Consider two senior grandparents who reside in a home with a gas water heater, stove, and furnace: they hardly ever use electricity. On the other hand, a family of four with two adults and two teens using just electric gadgets in their house would consume a lot of power. A dwelling of the same size uses varying amounts of energy. 

The simplest way to determine how many solar panels your home needs is to use a solar panel calculator. We’ll show you how to do the calculations, but first, let’s look at some averages to establish a starting point.

Information about house solar panels 

In reality, the typical American home is slightly larger than 2,000 square feet, and its inhabitants use about 10,800 kilowatt-hours annually. We’re talking averages here, so naturally, this number varies depending on the type of home (apartment vs. single family, for example) and the state the house is in.

The efficiency of solar panels depends on the state in which you reside. In Arizona, a kilowatt (kW) of solar panels may generate up to 1,900 kWh per year. On the low end, the same 1 kW of solar panels in Michigan only produce 1,400 kWh. Compared to Arizona, where 5.7 kW of solar energy is required, Michigan requires a 7.7 kW solar installation to produce 10,800 kWh of solar energy (10,800 divided by 1,400). (10,800 divided by 1,900). 

Given that the typical solar panel from a company now has a 370-watt output, you can divide the required number of solar kilowatts by 0.37 and round it up to get the final figure.

Remember that this is a preliminary estimate and only considers residences that consume less than 10,800 kWh annually. 

The average price of installing solar panels 

Although solar panel installation prices vary greatly, industry experts look at the average cost consumers pay for solar and translate that into dollars per watt. In the United States, a solar installation will typically cost $3.20 per watt in 2022. 

The 7.7-kW system would cost $24,640 on average, while the 5.7-kW system would cost $18,240. These costs do not include federal or state incentives, such as utility rebates or tax credits for solar energy.

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