8kw solar system

8kw solar system

An 8kW solar system is perfect for large households with higher-than-average energy expenses. It’s also ideal for minor commercial use due to its superior power output.

An 8kW solar system is an ideal choice for most homes.  The number one reason for its popularity is its price-to-capacity ratio.

Generally speaking, a system of this size will produce sufficient electricity to meet a home’s daytime electricity needs. An 8kW solar system–just between the 15kW upper limit and extremely popular 6.6kW solar systems–would be ideally suited for a home with slightly higher electricity demand than average.

8kW Solar System

application scenarios

1: Household electricity for 2-3 people

2: Little Farm

3: Remote area

4: Emergency standby power

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It is so compact, it can fit almost anywhere. A small stand-alone solar system, perfect for those difficult-to-power areas.

1: Is An 8kW Solar System Suitable For My Home?

The solar industry offers an array of solar systems, with each differing in the amount of power they generate. An 8kW solar system is the best choice for sizable households or small-scale businesses.

If you’re considering a solar system, think about the size of your household. What are your average energy expenses per month? A large number of electrical appliances in use may require additional battery storage.

8kW is an extensive solar system with enough power to suit large households’ needs. Suppose you run several electrical appliances in your home, like a reverse cycle air conditioning system, washers, dryers, etc, you’re more likely to benefit from an 8kW solar system in this case.

And if your electricity bills usually surpass $500 every four months, an 8kW solar installation will help you streamline your electricity budget.

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2: How Many Solar Panels are in a 8kW System?

battery storage system for home

The typical solar panel is 250-400 W, so if you opt for this type of panel, you’ll need to install eight to twelve panels in total to create a 8kW system (8000 W).

Below is a table showing how many panels you would need for a 8kW system, with varying power outputs:

Panel power

Numbers of panels needed

250

32

300

27

350

23

400

20

FAQs: 8kw Solar Systems

On average, the cost of an 8kW solar system ranges from $6k to $12k, with prices adjusting significantly with the quality of the system and installation.

The cost of an 8 kW solar system in Australia depends on:

  • the number of solar panels,
  • the solar panel capacity,
  • the solar panel quality, 
  • the inclusion or absence of a battery.

The clean energy council does not give a price for an 8kW system. But they suggest a 10kw system is in the range of $7600 to $14100.

Based on estimates, an 8kW solar system is likely to save you $3,500 on your annual electricity bill. Your potential savings start on the next day of your solar installation.

There’s more than one method for saving with a solar system. First, you can save by producing your own electricity and paying less for grid power. Second, you can sell excess solar energy that you generate to the system to reduce your net bills.

You can save somewhere around $3,500 from your annual electricity expenses. That amounts to $850 on a quarterly billing cycle and $30 to $35 per month. However, your potential savings are heavily influenced by:

  • your energy consumption,
  • the amount of energy you sell to the grid,
  • the feed-in tariffs your electricity retailers pay,
  • the amount of self-produced energy you use.

To maximize your potential savings, you should use as much solar-generated electricity as you can, limiting your grid consumption. In this way, you’ll save up to 22 to 28 cents for every kWh of solar power you consume. These price indexes are inclusive of GST.

What is the Average Payback Period for an 8 kW Solar System?
The average payback period is when you expect to get a complete return on your investment. For an 8kW solar system, the payback period is on average, 3.24 years after solar panel installation.

Your savings with a solar PV system begins from the day of its instalment. If you follow all the guidelines on how to maximize your savings from solar, you can expect an average payback period of 3 to 5 years.

If your home is suited for solar, you’ll need between 30 – 40 m² of roof space to install a 8 kW solar system.

Solar panels come in various sizes, depending on the manufacturing company, as we mentioned above.

A panel measures 1.7m x 1m in size and consists of 20 to 25 panels, based on the wattage.

You may plan to install a solar system with 370 W per panel. In this case, a 8 kW system will consist of 22 solar panels.

However, to determine if your roof has enough space, first, you need to know if your roof is suitable for solar, including if it has multiple orientations or is made of hazardous material.

A 8 kW solar system is certainly powerful enough to cater to the average electrical needs of a four-to-five person household.

However, power compatibility depends on:

  • Utilities and home appliances that consume energy. Therefore they determine the maximum power usage in your household.
  • Your lifestyle. If you work at home, you’ll consume power all day.
  • Any electrical vehicles you own. If you have a Tesla or plan to buy one, a 8 kW solar system won’t be enough to power both the car and your household.
  • Your average daily energy usage during summer and winter.

Your solar system power compatibility depends on the above-listed factors and how these align to installation in your area.

To understand if a 8 kW system can power your home, you can divide your average daily usage by the local peak sun hour. You can find your average daily use on your electricity bill.

Average daily usage (kWh) / the local peak sun hour=Your recommended solar system size. Once again this is because a system will produce the times of the local peak sun hour its size in power per day.

