How much do solar panels cost for a 2,000 square foot house?
About $22,880 before incentives, at $2.60 per watt installed (EnergySage, June 2026): 22 solar panels of 400 W (8.8 kW), to cover the 12,173 kWh a year that an average US home of 2,000 to 2,499 sq ft uses (EIA RECS 2020), in a place with 4.5 peak sun hours. In a sunnier place (5.5 hours) it is 18 panels and $18,720, in a cloudier one (3.5 hours) 28 panels and $29,120; in Texas 19 panels and $19,760. The federal 30% credit ended for systems placed in service after 31 December 2025, so nothing comes off unless your state, utility or city offers something. Square feet only estimate the use: the kWh on your bill is the real input, and the tables below run every house size and every state.
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Solar panel cost by house size
Average electricity per home for each floor-area band of the EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey (2020), sized at 4.5 peak sun hours with 14% losses, rounded up to whole 400 W panels, and priced at $2.60 per watt for the panels installed. Panel area is panels × 20.7 sq ft, with no gaps.
| House size | kWh a year | System | Panels | Cost | Panel area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 1,000 sq ft | 6,802 kWh | 5.2 kW | 13 | $13,520 | 269 sq ft |
| 1,000 to 1,499 sq ft | 9,407 kWh | 6.8 kW | 17 | $17,680 | 352 sq ft |
| 1,500 to 1,999 sq ft | 11,009 kWh | 8 kW | 20 | $20,800 | 414 sq ft |
| 2,000 to 2,499 sq ft | 12,173 kWh | 8.8 kW | 22 | $22,880 | 455 sq ft |
| 2,500 to 2,999 sq ft | 13,031 kWh | 9.6 kW | 24 | $24,960 | 497 sq ft |
| 3,000 sq ft or more | 15,489 kWh | 11.2 kW | 28 | $29,120 | 579 sq ft |
Solar panel cost for a 2,000 sq ft house in each state
The same 12,173 kWh a year in every state: the state’s peak sun hours (NREL data via Unbound Solar) set the panels and the cost, the state’s residential price (EIA, June 2026) sets what the kWh are worth. Savings value every kWh the panels make at that price; payback = cost / savings. The payback calculator takes your own quote, rate and export share.
| State | Sun hours | Panels | Cost | Price | Savings a year | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 4.6 | 22 | $22,880 | 16.4 ¢/kWh | $2,084 | 11 years |
| Alaska | 3 | 33 | $34,320 | 28.21 ¢/kWh | $3,507 | 9.8 years |
| Arizona | 6.5 | 15 | $15,600 | 15.18 ¢/kWh | $1,858 | 8.4 years |
| Arkansas | 4.5 | 22 | $22,880 | 14.12 ¢/kWh | $1,755 | 13 years |
| California | 5.6 | 18 | $18,720 | 34.74 ¢/kWh | $4,397 | 4.3 years |
| Colorado | 5.5 | 18 | $18,720 | 17.13 ¢/kWh | $2,129 | 8.8 years |
| Connecticut | 4.2 | 24 | $24,960 | 24.32 ¢/kWh | $3,078 | 8.1 years |
| Delaware | 4.4 | 23 | $23,920 | 19.29 ¢/kWh | $2,451 | 9.8 years |
| District of Columbia | 4.4 | 23 | $23,920 | 24.39 ¢/kWh | $3,099 | 7.7 years |
