Average Electricity Bill With Solar Panels UK (2026)

With a typical 4kWp solar system, most UK households see their electricity costs fall by £200–£600 a year — and potentially more once Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) payments are added in. The exact saving depends on system size, how much of the solar you use directly, whether you have a battery, and your tariff. Understanding which appliances use the most electricity at home helps you size your system correctly and shift loads to maximise solar self-consumption. This guide breaks down the average electricity bill with solar panels using real 2026 figures, so you know what to expect before you commit.

What is the average UK electricity bill without solar?

From 1 July 2026, Ofgem’s price cap sets the electricity unit rate at 26.11p per kWh, with a standing charge of 57.19p per day — both inclusive of 5% VAT, for Direct Debit customers on a standard variable tariff. The overall cap of £1,862 per year is a dual-fuel (electricity + gas) figure; electricity alone for a typical household works out to approximately £860–£900 per year once unit costs and standing charges are applied to average consumption.

From July 2026, Ofgem is lowering the Typical Domestic Consumption Value (TDCV) for electricity by 7%, to 2,500 kWh per year — reflecting a further decline in median UK household electricity use. That figure is the baseline most energy comparisons use. Homes with EVs, heat pumps, or multiple occupants will use significantly more.

How much does a solar system generate?

Generation depends on system size and location. Using MCS irradiance data derived from the European Commission’s PVGIS satellite dataset, the UK national average works out to roughly 900 kWh per kilowatt-peak (kWp) installed per year. That gives the following broad estimates:

• 3kWp system: approximately 2,600–2,900 kWh/year
• 4kWp system: approximately 3,400–3,800 kWh/year
• 6kWp system: approximately 5,100–5,700 kWh/year

These are annual figures for a south-facing roof at an optimal pitch, somewhere in central England. Cornwall and the south-west will generate around 15% more; the Scottish Highlands around 15–20% less. A 4kWp system in Yorkshire still produces over 3,500 kWh/year — enough to make a meaningful dent in a household electricity bill.

How self-consumption reduces your bill

The saving on your electricity bill comes from self-consumption — using solar electricity directly as it is generated, rather than drawing from the grid and paying 26p/kWh. Every unit of solar you use yourself is worth the full import rate you avoid paying; every unit you export earns only the (lower) SEG rate.

Without a battery, a typical UK household self-consumes around 30–40% of what its panels generate. Generation peaks at midday when many homes are at lower occupancy — so a significant share of solar flows out to the grid rather than being used on site. For a 4kWp system generating 3,600 kWh/year, 30–40% self-consumption means roughly 1,080–1,440 kWh displaced from grid import each year.

With a battery, self-consumption typically rises to 60–80%. The battery captures midday surplus and releases it in the evening, when solar panels are no longer producing and grid import would otherwise be at its priciest. That extra shift from export to self-consumption is what drives the headline savings figures you see quoted for battery-plus-solar systems. For more on this, see our guide to home battery storage.

Average monthly electricity bill with solar: by system size

The table below shows estimated annual bill savings based on self-consumption at the July 2026 electricity unit rate of 26.11p/kWh. These are ranges, not guarantees — your actual saving depends on usage patterns, roof orientation, occupancy, and location.

In monthly terms, a 4kWp system without a battery typically reduces an electricity bill by around £25–£35 per month, rising to £40–£70 per month once a battery is added and self-consumption improves. These figures align with EST estimates and installer data — not transformative month to month, but compounding meaningfully over a system’s 25-year design life.

Does adding a battery make a bigger difference?

Yes — a battery meaningfully increases the value of the solar you generate. With self-consumption rising from around 35% to 70%+ when a battery is added, the gap becomes significant: a 4kWp system without a battery might displace around 1,200 kWh of grid imports per year (worth ~£315 at 26p/kWh), while the same system with a 10kWh battery could displace 2,400–2,800 kWh (worth ~£625–£730 per year).

The trade-off is upfront cost. A home battery typically adds £4,000–£8,000 to your installation bill, and payback on the battery alone can stretch to 10–18 years depending on how much extra self-consumption it delivers. Whether it’s worth it depends on your usage profile: households that are out during the day benefit most, because without a battery their midday solar goes largely to export. To understand whether solar panels are worth it overall, including battery options, see our analysis of whether solar panels are worth it in the UK.

SEG export income on top of bill savings

Even without a battery, you can earn money on the solar you don’t use through the Smart Export Guarantee. SEG requires most energy suppliers to offer a payment per kWh exported, though the rate is set by the supplier — not by government. In mid-2026, competitive fixed SEG rates run from around 4p to 16p/kWh; the Ofgem-reported average across all SEG payments in 2024–25 worked out to roughly 13p/kWh.

For a 4kWp system generating 3,600 kWh/year without a battery, roughly 2,100–2,500 kWh will be exported (the portion not self-consumed). At 5–13p/kWh that translates to approximately £105–£325 in export income annually — a meaningful addition to the bill saving, though rates vary and are not guaranteed to stay fixed.

Add bill savings plus SEG income together and a 4kWp system without a battery might deliver £350–£650 total annual benefit for a typical household. With a battery cutting export volume but increasing self-consumption, the composition shifts — less SEG income, more bill saving — with the total potentially reaching £600–£900/year or more in favourable conditions.

North vs south: does location affect savings?

Yes, but perhaps less than you’d expect. The difference in annual generation between a system in Cornwall (top UK performer, ~1,050 kWh/kWp/year) and one in Scotland’s central belt (~800–850 kWh/kWp/year) is around 20–25%. A 4kWp system in the south-west might generate 4,200 kWh/year; the same system in Glasgow around 3,200 kWh. At 26p/kWh self-consumption rate, that’s a difference of roughly £200–£250 in potential annual saving — real, but not the dramatic north–south divide it’s sometimes made out to be. Solar is worth considering throughout the UK.

What affects your actual saving?

The factors that matter most are:

• Daytime occupancy. If someone is home during the day — working from home, retired, or caring for children — you self-consume a larger share of generation, so the bill saving is higher without a battery.
• System size relative to your consumption. Oversizing for your usage means more export and lower self-consumption rates; undersizing leaves untapped capacity on the roof.
• Electricity tariff. Being on a time-of-use import tariff (such as Octopus Agile) means evening import rates may be higher than the flat 26p/kWh cap rate, making self-consumption from a battery even more valuable.
• Roof orientation and pitch. South-facing at 35–45° is optimal; east–west split arrays sacrifice some peak output but spread generation across more of the day.
• Future electricity prices. If unit rates rise above 26p in future quarters — as they have done repeatedly since 2021 — the financial value of self-consumed solar increases proportionally.

For a full breakdown of installation costs and what drives solar panel payback period, see our dedicated guide. If you’re ready to see what a system would cost on your specific roof, get quotes from MCS-certified installers who can model your actual savings based on your usage data.