Solar panel calculator

How many solar panels you need: system size in kW, panel count, yearly kWh, installed cost and payback from your use and peak sun hours.

Güncellendi Doğrulanan örnekler: 4

kWh/day
Monthly kWh from your bill ÷ 30.
%
h/day
Yearly average kWh/m²/day for your location, e.g. from PVWatts or the Global Solar Atlas.
%
Soiling, shading, wiring, mismatch and downtime: PVWatts uses 14%. Its inverter (96%) and heat losses are extra; 17.4% includes the inverter.
W
$
%
$
Dene
System size
kW
System size: 7.2 kW
En fazla ondalık basamak: 2; En yakına; eşit uzaklıkta sıfırdan uzağa
Panels
18panels
Size before rounding to panels
6.98kW
Generation per year
11,300kWh
System cost after incentives
$20,160.00
Savings per year
$1,808.06
Simple payback
11.2years
Simple payback ignores panel degradation (about 0.5% a year in the PVWatts manual), price changes and financing, and assumes every kWh offsets a kWh bought at the full price.

Covering 30 kWh a day takes 6.98 kW, which rounds up to 18 panels of 400 W (7.2 kW). They make about 11,300 kWh a year, worth $1,808.06 at $0.16 per kWh, so the $20,160.00 system pays for itself in about 11.2 years.

Electricity used and generated per year

Your use10,950 kWhSolar generation11,300 kWh (103%)

Cumulative savings against the system cost

$0$10K$20K$30K$40K0510152025YearPayback 11.2 y
Savings to dateSystem cost
Nasıl hesaplanır S
  1. Energy to generate

    30×1=30 kWh/day30 \times 1 = 30\ \text{kWh/day}
  2. System size

    305×0.86=6.976744 kW\frac{30}{5 \times 0.86} = 6.976744\ \text{kW}

    Derate 0.86 = 1 − 14% losses.

  3. Panels

    ⌈6,976.744186400⌉=18⇒7.2 kW\left\lceil \frac{6{,}976.744186}{400} \right\rceil = 18 \Rightarrow 7.2\ \text{kW}

    Rounded up to whole panels.

  4. Yearly generation

    7.2×5×0.86×365=11,300.4 kWh7.2 \times 5 \times 0.86 \times 365 = 11{,}300.4\ \text{kWh}
  5. Cost and payback

    7,200×2.8×(1−0)11,300.4×0.16=20,160.001,808.06=11.15 years\frac{7{,}200 \times 2.8 \times (1 - 0)}{11{,}300.4 \times 0.16} = \frac{20{,}160.00}{1{,}808.06} = 11.15\ \text{years}

Solar panel calculator hakkında

System size is the daily energy to cover divided by the peak sun hours and by one minus the system losses. Dividing that by the panel rating and rounding up gives the panel count, and yearly generation is the rounded size × sun hours × (1 − losses) × 365. Cost is the size in watts times the installed price per watt, less incentives, and simple payback is that cost divided by the yearly saving.

With the defaults, 30 kWh a day at 5 peak sun hours and 14% losses needs 6.98 kW, which rounds up to 18 panels of 400 W (7.2 kW). They make about 11,300 kWh a year. At 2.80 a watt the system costs 20,160 and saves 1,808 a year at 0.16 per kWh, a payback of 11.2 years.

The 14% default is the PVWatts figure for soiling, shading, wiring and similar losses. PVWatts models the inverter and cell heating separately, so including a 96%-efficient inverter raises the loss to about 17.4%.

Çözümlü örnekler

30 kWh a day, 5 sun hours, 400 W panels

Electricity use
30 kWh/day
Share of use to cover
100%
Peak sun hours
5 h/day
System losses
14%
Panel rating
400 W
Installed cost per watt
2.8
Incentives and rebates
0%
Electricity price per kWh
0.16
Size before rounding to panels
6.98 kW
Panels
18 panels
System size
7.2 kW
Generation per year
11,300 kWh
System cost after incentives
20,160.00
Savings per year
1,808.06
Simple payback
11.2 years

Doğrulama kaynağı: Python decimal: 30 ÷ (5 × 0.86) = 6.977 kW → 17.44 → 18 panels = 7.2 kW; 7.2 × 5 × 0.86 × 365 = 11,300.4 kWh; 20,160 ÷ 1,808.06

Edge: need is an exact number of panels

Electricity use
17.2 kWh/day
Share of use to cover
100%
Peak sun hours
5 h/day
System losses
14%
Panel rating
400 W
Installed cost per watt
2.8
Incentives and rebates
0%
Electricity price per kWh
0.16
Size before rounding to panels
4 kW
Panels
10 panels
Generation per year
6,278 kWh
Simple payback
11.2 years

Doğrulama kaynağı: Hand calculation: 17.2 ÷ 4.3 = 4.0 kW = 10 × 400 W exactly; payback is independent of size at a fixed cost per watt

10 kWh a day, 5.5 sun hours, 20% losses, 540 W panels at 50 per watt

Electricity use
10 kWh/day
Share of use to cover
100%
Peak sun hours
5.5 h/day
System losses
20%
Panel rating
540 W
Installed cost per watt
50
Incentives and rebates
0%
Electricity price per kWh
8
Panels
5 panels
System size
2.7 kW
Generation per year
4,336 kWh
System cost after incentives
135,000.00
Simple payback
3.9 years

