What can a 3kw solar system run?
Reviewed by Leigh McInerney
A 3kW solar system can typically run the essential daytime appliances in a small 1–2 bedroom home, including a refrigerator, lighting, television, internet modem, and small kitchen appliances.
Whether a 3kW system is the right size for you depends on your daily electricity consumption, appliance load, and how much of your usage occurs while the sun is shining.
Below, we break down exactly what a 3kW solar system can power and how to determine if it matches your home’s needs.
Table of contents
Appliances a 3kw system can run
Here’s an idea of what appliances you can run on a 3kWh Solar System.
Note: All consumption values refer to the yearly average consumption for those appliances.
| Appliance | Watts per hour | Avg. Hours used daily | Total Watts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lights for 2 bedroom home (10 x 7 Watt LED lights [60W equivalent per globe]) | 70 | 6 | 420 |
| 1 x LCD televisions | 30 | 5 | 150 |
| 1 x Laptops | 100 | 6 | 600 |
| Microwave | 1,500 | 0.3 | 450 |
| Dishwasher | 1,800 | 1.5 | 2,700 |
| Refrigerator | 35 | 24 | 900 |
| Split Air conditioner | 3,200 | 2 | 6,400 |
| Wifi | 6 | 24 | 144 |
| Washing machine | 500 | 0.5 | 250 |
| Total | 12,014 | ||
When deciding which solar system size is best for your home, knowing current usage is key to selecting a system which can satisfy your day to day usage.
A 3KW Solar System that can produce 12kWh a day / 2,500kWh a year on average will be able to annul a considerable part of your appliance’s consumption, lowering your energy bill.
Another ideal way to determine how much a certain appliance consumes is to use a power monitor that will tell you exactly how much you’re spending in real-time. They are cheap and widely available.
How many panels will I need for a 3kw system?
The average solar panel is 37W, so to make up a 3kW system (3,000w) we will need to install 8 panels. 12 x 375W = 3kW
3kW solar system = 8 Panels or 14m2
Each panel is on average 170cm x 100cm, which is 1.7m2 per panel. This means you will need about 13.6m2 of available roof space facing north to make a 3kW system available.
You should consider getting an installer to look at your roof size and orientations to see if this will fit.
With today’s technology, your local solar installer can use Google maps to see your roof size and orientation. There will be no need for a site visit.
What to consider
Panels should be installed by a professional to ensure all safety concerns a minimalized and optimal angle for solar energy production is achieved.
Also, consider that no matter how much electrical power a 3 kWh solar system produces, the energy it produces should be used in real-time to ensure its effectiveness. Any energy that is not used while the Solar Panels are producing energy will either go to waste or will be injected into the electrical grid.
To minimize loss of power, ensure to speak to your power company about how much they will pay you for energy produced, and whether getting a solar battery is right for you.
How much will a 3kw solar system produce?
If you have ideal sunlight conditions, that means that 12 x 250w Solar Panels can produce 12kWh a day on average.
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What’s the average cost of a 3kw system?
The cost of solar panel installation will depend on the state you live in (size of government rebate) and the quality of the system you intend to install.
A 3KW Solar System installed will cost on average $4,011. Below are the averages by the state for a 3kW system.
| State | 3kW Price |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | $4,018 |
| Victoria | $4,137 |
| Queensland | $3,858 |
| South Australia | $4,018 |
| Western Australia | $4,018 |
| Aust. Capital Territory | $4,018 |
How long until a 3kW pays for itself?
Your 3KW Solar System is expected to pay for itself in as little as 3 years, though it will depend on how much energy you can actually produce and use.
Another consideration is how much of that energy is used in a smart way. Are you running washing machines and hot water heaters at noon when your system is producing most of its power?
Are you storing the energy for later use or are you getting a feed-in tariff from your energy supplier?
All these variables will influence how long it will take for your panels to pay for themselves and will differ from person to person, from household to household.
As mentioned before, Battery Backup Systems can be purchased to ensure you use the produced energy when there is no sunlight, but their elevated cost still doesn’t provide an effective return and is very often not advised for regular home usage. This is expected to change as solar battery prices fall over the next 3 – 5 years but at this stage, they are too expensive.
FAQs
The 3kW solar system is an ideal choice for small and medium-size houses with a pool. 3KW solar system can generate energy up to 3000 watts, reasonable to run a 3KW inverter. The installment of 3 kW will create enough capacity to cover an enormous segment of the necessities of most houses. It can run lights, fans, refrigerator, microwave, toasters, TV, washer and most or all of the daily
electricity needs of a home with 2-3 occupants.
Generally, the 3kW solar system produces 12 kWh of usable power on average every day throughout the year. Since it is often delivering more energy at any given time during the day than a home can consume, the 3kW framework can export 6 kWh of power to the grid
The general aim when planning an off-grid battery is to get a system that is sufficiently large to supply every one of your requirements for a couple of overcast days, but at the same time, it can easily be charged by your solar panels. The battery limit is estimated in Amp Hours. You have to change this to Watt Hours. The basic computation is given underneath
X (Battery size in AH) x Y (Battery Voltage) = Z (Power accessible in watt-hours for a 20AH, 12V battery the Watt Hours figure is 20(X) x 12(Y) = 240 WH (Z)
The number of panels needed will depend on the panel output. 10x 300W panels can be used for a 3,000 Watt (3kW) outpyt system.
If you decided on more efficient panels, you would use 7 x 420W solar panels.
Your solar panels will fulfill your energy needs for a long time. As a general solar energy industry guideline, solar panels last around 25-30 years. Solar panels are ordinarily warranted for 25 years, so you can anticipate that they should keep going at any rate that long. In many cases, studies have indicated that solar panels keep on working at diminished productivity long after the guarantee terminates.
The average energy consumption by a house hold in Australia is 17kWh. This does vary depending on the size of the home and whether it is in summer/ winter or Autumn/ spring. Usage seems to max out in summer and winter with 20kWh with the other seasons averaging about 15kWh.
For a typical small household using most of its electricity at night, a 3kW solar system usually pairs well with a 5–6kWh battery. This size can store enough daytime solar energy to run evening essentials like lighting, a fridge, TV, and devices without significantly overspending on storage capacity.
