State

How much solar do I need in Montana?

Modern house with rooftop solar panels and a straight concrete driveway at golden hour

Montana averages 4.76 peak sun hours a day, so 1 kW of panels makes about 1,344 kWh a year. A home using 10 kWh a day needs about 2,801 W of panels.

Daily usePanel watts400 W panelsBattery for 1 day
5 kWh/day1,401 W46.17 kWh
10 kWh/day2,801 W812.35 kWh
20 kWh/day5,602 W1524.69 kWh
30 kWh/day8,403 W2237.04 kWh

Peak sun hours: 4.76; annual output 1,344 kWh per kW. Source: state table derived from NREL PVWatts v8; check your exact address in NREL PVWatts.

Questions

How many peak sun hours does Montana get?

4.76 kWh/m²/day on average, from NREL PVWatts v8 data.

How many solar panels for a house in Montana?

Montana averages 4.76 peak sun hours a day, so 1 kW of panels makes about 1,344 kWh a year. A home using 10 kWh a day needs about 2,801 W of panels.