{"id":30823,"date":"2019-06-06T07:32:20","date_gmt":"2019-06-05T21:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=30823"},"modified":"2019-06-06T11:35:23","modified_gmt":"2019-06-06T01:05:23","slug":"6-kilowatts-solar-panels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/","title":{"rendered":"6.6 kW Solar System: How Many Solar Panels?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_30892\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30892\" class=\"wp-image-30892 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/6_6kW_how_many_panels.jpg\" alt=\"Solar panels - 6.66kW system\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/6_6kW_how_many_panels.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/6_6kW_how_many_panels-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/6_6kW_how_many_panels-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/6_6kW_how_many_panels-1024x536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30892\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">6.66 kW is the largest solar system most people are allowed (without resorting to export limiters). How many panels do you need to reach the magic number?<\/p><\/div>\n<p>If someone casually asks me how much solar they should install, I may simply tell them they should <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/fill-your-roof-with-solar\/\">fill their roof<\/a> with as much capacity as they reasonably can.\u00a0 But after learning the details, I often recommend installing as close to 6.66 kilowatts as possible.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The reason why is fairly straightforward.\u00a0 Most homes have single phase power and their Distributed Network Service Provider (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/glossary.html#dnsp\">DNSP<\/a>) normally only allows these homes to install a maximum inverter capacity of 5 kilowatts.\u00a0 Because solar panel capacity can be up to one-third larger than the inverter capacity<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/#en-30823-1' id='enref-30823-1' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(30823)'>1<\/a><\/sup> the maximum solar power system size that can be installed is 6.66 kilowatts<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/#en-30823-2' id='enref-30823-2' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(30823)'>2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n<h2>Going Over 6.66 Kilowatts<\/h2>\n<p>There are ways around the 6.66 kilowatt limit for homes with single phase power, but they are not always permitted or practical:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Some DNSPs allow more inverter capacity or you can apply for special permission for a larger system.<\/li>\n<li>Inverters can be export limited so they won&#8217;t send more than 5 kilowatts of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/good-solar-guide\/power-energy-difference\/\">power<\/a> into the grid.\u00a0 Not all DNSPs will allow this, but if export limiting is an option I suggest looking into it if you have enough roof space for a large solar system.<\/li>\n<li>Install a solar power system that doesn&#8217;t export to the grid.\u00a0 As it doesn&#8217;t send power into the grid you don&#8217;t need your DNSP&#8217;s permission to install it.\u00a0 The drawback is you won&#8217;t receive a feed-in tariff for any surplus energy produced<\/li>\n<li>Have your home upgraded to 3 phrase power.\u00a0 This may only cost around $2,000 but often costs more than twice that.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_30898\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30898\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30898\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/damien.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"562\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/damien.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/damien-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/damien-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30898\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Young Damien is very upset his parents are only allowed to install 6.66 kilowatts of solar. He wanted exactly one hundred times that amount. He feels quite beastly about it.<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>Close To 6.66 Kilowatts Is Often Practical<\/h2>\n<p>Given the number of solar panels that can easily be installed on a typical roof and also taking into account people&#8217;s budgets and what they expect from their solar systems, installing close to 6.66 kilowatts of panels is often the most practical option.\u00a0 But while I have often recommended this, I&#8217;ve never clearly explained just how many solar panels will be required and how close to the limit you can get.<\/p>\n<p>To remedy this I&#8217;ve created a table that gives:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Solar panel capacity in watts.<\/li>\n<li>The maximum number of panels of that wattage that can be installed while remaining within the 6.66 kilowatt limit.<\/li>\n<li>The total capacity of that system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here it is:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-30863 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/panel-number.jpg\" alt=\"solar panel wattage table - maximum system size\" width=\"811\" height=\"1091\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/panel-number.jpg 811w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/panel-number-223x300.jpg 223w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/panel-number-768x1033.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/panel-number-761x1024.jpg 761w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 811px) 100vw, 811px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Solar Panels From 250 to 400 Watts<\/h2>\n<p>The table covers panels from 250 to 400 watts.\u00a0 You are very unlikely to have a solar system installed these days with 250 watt panels.\u00a0 The lowest capacity on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/panels\/comparison\/compare-solar-panels\/\">solar panel comparison table<\/a> at the moment is 255 watts.\u00a0 But 250 watts seems like a good place to start.<\/p>\n<p>The largest panel capacity on the table is 400 watts.\u00a0 There is only one solar panel I know of larger than this and that&#8217;s a big, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/72-cell-solar-panels\/\">72 solar cell<\/a>, commercial panel from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/panels\/lg-review.html\">LG Solar<\/a>.\u00a0 You&#8217;re not likely to install these on your roof, but if you do you can work out the maths yourself.