If the kilowatt per hour displayed on your home electricity bill shows you consume 20 kWh per day and the peak sun hour is 4 hours, a 8 kW solar system will be enough. Anything higher than 20 kWh usage per day implies that it won’t be sufficient.

A few things to consider are available space, energy needs, cost, and your overall aims for solar system installation.

A smaller system will produce less electricity than a larger system. Whether you’re a two-person household with low energy consumption, a smaller 5kW system will be plenty for daily use.

But if you want a system that will generate extra power or maybe you plan to buy an electric car in the near future. In either situation, a larger system is the better option.

The cost is also an important factor since larger solar systems will cost more than smaller solar systems, impacting the payback period.

The below table shows average solar panel of per kW costs of some countries.

CountryCost Per KW
India$793 
China$879 
Canada$2,427 
Russia$2,302 
Japan$2,101 
South Africa$1,617 
Australia$1,554 
United States$1,549 
France$1,074 
Germany

$1,113 

Therefore, the rough cost of 8 kW solar system in Germany should be —$1113*8=$8904.

Likewise, the rough cost of 8 kW solar system in France should be—$1074*8=$8592.

There are four important factors that influence the cost of solar panels.

  • Wholesale equipment costs:As a young industry, factories have been able to automate processes, increase manufacturing and logistics scale and dramatically reduce the cost per watt of a solar installation.
  • compensation: In order to encourage households to select solar energy, government implements intriguing policies to attract citizens to select solar energy, such as The Solar Rebates. The introduction of local solar rebate schemes in particular states has had a dramatic effect on the cost of solar
  • Competition and Cheap Solar: there are thousands of contractors to install solar. As a result, the margins have been forced to be very slim in the market.

On average, a 8kW system will save the homeowner $56,521 over the course of its lifetime, with an average annual savings of $1,222.0 per year. The actual amount a homeowner will save is dependent on the amount of power used in the home, the orientation of the solar panels, and the quality of the system.

This is because a 8kW solar system will produce on average 24 kWh per day, multiplying that by the number of days in a month (30), and this will amount to 720kWh of energy (24kWh×30=720kWh); multiplying that by the number of days in a year (365), and this will amount to 8,500 kWh of energy (24 kWh x 365 = 8760 kWh).

The average price of electricity in Germany is 0.333 U.S. dollar per kWh for households and 0.260 U.S. dollar for businesses. Now, if your household somehow used all of the 8500 kWh of energy produced by the solar system in one year, you would still reach an annual saving of $2830.50. As you can see, the electricity price in these countries are very high, so the solar energy is a great alternative.

Even if you do not run out of all the power they produce, you can still save a lot of money in the long term due to no need to pay electricity bills. 

High-quality 8 kW solar systems come with a warranty of at least 25 years, and an estimated lifespan of 30 years. This doesn’t mean that the system will stop producing energy after 25 years. It just won’t be as energy-efficient as it was previously. This is because panels degrade over time due to exposure to the sun’s heat and light. This is referred to as Light and Elevated Temperature Induced Degradation. Higher quality panels are more resistant to this degradation and perform at their peak for longer.

A report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in 2012 reveals that solar panels degrade by 0.8% per year on average. As long as external forces don’t damage the panel, the system will continue to serve you for between 25 to 40 years. By year 25, a solar panel is expected to perform at 80% of its original efficiency.

You should also consider inverter degradation. Residential solar inverters have shorter lifespans. They normally last about 10-15 years (with 5 to 10-year warranties). This means you will have to replace your solar inverter sooner than the actual panels.

You can extend the longevity and performance of a solar system through proper maintenance and cleaning.

The short answer to this question is yes.

Installing battery storage systems with a 8 kW solar system will enable you to use more of the energy you produce.

According to reports, installing a 8 kWh battery with your 6 kW system for everyday use can boost the amount of self-generated solar power a household consumes from 30% to 60%.

That’s a considerable increase in the amount of self-generated solar power.

But whether you should install a battery depends on your budget, energy usage, and more.

If you plan to reduce your carbon footprint, save money or reduce your home electricity bills, installing a battery with a 8 kW system is an excellent first step. But you should also consider the additional cost of battery installation, your payback period, and how much you are likely to save over time.

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What Other Solar Systems Are There?

There are a number of Solar system sizes to choose from including 3kw, 5kw, 6kw, 6.6kw, 8kw, 10kw, 15kw, 20kw, and other solar power generation systems. At the same time, we can also customize suitable photovoltaic luminous systems according to the actual needs of users.

5KW Solar System

10KW Solar System

15KW Solar System

20KW Solar System

How to install a 8 kW System

Most solar companies are capable of installing any size system, but you will want to choose the best solar installer in your area for the job.Many solar companies will offer a free home consultation or evaluation, or at least some sort of free estimate based on the specifics of your home. We recommend getting solar quotes from at least three companies to compare prices. And be sure to ask about any discounts, rebates, or sales the company may be offering.

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