⚙ Energy
Power Your Home with Solar
How many panels would cover your yearly electricity use, how much roof do they need, and what does it cost? Add an electric car or heat pump and see the difference.
Inputs
Input examples
Covering your yearly total does not mean you are off-grid: in summer you deliver to the grid, in winter you take from it.
Your electricity use
Panels and sunshine
Sizing a Solar Roof
Start from your yearly use on the energy bill: a typical Dutch household uses about 2 500–3 000 kWh a year, an American one around 10 000 kWh. An electric car adds roughly 0.17 kWh for every kilometre, and a heat pump several thousand kWh a year.
Each 400 Wp panel makes about 350 kWh a year in the Netherlands and almost twice that in southern Spain. A typical roof fits 10–20 panels of about 1.9 m² each.
2800 kWhtypical Dutch home
0.17 kWh/kmelectric car
~350 kWhper panel per year (NL)
1.9 m²per panel
Where Your Electricity Goes
kWh/yrhousehold
electric car
heat pump
solar yield
Result
Enter the values above
Key Relations
Yield per Panel
The same yearly-energy estimate as on the Solar panels tab, for one panel.
Example:
Panels Needed
Round up to whole panels.
Example:
Electric Car
A typical value for a mid-size electric car, charging losses included.
Sources & Verification
References
- G. M. Masters, Renewable and Efficient Electric Power Systems, 2nd ed., Wiley, 2013