How Many Solar Panels Do You Really Need? A Vigood SolarTek Guide

Electricity bills climbing higher? Solar power is a smart, eco-friendly answer. Once installed, solar systems run with minimal upkeep and can drastically cut—or even eliminate—your energy costs.

The big question: how many solar panels do you need? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but this guide can help you estimate based on your needs and usage.

1. Basics First: 1 kW Panel Output

On a typical sunny day, a 1 kW solar panel system generates about 4–6 units (kWh) of electricity—around 5 units on a clear day, or 3 units when it's overcast. Panel size is usually around 2 meters by 1 meter. Cost can range widely—from ₹1,000 to ₹25,000 per panel—but a 1 kW system could save roughly ₹1,000 a month on electricity bills.LOOM SOLAR

2. Match Panels to Your Appliances

To estimate what you'll need, start with the wattage your appliance consumes and divide that by your panel wattage:

• 1.5-ton AC unit: Uses ~1800–2000 W. You’d need about 10 panels of 450–550 W each. Fewer panels if you opt for higher wattage.LOOM SOLAR

• 5 kW system: Equivalent to 5000 W. That means 20 panels of 250 W or just 10 panels of 500 W.LOOM SOLAR

3. For Water Pumps (Agriculture)

Solar-powered pumps are popular in farming. Use this simple calculation:

• 1 HP submersible pump (≈1200 W): Could be powered by 12 × 100 W panels or 4 × 300 W panels for compact setups.LOOM SOLAR

• 3 kW system: Use 10 panels of 300 W.LOOM SOLAR

• 1 HP surface pump (≈2 kW): Needs about 10 × 200 W panels.LOOM SOLAR

4. Align with Your Monthly Electricity Bill

Say your bill is around ₹1,000. To convert that into panel needs:

1. Find your monthly energy usage: If the rate is ₹5 per unit, ₹1,000 ÷ ₹5 = 200 units (kWh).

2. Use the formula:
   System size (kW) = (Total monthly units ÷ 30 days) × 4 units per kW per day
   That gives you: (200 ÷ 30) × 4 ≈ 26.7 kW ... this seems off. The Loom Solar example actually uses (200 ÷ 30) * 4 = 27 kW (but their result is 1.7 kW; looks like a typo). If we stick to the logic:
   200 kWh per month ÷ 30 ≈ 6.7 kWh/day, so you'd need around 1.7 kW of panels (based on ~4 units per kW/day). That translates to ~17 panels of 100 W each.LOOM SOLAR

5. Rooftop System Cost Estimates

For homes and businesses, rooftop installations generally fall within ₹58,000 to ₹1,15,000 per kW, depending on specs, system type, warranty, and service.LOOM SOLAR

6. Final Thoughts from Vigood SolarTek

• Personalized help matters: Reach out to a trusted solar consultant—or better yet, book a visit with us. We'll guide you through calculations, system design, installation, financing, and more.

• Technology keeps evolving: Prices are dropping, and efficiency is improving. Now’s a great time to switch.

• At Vigood SolarTek, we're committed to helping you find the right balance of savings, reliability, and performance, with service that simplifies the entire process.