UK balcony solar — cost & payback in 2026
What you actually pay
| Item | Typical UK cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Microinverter (APsystems EZ1-M / Hoymiles HMS-800) | £107–£120 | 800W AC, anti-islanding, EN-certified |
| One 400–500W panel | £80–£150 | Bifacial or monocrystalline |
| Two-panel kit (most common) | £200–£350 | Includes mounts, cables |
| Premium brand (EcoFlow STREAM, Anker SOLIX) | £500–£1,000 | Polished app, brand support |
| Electrician hardwire + G98 | £200–£400 | CPS-registered, 1–2 hour job |
| Optional battery (1–2 kWh) | +£500–£1,000 | Solarbank / SolarFlow / STREAM Ultra |
Realistic total all-in (no battery): £300 budget DIY-microinverter route, £500 typical 2-panel kit + electrician, £1,000 premium brand + electrician.
Realistic total with battery: £1,200–£2,000.
What you save
UK insolation gives roughly 0.7–1.1 kWh per watt of installed AC capacity per year, depending on orientation and shading. For an 800W system:
- Shaded or strong-east/west balcony: ~560–640 kWh/year
- South-facing balcony, modest shade: ~720–800 kWh/year
- Tilted, unshaded, south-facing: ~840–880 kWh/year
At ~27p/kWh (UK price cap, mid-2026), that translates to:
- Shaded: £150–£170/year
- Typical south-facing: £195–£215/year
- Best-case unshaded tilted: £225–£240/year
These assume ~100% self-consumption. In practice some daytime production goes unused if your household is empty — haircut the savings by 10–25% to be honest with yourself. A battery brings self-consumption back near 90% and adds ~£30–£60/year.
Realistic payback
| Setup | Total cost | Yearly saving | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget DIY-style 800W + electrician | £500 | £180 | ~2.8 years |
| Typical 2-panel kit + electrician | £700 | £195 | ~3.6 years |
| Premium brand (EcoFlow STREAM) | £1,000 | £200 | ~5 years |
| Premium + battery (STREAM Ultra) | £1,500 | £235 | ~6.4 years |
SEG (Smart Export Guarantee) — usually not available
SEG pays UK households for electricity exported to the grid (typically 5–15p/kWh). To qualify you need an MCS-certified installer and a smart meter exporting on the SEG channel. Plug-in balcony installs almost never meet MCS, so SEG income is generally zero for this category. We don’t model it in our payback numbers, and you shouldn’t either.