How Many Kwh Does A 6Kw Solar System Produce

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Whether you’re looking for greater energy independence or just want to do your part for the environment, when you’re looking at investing in a solar system, it is a good idea to gauge how much power you need and consume.

The truth is that a 6kW solar system will produce different amounts, primarily based on how long the solar panels are exposed to strong sunlight. The average 6kW system can produce up to 25kWh a day or about 750kWh each month.

Keep reading to learn more about the potential savings of a solar system, if they are worth the investment, and more.

How Much Money Can You Save on it?

Many complex factors influence how much money you can save by using a 6kW solar system. 

However, if we consider a thought experiment about the average American household, we can calculate how much some people might be able to save by using solar power. Let’s assume that the average American household:

• Uses about 30kWh of power each day
• Has a 6kW solar system made up of 250W solar panels
• Gets just 5 hours of optimal sunlight a day

 

This means that there are 24 250W solar panels, and with this information, we can estimate the number of kilowatt-hours generated in a single day and extrapolate more data from there.

250W x 5 hours of sunlight = 1250Wh or 1.25kWh is generated through a single solar panel over 5 hours. If we scale this to include all of the solar panels in the system, we get 1.25kWh x 24 panels = 30kWh.

Since the average American household typically uses around or just under 30kWh of power each day, this would completely cancel out your electric bill each month. This means you could be looking at $115 of savings each month or more (just under $1400 per year).

 

How Good is a 6kW Solar System?

Whether a 6kW solar system is good or not is largely a personal matter. However, if you take the time to calculate your energy needs and find that you are using much more power than a 6kW solar system provides, you may find that it is not worth the investment.

Alternatively, suppose you have an energy-efficient household or just don’t use a lot of power in general. 

In that case, a 6kW system could be more than enough for all your needs, especially if you opt to include a battery system so that you can use power when there is no light for electricity generation.

 

How Many Solar Panels are Needed for a 6kW System?

As we saw in our thought experiment, you would need 24 solar panels for a 6kW system. However, this assumes that each panel is rated at 250W. This may not always be the case.

Residential solar panels typically have ratings anywhere between 150 and 370W, and it’s possible to have a combination of different ratings depending on your needs.

This is important to consider because higher wattage ratings typically involve larger solar panels, which take up more space. 

So, for example, if you aren’t using 250W panels, you might only need 20 300W solar panels. Alternatively, you may need up to 40 panels if they are only rated at 150W per panel.

 

Can a House run on a 6 kwh Solar System?

This is another difficult question. If we refer back to our thought experiment, you may recall that the average American household could cancel out their entire energy bill each month thanks to a 6kW solar system.

This is not necessarily always true for a variety of reasons. These include, but are not limited to:

• The amount of sun
• The time of year
• The prevailing weather conditions
• The angle and direction of your solar panels
• The existence (or lack) of solar storage in your system

 

Chances are you’ll get more than 5 hours of sun in a day depending on the time of year and where you live, but at other times you may get less.

Also, since the average household uses about 30kWh in 24 hours, you may not be generating electricity the entire time it is being used without a battery system in place.

 

Do Solar Systems Lose Their Capacity over Time?

Solar panels and solar systems themselves do not typically lose capacity over their lifetime because they are not storing any of the energy they produce.

If you are tied to a grid, any excess energy you aren’t using may be sent back to the utility company in a process known as net metering. Any energy you aren’t using may be wasted if you don’t have a battery system.

A solar panel may lose some efficiency over time, but the only time you lose capacity in a solar system is if you use batteries. 

 

Final Thoughts on How Many Kwh Does A 6Kw Solar System Produce 

A system of this size can power many average American households or smaller residences, but it often depends on individual power loads. Keep in mind that a solar system rated for 6kW does not mean that it is always producing 6kWh of energy.

However, a 6kW solar system can help cancel out a large portion of your utility bill each month, even if it doesn’t save you the entirety of your bill.

Depending on your setup and if you take advantage of things like net metering and Time-Of-Use prices, a 6kW solar system could pay for itself within ten years or less.

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