Appliance
How many solar panels to run a laptop?
A laptop uses about 360 Wh a day. At the U.S. average of 4.98 sun hours that takes about 96 W of panels and a 0.44 kWh battery for one day.
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| Value | |
|---|---|
| Model used | 13-inch MacBook Air, included adapter maximum |
| Daily energy | 360 Wh |
| Basis | 60 W × 6 h/day (assumed use) |
| Panel watts (U.S. avg) | 96 W |
| Battery, 1 day | 0.44 kWh |
| Source | manufacturer / ENERGY STAR |
By state
| State | Panel watts |
|---|---|
| Arizona | 73 W |
| Colorado | 85 W |
| Wyoming | 90 W |
| Idaho | 92 W |
| Missouri | 95 W |
| South Dakota | 99 W |
| Montana | 101 W |
| New Jersey | 103 W |
| Maine | 105 W |
| Michigan | 107 W |
| Alaska | 151 W |
Questions
How many solar panels to run a laptop?
A laptop uses about 360 Wh a day. At the U.S. average of 4.98 sun hours that takes about 96 W of panels and a 0.44 kWh battery for one day.
Where does the daily energy come from?
60 W × 6 h/day (assumed use). Apple's MacBook Air specs page lists a 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W max for the 13-inch model, and a 53.8 Wh battery. 60 W is the adapter ceiling, not a measured average workload, so the runtime is a short estimate. Some configurations on the same page ship a 35 W dual USB-C adapter instead.