quotations that blur these together tend to overstate the result.

Generation depends on your roof, not a national average

Output varies with location, roof orientation, pitch, shading, panel specification and how well the system is commissioned. We do not publish a single national generation figure and treat any quotation that relies on one as a warning sign. Every calculator result on this site is indicative and states the assumptions it used.

What a battery actually earns

A battery can pay in three separate ways: storing your own solar generation for evening use, charging cheaply on a time-of-use tariff and discharging at peak, and providing backup power. Those benefits are not additive in every household, and the battery ROI calculator keeps them separate rather than summing best cases.

Checking a quotation before you sign

Ask for the assumed annual generation and where it came from, the export rate assumed, the inverter and battery warranty terms, the workmanship warranty and who honours it, and whether prices include VAT. Our quotation guidance covers the checks that most often reveal an inflated payback claim.

Guides in this topic

Home battery storage guide — How home batteries work, what they cost and where the savings come from.
SEG export tariffs explained — What suppliers pay for exported solar electricity under the Smart Export Guarantee.

Calculators for this topic

Solar savings calculator — Estimate the electricity bill saving a solar system could produce.
Solar payback calculator — Estimate how long a solar system takes to repay its installation cost.
SEG earnings calculator — Estimate export income separately from bill savings.
Battery storage savings calculator — Compare battery sizes and tariffs to estimate an annual saving.
Battery ROI calculator — A 15-year view of battery return, payback and degradation assumptions.
Independent solar quotation checker — Screen a solar quotation against published UK cost and warranty benchmarks.

PowerGuardian research and data

Solar Savings Report 2026 — PowerGuardian research on UK solar costs and savings.
Battery Storage Report 2026 — PowerGuardian research on home battery economics.

Official sources

Ofgem — Smart Export Guarantee — How SEG works and which suppliers must offer it.
MCS — Certification scheme normally required for SEG eligibility.

Your next step

Run your own figures before you compare installer quotations.

Estimate solar payback

Common questions on this topic

Last reviewed 13 August 2026

Written and maintained by the PowerGuardian Energy Analyst Team. The PowerGuardian editorial and data team writes about UK energy markets, Ofgem price cap announcements and household tariffs. Figures carry their source and the date they were checked.

PowerGuardian publishes independent guidance for UK households. We do not provide regulated legal or financial advice. Read our editorial policy.

All resources in this topic

Tools

EV Charging Cost Calculator

Pair solar with an EV and cost up your charging.

Home Energy Efficiency Score

Check your home is ready for solar and storage.

Guides

Energy Saving Tips

Use less so your solar goes further.

Reports

Solar Savings Report

Our latest UK solar savings analysis.

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