Solar Panel and Array Design

These calculators plan the parts of a solar installation. Estimate panel output from wattage and sun hours, set the tilt from latitude, lay out strings from data sheet values, and size the charge controller, wiring and battery bank.

Tools in this group

• Solar Battery Bank Size Calculator (Solar Calculator Battery) — Enter your daily energy use and backup days to get the battery bank size in Ah and kWh and how many batteries you need.
• Solar Charge Controller Calculator — Enter your panels, wiring and battery voltage to get the charge controller size in amps and check the cold-weather voltage.
• Solar Panel Angle Calculator (Tilt) — Enter your latitude to get the best solar panel tilt angle for the whole year, each season or a chosen date.
• Solar Panel Efficiency Calculator — Enter the panel watts and its length and width to get the efficiency, or work the other way round.
• Solar Panel Output Calculator — Enter the panel or array wattage and your peak sun hours to estimate how many kWh it produces per day, month and year.
• Solar String Calculator (Series and Parallel) — Enter the panel data sheet values, your coldest temperature and the device input limits to find the longest string and the layouts that fit.
• Solar Wire Size Calculator — Enter the circuit current, voltage and run length to get the wire gauge for a solar string, charge controller or battery cable.