Doğrulama kaynağı: Python decimal: 10 ÷ 4.4 = 2.27 kW → 4.21 → 5 panels = 2.7 kW; × 4.4 × 365 = 4,336.2 kWh; 135,000 ÷ 34,689.6

Cover half the use with a 30% rebate

Electricity use
30 kWh/day
Share of use to cover
50%
Peak sun hours
4.5 h/day
System losses
14%
Panel rating
400 W
Installed cost per watt
3
Incentives and rebates
30%
Electricity price per kWh
0.2
Panels
10 panels
System size
4 kW
System cost after incentives
8,400.00
Simple payback
7.4 years

Doğrulama kaynağı: Python decimal: 15 ÷ (4.5 × 0.86) = 3.88 kW → 10 panels; 4,000 W × 3 × 0.7 = 8,400; 5,650.2 kWh × 0.2 = 1,130.04 a year

Sorular

How many solar panels do I need?

Divide your daily use by the peak sun hours and by one minus the losses to get the system size, then divide by the panel rating and round up. 30 kWh a day with 5 sun hours and 14% losses needs 30 ÷ (5 × 0.86) = 6.98 kW, which is 18 panels of 400 W (7.2 kW). Monthly kWh from your bill divided by 30 gives the daily figure.

What are peak sun hours?

The day's solar energy on the panels written as hours of full sun at 1,000 W/m²: 5 kWh/m² a day is 5 peak sun hours. Panel ratings refer to 1,000 W/m² and a 25 °C cell, so a 1 kW array makes about 1 kWh per peak sun hour before losses. PVWatts, now run by the US National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly NREL), gives yearly averages for any location.

What system losses should I use for solar panels?

PVWatts uses 14% by default: soiling 2%, shading 3%, mismatch 2%, wiring 2%, connections 0.5%, light-induced degradation 1.5%, nameplate rating 1% and availability 3%, combined by multiplying rather than adding. It models the inverter (96% efficient by default) and cell heating separately, so 1 − 0.86 × 0.96 ≈ 17.4% here covers the inverter as well.

How long do solar panels take to pay for themselves?

Divide the installed cost after incentives by the yearly saving. The default 7.2 kW system at 2.80 a watt costs 20,160 and saves 1,808 a year at 0.16 per kWh, so it pays back in 11.2 years. The PVWatts manual puts long-term panel degradation at about 0.5% a year, and power exported for less than the retail price also stretches the payback.

Is there still a federal tax credit for home solar?

Not for new systems. The IRS says the 30% Residential Clean Energy Credit covered property installed from 2022 through 31 December 2025 and is not available for property placed in service after that date. State, utility and local rebates may still apply; enter them as a percentage in the incentives box to update the cost and payback.

“Solar panel calculator” ne kadar doğru sonuç verir?

Doğruluk, girdilerinize ve yöntemin varsayımlarına bağlıdır. Ondalık aritmetik 50 anlamlı basamak kullanır; ancak tahminler, sayısal yöntemler ve kaynak veriler daha az hassas olabilir. Gösterilen değerin yuvarlanması bu sınırları ortadan kaldırmaz. Bağımsız kaynaklarla doğrulanan çözümlü örnek sayısı: 4. Örneğin “30 kWh a day, 5 sun hours, 400 W panels”, Python decimal: 30 ÷ (5 × 0.86) = 6.977 kW → 17.44 → 18 panels = 7.2 kW; 7.2 × 5 × 0.86 × 365 = 11,300.4 kWh; 20,160 ÷ 1,808.06 ile karşılaştırılarak doğrulanır.

Yöntemin kaynağı nedir?

Dobos, PVWatts Version 5 Manual (NREL, 2014) — system losses default 14%, inverter efficiency 96%; PVWatts calculator, National Laboratory of the Rockies (location-specific sun hours); IRS — Residential Clean Energy Credit.

Bu hesaplayıcı hakkında

P=Eday×offsetHsun(1−losses),N=⌈PPpanel⌉,payback=costEyear×tariffP = \frac{E_{\text{day}} \times \text{offset}}{H_{\text{sun}} (1 - \text{losses})},\quad N = \left\lceil \frac{P}{P_{\text{panel}}} \right\rceil,\quad \text{payback} = \frac{\text{cost}}{E_{\text{year}} \times \text{tariff}}

Kaynaklar

  1. Dobos, PVWatts Version 5 Manual (NREL, 2014) — system losses default 14%, inverter efficiency 96%
  2. PVWatts calculator, National Laboratory of the Rockies (location-specific sun hours)
  3. IRS — Residential Clean Energy Credit

Yalnızca planlama içindir. Kredi verenler, vergi makamları ve piyasalar kendi yuvarlama, ücret ve kurallarını uygular; taahhütte bulunmadan önce rakamları onlarla doğrulayın.

Kaynaklarla doğrulandı

Bu hesaplayıcı, yanıtları bağımsız kaynaklardan alınan 4 çözümlü örnek içerir. Bunlar test paketinde çalıştırılır; burada da çalıştırabilirsiniz.

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