Balcony Solar Calculator
Enter your kit size, your sun hours and the price per kWh from your bill. The calculator estimates yearly output, how much of it you'll actually use, your yearly savings and the payback time.
Fill in sun hours and your electricity price to see an estimate.
Assumes 14% system losses (the PVWatts default). Shade, panel angle and heat lower real output. This is an estimate, not a quote.
How the estimate works
- Yearly output = watts ÷ 1,000 × peak sun hours × 365 × 0.86
- Used at home = yearly output × your self-use share
- Yearly savings = used kWh × your price per kWh
- Payback = kit cost ÷ yearly savings
Check whether plug-in solar is allowed where you live first: balcony solar laws by state.
FAQ
- How much power does a balcony solar panel produce?
- Multiply the kit’s watts by your daily peak sun hours and 365, then take off about 14% for system losses. An 800 W kit with 4 peak sun hours makes roughly 1,000 kWh a year before shade.
- What are peak sun hours?
- The number of hours per day your location gets the equivalent of full, direct sun. It depends on where you live and the season, and a balcony facing east or west gets less than one facing south.
- Why does self-use matter?
- Plug-in systems are meant to offset what your home uses at the moment the panel is producing. Power you don’t use at that moment usually earns you nothing, so savings depend on how much you use during the day.