Solar earnings explained
The calculations behind average solar bill savings.
These calculations are based on averages and are intended to provide a broad overview of the bill savings you can expect from installing solar panels, a battery and signing up to our Solar Savings export tariff.
Your actual savings and export payments will depend on the size of your solar installation, how much of your solar electricity you are able to use, and the volume you export.
If you decide to get a quote from Good Energy Solar, we do the maths for you. You will receive a personalised estimate of your solar bill savings as part of the bespoke proposal for your home.
How much can you save with solar panels?
Modelling based on a 10-panel 4.75kW system
Good Energy installs highly efficient 475W solar panels, meaning a 10-panel solar array will have a total installed capacity of 4.75kW.
A south facing system in the South of England with no shading and an average 30° pitched roof is estimated to generate up to 5997kWh per year. East or west-facing systems are estimated to generate up to 4822kWh.
Using our internal data, we estimate that an average 3 bedroom household would use around 2,000kWh of their solar power as its produced (or via a battery), instead of drawing power from the grid at 26p / kWh (the current average energy price cap). Assuming they have east / west facing panels, they would export around 2,822 kWh a year at 15p / kWh.
If their install included a battery, this household would be eligible for our exclusive rate export tariff for 12 months, currently paying 25p / kWh.
| Solar power generated (4822 kWh total) | Unit rate saved / earned | Financial saving | |
| Electricity bill savings | 2,000 kWh | 0.26 / kWh | £520 |
| Export tariff earnings (standard rate) | 2,822 kWh | 0.15 / kWh | £423.30 |
| Export tariff earnings (12-month exclusive rate for customers with batteries) | 2,822 kWh | 0.25 / kWh | £705.50 |
| Total bill savings (First 12 months, if install includes a battery) | £1225.50 | ||
| Total solar bill savings (Future) | £943.30 |
Modelling based on a 3.68kW system
3.68kW is a common residential set up of around 8-10 panels. The modelling below estimates the household using 50% of the power they generate, and exporting the other 50%.
| Solar power generated (3224 kWh total) | Unit rate saved / earned | Financial saving | |
| Electricity bill savings | 1612 kWh | 0.26 / kWh | £420 |
| Export tariff earnings (standard rate) | 1612 kWh | 0.15 / kWh | £241.78 |
| Export tariff earnings (Exclusive rate for customers with batteries) | 1612 kWh | 0.25 / kWh | £403 |
| Total solar bill savings (First 12 months, if install includes a battery) | £823 | ||
| Total bill savings (Future) | £661.78 |
About our average customer
| Ofgem TDCV for a 2-3 bed house (kWh) | 2700 |
| Unit rate (Exc. VAT) (£) | 0.26 |
| Standing charge (£) | 0.63 |
| Standing charge per year (£) | 229 |
| Total annual bill (£) | 932 |
Good Energy Standard Variable tariff unit rates and standing charges as of 01.10.2025
The assumptions behind average solar generation and export volumes
- Households with solar panels but no battery are estimated to export around 50% of the solar power they generate. This is based on the deemed export volume agreed by the government’s Feed-in Tariff scheme.
- Households with solar panels and a battery are estimated to use up to 75% of the solar power they generate, and export 25%. This can vary depending on how large your system is, and how much power you use at home.
- The earnings from exporting solar power are based on the current Good Energy Solar Savings export rate, which is 15p/kWh. To get the Solar Savings Exclusive rate of 25p/kWh (for a 12 month term), you must have solar panels and a battery installed by Good Energy Solar.
How Solar Savings compares to the Feed-in Tariff export rate
If you receive Feed-in Tariff payments, current export rates for 2024-2025 are between 5.07 and 7.14p per kWh.
Here’s how the top paying FIT export rate compares to Solar Savings.
| Annual generation (kWh) | 3224 |
| Assumed export volume | 50% |
| Solar export (kWh) | 1612 |
| Feed-in Tariff export rate | 0.0714 |
| Feed-in Tariff export payment | 115.1 |
| Solar Savings earnings (£) | 241.78 |
| Benefit to you (£) | 126.68 |
Solar Savings is a variable tariff. The rate you receive can go up or down. Your savings will depend on the size of your solar installation, how much electricity you use at home and how much you export. This page is intended to provide average estimates only.
Imogen’s solar testimonial:
Imogen has 12 months of data from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 to calculate her solar panel savings. In this period, her family of four used 773.27kWh of solar electricity directly from their solar panels as it was being generated.
They used a further 849.95kWh of solar electricity from their battery. In total this is 1623.22kWh of power that they haven’t needed to draw from the grid.
In that time, Imogen’s solar panels exported 2350.12 kWh of renewable electricity to the grid at 25p / kWh. This earned the family a total of £587.53 with the earnings added monthly as a credit to their energy account.
| kWh generated by solar panels | Price per kWh | Total | |
| Savings from using our own solar power | 1623.33 kWh | 24.84p (price cap at the time) | £403.21 |
| Earnings from export tariff | 2350.12 kWh | 25p | £587.53 |
| Total savings in 12 months | £990.74 |
Solar panel payback period
Substantiation: ‘Achieve solar panel payback in as little as seven years’
Good Energy customers can expect a return on investment on their household solar panels in as little as seven years. To calculate this, we looked at 157 domestic solar proposals created between 1st March 25 – 20th June 2025.
Of these 157 proposals:
42.7% of proposals had a payback period of 7 years or under
38.2% had a payback period of between 8 – 10 years
19.1% had a payback period of 11 years or more.
All of these proposals were created for homes in the South and South West of England, and involve complex modelling to calculate an estimated annual generation figure, based on system size, orientation, inclination, postcode and shade factor. Estimated annual generation is not guaranteed due to variability in the amount of sunlight from location to location and year to year.
Estimated annual savings from solar panels include bill savings from using solar power directly in the home, in addition to export tariff earnings. Return on investment period is calculated by dividing total system price by estimated annual savings.