How Many Solar Panels Does Your Baja Home Need?
You can estimate your system size in five minutes with your CFE bill and simple division. Here's the exact math we start from — before refining it with your roof and shading.
Step 1: Find your daily consumption
Your CFE bill shows kWh consumed per billing period (usually two months). Divide by 60 for daily use. Example: 900 kWh per bimester ≈ 15 kWh per day.
Step 2: Apply Baja's sun hours
Coastal Baja California averages roughly 5 to 5.5 peak sun hours daily across the year — one of the best solar climates anywhere, even counting June fog. Each kilowatt of panels produces about 4.5–5 kWh per day after real-world losses.
Step 3: The division
15 kWh/day ÷ 4.75 kWh per kW ≈ 3.2 kW of panels. With today's ~550 W modules, that's 6 panels. A bigger home using 30 kWh/day lands near 12 panels. Planning an EV or new mini-splits? Size for tomorrow's loads now — adding capacity later costs more per panel.
What changes the estimate
- Roof direction: south is ideal; east/west costs ~10–15% more panels
- Shading: a tinaco or parapet shadow can cut a panel's output badly — this is where microinverters earn their keep
- DAC escape: if you're in the DAC tariff, we sometimes size slightly over consumption to drive your average down faster
- Batteries: backup doesn't change panel count much, but it changes the inverter choice
That's the napkin version. The precise version — with your actual roof measured from a satellite image and your 12-month CFE history — is free: request a site evaluation.