\u00a0 Or you could get LG Solar to do it.\u00a0 Ask Marcus from LG Solar to work it out and tell him I told you he had to do it personally.\u00a0 He&#8217;ll love that.<\/p>\n<p>Most panels installed these days are from 260 to 310 watts and I&#8217;ve outlined those in a pink box.\u00a0 Those with higher capacity are often larger 72 cell panels that are rarely used on residential roofs.\u00a0 But if you are willing to pay for a premium solar panel you can get high capacity 60 cell ones such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/panels\/sunpower-review.html\">SunPower&#8217;s<\/a> X-22, which is 360 watts.<\/p>\n<p>There are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/double-glass-glass-glass-bifacial-panels-hell\/\">bifacial solar panels<\/a> that have high wattages, but they&#8217;re not suitable for normal rooftops as they perform best when they can make use of light that comes from beneath and most roofs don&#8217;t glow.\u00a0 (But they can be useful as roofing for patios, carports, and sun rooms.<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/#en-30823-3' id='enref-30823-3' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(30823)'>3<\/a><\/sup>)<\/p>\n<h2>How To Use The Table<\/h2>\n<p>Let&#8217;s say your favorite country without kangaroos is Taiwan so you want to install Taiwanese made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/panels\/winaico-review.html\">Winaico solar panels<\/a>.\u00a0 You are thinking of using their 285 watt panels and want to get as close to 6.66 kilowatts as possible.\u00a0 So you check the table and:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Look up 285 watts in the left hand column.<\/li>\n<li>Look to the right to see that the maximum number of solar panels you can install is 23.<\/li>\n<li>Look to the right of that and see the total capacity of the system will be 6.555 kilowatts.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div id=\"attachment_30899\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30899\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30899\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/number-of-the-yeast.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"588\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/number-of-the-yeast.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/number-of-the-yeast-300x294.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30899\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">For some reason I had a diabolical urge to buy 665 more of these so I&#8217;d have the number of the yeast.<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>Best Solar Panel Wattage For Maximum System Capacity<\/h2>\n<p>Looking at solar panels from 260 to 310 watts, the three best wattages for getting as close to the 6.66 kilowatt maximum are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>265 watts &#8212; Maximum capacity 6.625 kilowatts<\/li>\n<li>275 watts &#8212; Maximum capacity 6.6 kilowatts<\/li>\n<li>300 watts &#8212; Maximum capacity 6.6 kilowatts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The average maximum capacity for solar panels in that range comes to 6.51 kilowatts.\u00a0 So if you randomly pick from the most common capacity panels you can expect to get a system size of around 6.5 kilowatts.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to be spot-on 6.66 kilowatts you&#8217;ll need 370 watt panels, as 18 of them will give you that amount exactly.<\/p>\n<h2>Don&#8217;t Stress Out Over A Couple Hundred Watts<\/h2>\n<p>While it often makes sense to get as close to 6.66 kilowatts as possible, don&#8217;t panic if you are a couple hundred watts short.\u00a0 Paying a few percent more for a system with a few percent more capacity is worthwhile, but your installer may not be able to easily acquire optimal wattage solar panels for you and it doesn&#8217;t make much sense to pay a heap more for them.\u00a0 You may be able to use that money to make greater energy savings elsewhere, such as buying a more energy efficient appliance or buying &#8212; and using &#8212; a bicycle.<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/#en-30823-4' id='enref-30823-4' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(30823)'>4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If someone casually asks me how much solar they should install, I may simply tell them they should fill their roof with as much capacity as they reasonably can.\u00a0 But after learning the details, I often recommend installing as close to 6.66 kilowatts as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":30892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-installation","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>6.6 kW Solar System: How Many Solar Panels Do You Need?<\/title>\n<meta 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How many solar panels do you need to reach the magic number?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"6.6 kW Solar System: How Many Solar Panels?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"6.66 kW is the largest solar power system most people are allowed without export limiting. How many solar panels do you need to reach the magic number?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-05T21:02:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-06-06T01:05:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/6_6kW_how_many_panels.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ronald Brakels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@BrakelsRonald\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ronald Brakels\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d0ce1779b3f5cb67cb4f146732af2fc7\"},\"headline\":\"6.6 kW Solar System: How Many Solar Panels?\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-05T21:02:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-06T01:05:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/\"},\"wordCount\":1158,\"commentCount\":50,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/6_6kW_how_many_panels.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Solar Installation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/\",\"name\":\"6.6 kW Solar System: How Many Solar Panels Do You Need?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/6-kilowatts-solar-panels\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/6_6kW_how_many_panels.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-05T21:02:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-06T01:05:23+00:00\",\"description\":\"6.66 kW is the largest solar power system most people are allowed without export limiting. 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