GUIDES · GUJARAT
How Many kW Solar for Home in Gujarat 2026, by Bill and AC
How many kW solar your Gujarat home needs, by bill, ACs and roof. A ₹3,000 monthly bill needs about 3.3 kWp, six panels and 300 sq ft of shadow-free roof.
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Most Gujarat homes need between 1 kW and 5 kW of rooftop solar. The quickest rule is that one kWp of panels makes about 128 units a month in Bharuch, so a home using 375 units a month (a ₹3,000 bill) needs about 3.3 kWp, which is six 550 W panels on roughly 300 sq ft of shadow-free roof. The sections below size it three ways, by bill, by appliances and by roof, and then check it against your DGVCL sanctioned load.
Sizing by your electricity bill
Your bill is the best starting point because it already includes every appliance and every habit in the house. Take a full year of DGVCL bills and work out the average monthly units. If your bill covers two months, halve it before you use the table. A single May bill will make you oversize, and a single January bill will make you undersize.
The numbers below come from our savings calculator. It assumes 4.2 units per kWp per day in Bharuch, an installed price of ₹50,000 per kWp and ₹8 per unit on higher residential slabs.
| Monthly bill | Units per month | Array size | Panels (550 W) | Inverter | You pay after subsidy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹1,000 | 125 | 1.1 kWp | 2 | 1 kW | ₹22,000 |
| ₹1,500 | 188 | 1.65 kWp | 3 | 2 kW | ₹33,000 |
| ₹2,000 | 250 | 2.2 kWp | 4 | 2 kW | ₹46,400 |
| ₹2,500 | 313 | 2.75 kWp | 5 | 3 kW | ₹64,000 |
| ₹3,000 | 375 | 3.3 kWp | 6 | 3 kW | ₹87,000 |
| ₹4,000 | 500 | 4.4 kWp | 8 | 4 kW | ₹1,42,000 |
| ₹5,000 | 625 | 4.95 kWp | 9 | 4 kW | ₹1,69,500 |
| ₹6,000 | 750 | 6.05 kWp | 11 | 5 kW | ₹2,24,500 |
| ₹8,000 | 1,000 | 8.25 kWp | 15 | 8 kW | ₹3,34,500 |
You will notice the panel array is larger than the inverter. That is deliberate. Panels rarely produce their full rating in real heat and dust, so we oversize the DC array by about 1.2 times the inverter’s AC rating. The inverter then runs closer to full output for more of the day.
A small caution for low bills. Homes using 100 to 150 units a month pay a lower rate per unit on DGVCL’s lower slabs, so each solar unit saves less than ₹8. Payback for these homes is longer than the calculator shows. For typical homes, 3 to 5 years is a fair real-world range.
Sizing by appliances
If you have just moved, added an AC or plan to, the bill will not tell the whole story. Then it helps to add up what the house actually runs.
| Appliance | Typical draw | Daily use | Units per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 ton AC, 5-star inverter | ~1.2 units per hour | 8 hours | ~9.6 |
| 1.5 ton AC, older 3-star | ~1.5 units per hour | 8 hours | ~12 |
| Refrigerator, 250 L frost-free | continuous | 24 hours | 1 to 1.5 |
| Ceiling fans (4 x 75 W) | 300 W | 12 hours | 3.6 |
| LED lights (10 x 10 W) | 100 W | 6 hours | 0.6 |
| Television | 100 W | 5 hours | 0.5 |
| Water pump, 1 HP | 750 W | 1 hour | 0.75 |
| Geyser, 2 kW (winter) | 2,000 W | 30 minutes | 1 |
| Washing machine | per load | 1 load | ~0.5 |
The AC is what decides the size
A 1.5 ton AC uses roughly 1.2 to 1.5 units per hour on a hot Bharuch night. The lower figure fits a 5-star inverter AC, which also throttles down once the room is cool. The higher figure fits an older fixed-speed unit. Run for 8 hours a night through about six hot months, one AC adds 1,700 to 2,200 units a year.
One kWp in Bharuch makes about 1,530 units a year. So each AC used this way needs roughly 1.1 to 1.4 kWp of extra panels. A home without AC typically sits at 1 to 2 kWp. Each regularly used AC pushes that up by a little over 1 kWp.
The AC runs mostly at night, when panels make nothing. Net metering handles this. Daytime surplus goes to the DGVCL grid and is set off against the units you draw at night in the same billing period. Our DGVCL net metering guide explains how the bill is worked out.
Fridge, fans and pumps
The fridge runs all day, all year, at 1 to 1.5 units a day for a mid-size frost-free model. Fans are the silent load in Gujarat. Four fans running 12 hours use more than 3.5 units a day. Swapping to BLDC fans cuts that by more than half and can drop you one panel. A borewell or overhead tank pump of 1 HP adds under a unit a day for most homes.
