☀Solar Math
Guides

The maths behind the numbers

The calculator gives you an answer. These explain how it got there, so you can check it, argue with it, and spot when an installer's quote does not add up.

Sizing

How many solar panels do I actually need?

Work backwards from your bill to a panel count — and see why the answer changes by a factor of two between Oslo and Dubai.

Read the guide → · 9 min
Inverters

What size inverter do I need?

DC/AC ratio, deliberate clipping, surge current, and the difference between on-grid, hybrid and off-grid units.

Read the guide → · 8 min
Batteries

How to size a solar battery bank

Depth of discharge, C-rate, round-trip losses, and why a 10 kWh lead-acid bank is not a 10 kWh battery.

Read the guide → · 9 min
Performance

Why your panels produce less than their rating

Every loss between the datasheet and your meter, quantified — heat, dust, wiring, shade and inverter.

Read the guide → · 8 min
Economics

Net metering or a battery?

Which one pays back faster, how to tell which regime you are in, and what happens when the rules change.

Read the guide → · 8 min
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Methodology

The full methodology

Every formula, constant and data source the calculator uses, written out in full so you can reproduce it yourself.

Read the method →
Tool

The calculator

Panel count, inverter size, battery capacity and payback for your exact coordinates. Free, no sign-up, no sales call.

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