What size solar panel to charge a 60ah battery? Enter the battery specs, controller type, and desired charge time in our solar panel size calculator to find out.
Calculate solar panel size for 60ah battery
Note: If you're not sure, what are peak sun hours and how to calculate them, click here to read an in-depth article about peak sun hours.
Calculator assumptions
- The result will be based on considering real world conditions. Which include: 1. Charge controller efficiency, 2. Solar panel efficiency in peak sun hour, and 3. battery charge efficiency rate.
how to determine what solar panel you need for 60ah battery?
To find out what size solar panel you need to charge a 60ah battery, enter the following info into the calculator (located at the top of this page).
- Battery Capacity: I have already gone ahead, and put 60ah for you.
- Battery Volts: Is this a 12, or 24 volt battery?
- Battery Type: Select the battery type, is this a lead-acid, AGM, or lithium-ion (LiFePO4) battery?
- Battery Depth of discharge DoD: Battery DoD is the percentage of the battery that has been discharged relative to the total battery capacity. for half discharged battery you’d enter 50, if the battery is fully discharged which you can achieve on a lithium battery, ENTER 100.
- Charge Controller Type: Are you using a PWM or MPPT charge controller to charge the battery?
- Desired Charge time (in peak sun hours): How fast would you like to charge your battery or how many peak sun hours your location receives?
Now click "CALCULATE" button to get the result.
Example
Let's suppose...
- Battery capacity: 60ah
- Battery voltage: 12v
- Battery type: Lithium
- Battery DoD: 100% (fully discharged battery)
- Charge controller type: PWM
- Desired charge time: 5 peak sun hours
You need a 210 watt solar panel to fully charge a 12v 60ah lithium (LiFePO4) battery from 100% depth of discharge in 5 peak sun hours using a PWM charge controller.
Read the below post to find out how fast you can charge your battery.
Related Post: Guide: Maximum Charging Current & Voltage For 12v Battery
What size solar panel to charge a 60ah battery?
Here are charts on what size solar panel you need to charge a 60ah lead acid and lithium battery using an MPPT or PWM charge controller.
12v 60ah lead acid battery
| Charge time | Charge controller type | Required solar panel size |
|---|---|---|
| 4 peak sun hours | PWM | 150 watts |
| 5 peak sun hours | PWM | 120 watts |
| 10 peak sun hours | PWM | 60 watts |
| 15 peak sun hours | PWM | 40 watts |
| 20 peak sun hours | PWM | 30 watts |
| 25 peak sun hours | PWM | 25 watts |
| 4 peak sun hours | MPPT | 125 watts |
| 5 peak sun hours | MPPT | 100 watts |
| 10 peak sun hours | MPPT | 50 watts |
| 15 peak sun hours | MPPT | 35 watts |
| 20 peak sun hours | MPPT | 25 watts |
| 25 peak sun hours | MPPT | 20 watts |
Summary
- You need about 120 watt solar panel to charge a 12V 60Ah lead-acid battery from 50% depth of discharge in 4 peak sun hours.
12v 60ah lithium (liFePO4) battery
| Charge Time | Charge Controller Type | Required Solar Panel |
|---|---|---|
| 4 peak sun hours | PWM | 260 watts |
| 5 peak sun hours | PWM | 210 watts |
| 10 peak sun hours | PWM | 105 watts |
| 15 peak sun hours | PWM | 70 watts |
| 20 peak sun hours | PWM | 50 watts |
| 25 peak sun hours | PWM | 40 watts |
| 4 peak sun hours | MPPT | 220 watts |
| 5 peak sun hours | MPPT | 175 watts |
| 10 peak sun hours | MPPT | 90 watts |
| 15 peak sun hours | MPPT | 60 watts |
| 20 peak sun hours | MPPT | 45 watts |
| 25 peak sun hours | MPPT | 35 watts |
Summary
- You need about 200 watt solar panel to charge a 12V 60Ah lithium battery from 100% depth of discharge in 4 peak sun hours.
60Ah Battery: FAQs
60ah lithium battery will take about 5 hours to get fully charged with 200 watt solar panel.
60ah battery will take anywhere from 5 to 10 hours to get fully recharged.
12v 60ah battery means 730 watt-hours of power. calculate the watts in a battery using this formula ( battery ah * battery volts )
12v 60ah battery will need about 90 watts of solar panels to charge in 10 peak sun hours from 0-100%.
