The average one-bedroom house needs six solar panels, a typical three-bedroom house requires 10 panels, and a five-bedroom house will usually need 14 panels. In each case, the panels will produce enough power to cover 49% of the average household’s annual electricity usage – or more, if you don’t leave the house very often.
That said, the rate at which solar panels generate electricity varies depending on the amount of direct sunlight and the quality, size, number and location of panels in use. Even in winter, solar panel technology is still effective; at one point in February 2022, solar was providing more than 20% of the UK’s electricity.1
The solar panel capacity shows how much power a panel can make when the sun’s shining the brightest. It’s measured in watts-peak (Wp). That’s like its top power when it’s working super well. It helps know how much electricity you might get from the panel.
To answer this, we need to look at how much energy solar panels can generate. Most home panels can each produce between 250 and 400 Watts per hour. According to the Renewable Energy Hub, domestic solar panel systems usually range in size from around to 1 kW to 5 kW.
Installing solar panels lets you use free, renewable, clean electricity to power your appliances. You can sell extra electricity to the grid or store it for later use. There are over 1.3 million installations on homes across the UK – see where the UK solar panel hotspots are.
To calculate how many solar panels you need, the only piece of information you need to find is your annual electricity usage, which your energy supplier will usually share with you each year. If you have an online account or solar app from your supplier, you may also be able to find your annual consumption that way.