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Grid Tie Solar Calculator

Size and evaluate a grid-connected solar system without storage.

About Grid Tie Solar Calculator

Grid-tied systems need no autonomy sizing because the grid absorbs surplus and covers deficits. The financial return depends heavily on self-consumption, since exported energy earns far less. Sizing beyond about 100 per cent annual offset pushes more generation into low-value export, which is why bigger is not always better economically.

Formula

Grid Tie Solar

Benefit = self-consumed kWh × import price + exported kWh × export rate

self-consumption
The share worth full retail price rather than the export rate

Worked example

With the default values below, Grid Tie Solar Calculator returns Recommended System Size of 4.296. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Annual consumptionminimum 0 kWh
4,500 kWh
Average peak sun hoursaccepts 0.1–12 h
3.5 h
System lossesaccepts 0–100 %
18 %
Import price per kWhminimum 0
0.25
Export payment per kWhminimum 0
0.05
Self-consumption rateaccepts 0–100 %
40 %

Results

Recommended System Size
4.296 kW
Annual Generation
4,500.0 kWh
Annual Financial Benefit
$585.00
Solar Used On Site
1,800.0 kWh
Solar Exported
2,700.0 kWh

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Grid Tie Solar
  3. 3Recommended System Size= 4.296 kW
  4. 4Annual Generation= 4,500.0 kWh
  5. 5Annual Financial Benefit= 585.00
  6. 6Solar Used On Site= 1,800.0 kWh
  7. 7Solar Exported= 2,700.0 kWh

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 6 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Grid Tie Solar calculated?

Benefit = self-consumed kWh × import price + exported kWh × export rate Grid-tied systems need no autonomy sizing because the grid absorbs surplus and covers deficits. The financial return depends heavily on self-consumption, since exported energy earns far less.

Why does Grid Tie Solar matter?

Sizing beyond about 100 per cent annual offset pushes more generation into low-value export, which is why bigger is not always better economically.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 6 inputs: Annual consumption, Average peak sun hours, System losses, Import price per kWh, Export payment per kWh, Self-consumption rate. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.

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