Sizing by roof area
Plan for 80 to 100 sq ft of shadow-free roof for every kW. A 550 W panel is about 2.3 metres by 1.1 metres, or roughly 27 sq ft of glass. The rest of the space goes to walkways for cleaning, clearance from the parapet and gaps between rows so the front row does not shade the back row when the winter sun is low.
| Array size | Panels (550 W) | Shadow-free roof needed |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 kWp | 2 | 90 to 110 sq ft |
| 2.2 kWp | 4 | 175 to 220 sq ft |
| 3.3 kWp | 6 | 265 to 330 sq ft |
| 4.4 kWp | 8 | 350 to 440 sq ft |
| 5.5 kWp | 10 | 440 to 550 sq ft |
| 6.6 kWp | 12 | 530 to 660 sq ft |
Shade matters more than total area. The water tank, the staircase head room and a neighbour’s taller building all throw shadows that move through the day and the year. A panel in partial shade drags down the whole string it is wired into. On crowded roofs the answer can be a raised structure above the tank shadow or an array split into two parts. The site visit is where we measure this, and it is free.
Sanctioned load sets the ceiling
Your DGVCL bill shows a sanctioned load in kW. Rooftop solar capacity is usually capped in relation to that figure. Many older homes still carry a sanctioned load fixed years ago, before the family added two ACs. If the size you need is above your sanctioned load, you can apply to DGVCL for a load enhancement. We tell you at the site visit if you need one, so it does not delay net metering later.
Why 3 kW is the sweet spot for subsidy
The PM Surya Ghar subsidy is ₹30,000 per kW for the first 2 kW and ₹18,000 for the third, capped at ₹78,000. Beyond 3 kW, every extra kW is full price.
That makes a 3.3 kWp system the cheapest per kWp after subsidy. You pay ₹87,000 for 3.3 kWp, about ₹26,400 per kWp. A 5.5 kWp system costs you ₹1,97,000 after subsidy, about ₹35,800 per kWp. The bigger system still pays back well if your bill needs it, because the extra units replace expensive top-slab units. Our post on solar subsidy in Gujarat has the full slab table.
What we advise against is sizing far above your usage. Surplus units beyond what you use in a billing period are credited at only about ₹2.25 each, so extra panels that only export earn little. Size for today’s load plus one planned AC or an EV you have actually booked.
Typical Bharuch homes
1BHK flat or small house, no AC
A family in a 1BHK near Kasak with three fans, a fridge, a TV and lights uses about 125 units a month, a bill near ₹1,000. That needs 1.1 kWp, two panels on about 100 sq ft. After subsidy it costs about ₹22,000. Payback is on the longer side because these homes are on lower slabs, but the bill drops close to the fixed charge.
2BHK with one 1.5 ton AC
A 2BHK in Zadeshwar with one AC used through summer nights averages 300 to 375 units a month over the year, a ₹2,500 to ₹3,000 bill. That points to 2.75 to 3.3 kWp, five or six panels on about 300 sq ft. After subsidy it costs ₹64,000 to ₹87,000. For comparison, Imran Sheikh in Huseniya Society, Bharuch, had a ₹3,200 bill that fell to ₹120 after a 4 kW system.
Bungalow with three ACs
A bungalow off Link Road or near Shravan Chowkdi with three ACs, a geyser and a larger pump often averages 750 to 1,000 units a month, a ₹6,000 to ₹8,000 bill. That needs 6.05 to 8.25 kWp, 11 to 15 panels on 500 to 800 sq ft. After subsidy it costs ₹2,24,500 to ₹3,34,500. These homes most often need a sanctioned load increase first. Some also want a battery for backup, which our on-grid vs hybrid vs off-grid comparison covers. For brand and price detail, see solar panel price in Bharuch.
Talk to us
Send a photo of your last DGVCL bill on WhatsApp at 98241 95027 and we will size your system and send a free proposal within 48 hours. You can check the numbers yourself on the calculator, read about our residential solar work, or visit the shop at Mehfuz Complex, opposite Patel Welfare Hospital, Bharuch.
See every town we have worked in →
Want the number for your own roof?
Send your last electricity bill on WhatsApp. We reply the same day with a size and a price, and the site visit is free.
Questions people ask
How many kW solar do I need for my home in Gujarat?
Divide your average monthly units by about 128, which is what one kWp of panels makes in a month around Bharuch. A home using 375 units a month, roughly a ₹3,000 bill, needs about 3.3 kWp. A home using 125 units needs about 1.1 kWp. Use the average of a full year of bills, not one summer bill, so the system is not oversized.
How much solar is needed to run a 1.5 ton AC?
A 1.5 ton AC uses roughly 1.2 to 1.5 units per hour, less for a 5-star inverter model. Run for 8 hours a night through about six hot months, that is 1,700 to 2,200 units a year. At around 1,530 units per kWp per year in Bharuch, you need about 1.1 to 1.4 kWp of extra panels for each AC used this way.
How much roof space does a 3 kW solar system need?
Plan for 80 to 100 square feet of shadow-free roof per kW. A 3.3 kWp system with six 550 W panels needs about 265 to 330 square feet. Each panel is about 2.3 metres by 1.1 metres. The extra space covers walkways for cleaning and gaps so one row does not shade the next in winter.
Can I install more solar than my sanctioned load?
Usually not. DGVCL generally caps rooftop solar capacity in relation to the sanctioned load on your connection. Your sanctioned load is printed on your electricity bill in kW. If the system you need is larger, you can apply to DGVCL for a load enhancement before installing. We check this at the site visit so it does not hold up net metering later.
Will a 3 kW on-grid system run my house during a power cut?
No. An on-grid system shuts down during a power cut as a safety rule, so it does not push power into lines that linemen may be working on. If you want backup during cuts you need a hybrid system with a battery. The battery adds cost and is not covered by the PM Surya Ghar subsidy.