How Much Power Does 3kW Solar System Produce?

Last Updated: March 3, 2023

How Much Power Does 3kW Solar System Produce?

Wondering how much power or electricity will a 3kW solar panel produce? So you my friend have come to the right place.

This is going to be a thorough guide on how much DC and AC power output you can expect from a 3kW solar system according to your location.

Also, I'm gonna share some tips on how you can get the maximum output from your solar panels.

Need a simple solution? Use my free online solar panel output calculator to find out the power output of your solar system. Or use the chart below to find out the estimated output

Table Of Contents show

Solar Panel Output Calculator

Note: Peak sun hours are not the total daylight hours. Click here to read about peak sun hours

How Much Power Does a 3kW Solar System Produce?

3kW solar system will produce about 12kWh of electricity or power per day, 360kWh per month, or 4,380kWh per year. Considering 5 hours of average peak sunlight per day.

Now let's discuss how many hours of peak sunlight your location receives and how to calculate.

How To Calculate Peak Sun Hours?

Only under standard conditions, solar panels will produce their rated wattage output.. which includes, 1kW/meter² of sunlight intensity, 25^oC temperature, no wind, and direct tilt angle.

That is why we consider peak sun hours as the baseline when estimating the solar system output.

The intensity of the sunlight will be different throughout the day like for example.

Noon: 1000 watt/meter² sunlight intensity (1 peak sun hour)
late evening: 200 watt/meter² sunlight intensity (0.2 peak sun hour)

To find out the total number of peak sun hours your location receives using this calculator.

Step 1: Enter Your Address

Step 2: Click Results

After selecting the result session you'll be able to see the number of peak sun hours per day, month by month.

These are the result from Florida city where i live. As you can see the average number of peak sun hours is about 5.87 or 5.87kWh/meter²of solar radiations per day.

Average Solar Panel Output

you have a 3kw solar system so it should produce 3kWh in 1 peak sun hour? well, not exactly.

Yes, sometimes you'll receive 3kW of power output from your solar system but it will last for a few minutes.

Some days you may get more power output and some days it'll be lower. This will totally depend on the weather conditions.

and also there will be some power losses in DC cables and in charge controller.

Speaking from experience. on average, i receive about 70-80% output from my 400-watt solar panels per peak sun hour. This conclusion is based on 30 days of output data.

DC vs AC Output

^{Watch this video to understand the difference between DC and AC current}

All the numbers which i have talked about above are DC output (Direct current).

Solar panels produce power in DC and also batteries store power in DC, in simple words lower voltage.

but most of our household appliances required AC (alternating current). so to convert DC into AC we use an inverter.

As nothing is perfect when it comes to solar power or electricity in general. Solar power inverters are not 100% efficient.

This means there will be some percent power loss when converting DC into AC. Most solar panels are about 90% efficient.

This means a 10% of power loss will occur when converting DC - AC.

How To Calculate Power Output Of The Solar System?

Here are simple steps to calculate the power output from your solar system.

i would take a 3kW solar system and my city as an example (Florida city). Which receives on average 5.8 hours of peak sunlight per day.

5.8 * 3000 = 17,400Wh

Now multiply the value by 0.8 to subtract the power losses.

17,400 * 0.8 = 13,920Wh (DC)

Now let's convert the DC watt into AC, considering a 90% efficient inverter.

13,920 * 0.9 = 12,520Wh (AC)

in Florida, on average you'd receive about 14kWh DC and 12.5kWh AC power output from a 3kW solar system per day.

Related Post: What Can a 3kW Solar System Run?

3kW Solar System Output State By State - Chart

Here's a chart on how much power output you can expect from a 3kW solar system in your state.

