How Much Will Solar Cost for a 2000 Square Foot House?

Solar panels on a 2000 square foot home

A: This is a trick question! There is no direct correlation between square footage and watts of solar to power the home.

Unfortunately there is no per square foot “average” since the cost of a system actually depends on your daily energy usage and how many full sun hours you receive per day; and if you have other sources of electricity. To accurately size a system to meet your needs, you need to know how much energy (kilowatt-hours, kWh) you use per day. If your home is connected to the utility grid, simply look at your monthly electric bill. If not, you can fill out our load evaluation form. Using this information, we can design a system to meet your needs.

Examples of PV Power Needed to Power Different Sized Homes

(All figures are in monthly averages)

Square Footage Electrical Usage (kWh) Average kWh / Square Foot PV Watts Needed to Cover 100% of kWh Usage PV Watts / Square Foot Main Heating Source
1000 377 .377 2200 2.2 Oil
1270 250 .197 1500 1.1 Gas
1800 250 .139 1500 1.1 Propane
2000 295 .148 1700 0.9 Oil
2650 1175 .44 6900 2.9 Oil
2800 1010 .36 5900 2.1 Oil/wood
3000 1555 .518 9100 3 Gas/wood

Here is a chart showing the above information. Although these examples represent only a small sample of possible combinations of electricity usage for households, hopefully we have demonstrated that the amount of PV it will take to power your needs depends upon your electricity use and NOT the square footage of your home.

chart showing Watts of PV needed as a function of home square footage

So, as you can see, there is no direct calculation between square footage and PV watts.  If you still don’t believe us- watch our video below!