State	Average Peak Sun Hours (per day)	Estimated Output From 3kW Solar System (per day)	Estimated Output From 3kW Solar System (per month)	Estimated Output From 3kW Solar System (per year)
Alabama	5.3 hrs	12.7 kWh	381 kWh	4572 kWh
Alaska	3.3 hrs	7.9 kWh	237 kWh	2844 kWh
Arizona	6.2 hrs	14.8 kWh	444 kWh	5328 kWh
Arkansas	5.1 hrs	12.2 kWh	366 kWh	4392 kWh
California	5.8 hrs	13.9 kWh	417 kWh	5004 kWh
Colorado	5.9 hrs	14.1 kWh	423 kWh	5076 kWh
Connecticut	4.7 hrs	11.2 kWh	336 kWh	4032 kWh
Delaware	4.9 hrs	11.7 kWh	351 kWh	4212 kWh
Florida	5.6 hrs	13.4 kWh	402 kWh	4824 kWh
Georgia	5.3 hrs	12.7 kWh	381 kWh	4572 kWh
Hawaii	5.0 hrs	12.0 kWh	360 kWh	4320 kWh
Idaho	5.1 hrs	12.2 kWh	366 kWh	4392 kWh
Illinois	6.5 hrs	15.6 kWh	468 kWh	5616 kWh
Indiana	4.7 hrs	11.2 kWh	336 kWh	4032 kWh
Iowa	4.8 hrs	11.5 kWh	345 kWh	4140 kWh
Kansa	4.5 hrs	10.8 kWh	324 kWh	3888 kWh
Kentucky	4.8 hrs	11.5 kWh	345 kWh	4140 kWh
Louisiana	5.4 hrs	12.9 kWh	387 kWh	4644 kWh
Maine	4.4 hrs	10.5 kWh	315 kWh	3780 kWh
Maryland	4.9 hrs	11.7 kWh	351 kWh	4212 kWh
Massachusetts	4.3 hrs	10.3 kWh	309 kWh	3708 kWh
Michigan	4.2 hrs	10.0 kWh	300 kWh	3600 kWh
Minnesota	4.5 hrs	10.8 kWh	324 kWh	3888 kWh
Mississippi	5.3 hrs	12.7 kWh	381 kWh	4572 kWh
Missouri	4.9 hrs	11.7 kWh	351 kWh	4212 kWh
Montana	4.4 hrs	10.5 kWh	315 kWh	3780 kWh
Nebraska	5.3 hrs	12.7 kWh	381 kWh	4572 kWh
Nevada	5.7 hrs	13.6 kWh	408 kWh	4896 kWh
New Hampshire	4.7 hrs	11.2 kWh	336 kWh	4032 kWh
New Jersey	4.7 hrs	11.2 kWh	336 kWh	4032 kWh
New Mexico	6.4 hrs	15.3 kWh	459 kWh	5508 kWh
New York	4.5 hrs	10.8 kWh	324 kWh	3888 kWh
North Carolina	5.2 hrs	12.4 kWh	372 kWh	4464 kWh
North Dakota	4.5 hrs	10.8 kWh	324 kWh	3888 kWh
Ohio	4.5 hrs	10.8 kWh	324 kWh	3888 kWh
Oklahoma	5.4 hrs	12.9 kWh	387 kWh	4644 kWh
Oregan	4.4 hrs	10.5 kWh	315 kWh	3780 kWh
Pennsylvania	4.7 hrs	11.2 kWh	336 kWh	4032 kWh
Rhode Island	4.7 hrs	11.2 kWh	336 kWh	4032 kWh
South Carolina	5.3 hrs	12.7 kWh	381 kWh	4572 kWh
South Dakota	5.0 hrs	12.0 kWh	360 kWh	4320 kWh
Tennessee	4.9 hrs	11.7 kWh	351 kWh	4212 kWh
Texas	5.7 hrs	13.6 kWh	408 kWh	4896 kWh
Utah	5.4 hrs	12.9 kWh	387 kWh	4644 kWh
Vermont	4.3 hrs	10.3 kWh	309 kWh	3708 kWh
Virginia	5.0 hrs	12.0 kWh	360 kWh	4320 kWh
Washington	4.8 hrs	11.5 kWh	345 kWh	4140 kWh
West Virginia	4.5 hrs	10.8 kWh	324 kWh	3888 kWh
Wisconsin	4.5 hrs	10.8 kWh	324 kWh	3888 kWh
Wyoming	5.4 hrs	12.9 kWh	387 kWh	4644 kWh

_{^{Chart - 3kW Solar System Output State By State}}

How To Get The Maximum Output From Your Solar System?

Before getting into how you can maximize the output performance of your solar panels. first of all, let’s discuss what factors affect the power output.

As i have discussed earlier. Only under specific conditions, a solar panel will produce their rated power output.

Other than those conditions there are some other factors that will affect the output.

Which includes...

Dirt or dust on the solar panels
DC cable losses
Charge controller inefficiency
Tilt angle

Which in the real world is rarely gonna happen. but we can do some steps to make sure that we’re getting the most from our solar system.

Here are some things which you can do to increase the output from your solar system.

Clean your solar panels from time to time
Use the right size DC cables
Keep the shorter distance between solar panels, the charge controller, and the batteries
Install your solar panels at a right tilt angle (use this calculator to find out)
Use an MPPT charge controller

Watch this video to check the effect of tilt angle on solar panels output.