| Florida | 5.3 | 19 | $19,760 | 15.1 ¢/kWh | $1,909 | 10.3 years |
| Georgia | 4.8 | 21 | $21,840 | 16.36 ¢/kWh | $2,071 | 10.5 years |
| Hawaii | 5.8 | 17 | $17,680 | 52.72 ¢/kWh | $6,527 | 2.7 years |
| Idaho | 4.9 | 20 | $20,800 | 14.37 ¢/kWh | $1,768 | 11.8 years |
| Illinois | 4.3 | 23 | $23,920 | 19.89 ¢/kWh | $2,470 | 9.7 years |
| Indiana | 4.2 | 24 | $24,960 | 17.51 ¢/kWh | $2,216 | 11.3 years |
| Iowa | 4.4 | 23 | $23,920 | 15.93 ¢/kWh | $2,024 | 11.8 years |
| Kansas | 5 | 20 | $20,800 | 15.71 ¢/kWh | $1,973 | 10.5 years |
| Kentucky | 4.3 | 23 | $23,920 | 14.26 ¢/kWh | $1,771 | 13.5 years |
| Louisiana | 4.7 | 21 | $21,840 | 13.49 ¢/kWh | $1,672 | 13.1 years |
| Maine | 4.2 | 24 | $24,960 | 29.59 ¢/kWh | $3,745 | 6.7 years |
| Maryland | 4.4 | 23 | $23,920 | 21.84 ¢/kWh | $2,775 | 8.6 years |
| Massachusetts | 4.2 | 24 | $24,960 | 29.61 ¢/kWh | $3,748 | 6.7 years |
| Michigan | 4 | 25 | $26,000 | 22.99 ¢/kWh | $2,887 | 9 years |
| Minnesota | 4.3 | 23 | $23,920 | 17.52 ¢/kWh | $2,176 | 11 years |
| Mississippi | 4.6 | 22 | $22,880 | 14.88 ¢/kWh | $1,891 | 12.1 years |
| Missouri | 4.6 | 22 | $22,880 | 16.22 ¢/kWh | $2,061 | 11.1 years |
| Montana | 4.7 | 21 | $21,840 | 15.14 ¢/kWh | $1,876 | 11.6 years |
| Nebraska | 4.8 | 21 | $21,840 | 13.25 ¢/kWh | $1,677 | 13 years |
| Nevada | 6.4 | 16 | $16,640 | 13.11 ¢/kWh | $1,686 | 9.9 years |
| New Hampshire | 4.2 | 24 | $24,960 | 27.01 ¢/kWh | $3,419 | 7.3 years |
| New Jersey | 4.3 | 23 | $23,920 | 24.95 ¢/kWh | $3,098 | 7.7 years |
| New Mexico | 6.5 | 15 | $15,600 | 15.06 ¢/kWh | $1,844 | 8.5 years |
| New York | 4 | 25 | $26,000 | 29.49 ¢/kWh | $3,703 | 7 years |
| North Carolina | 4.7 | 21 | $21,840 | 14.74 ¢/kWh | $1,827 | 12 years |
| North Dakota | 4.5 | 22 | $22,880 | 14.12 ¢/kWh | $1,755 | 13 years |
| Ohio | 4.1 | 24 | $24,960 | 19.19 ¢/kWh | $2,371 | 10.5 years |
| Oklahoma | 5.1 | 20 | $20,800 | 14.33 ¢/kWh | $1,835 | 11.3 years |
| Oregon | 4.2 | 24 | $24,960 | 16.32 ¢/kWh | $2,066 | 12.1 years |
| Pennsylvania | 4.1 | 24 | $24,960 | 21.73 ¢/kWh | $2,685 | 9.3 years |
| Rhode Island | 4.2 | 24 | $24,960 | 29.23 ¢/kWh | $3,699 | 6.7 years |
| South Carolina | 4.8 | 21 | $21,840 | 15.55 ¢/kWh | $1,968 | 11.1 years |
| South Dakota | 4.7 | 21 | $21,840 | 15.36 ¢/kWh | $1,904 | 11.5 years |
| Tennessee | 4.4 | 23 | $23,920 | 14.07 ¢/kWh | $1,788 | 13.4 years |
| Texas | 5.3 | 19 | $19,760 | 15.94 ¢/kWh | $2,015 | 9.8 years |
| Utah | 5.5 | 18 | $18,720 | 13.37 ¢/kWh | $1,662 | 11.3 years |
| Vermont | 4 | 25 | $26,000 | 24.44 ¢/kWh | $3,069 | 8.5 years |
| Virginia | 4.5 | 22 | $22,880 | 17.22 ¢/kWh | $2,141 | 10.7 years |
| Washington | 3.8 | 26 | $27,040 | 14.91 ¢/kWh | $1,850 | 14.6 years |
| West Virginia | 4.1 | 24 | $24,960 | 15.45 ¢/kWh | $1,909 | 13.1 years |
| Wisconsin | 4.2 | 24 | $24,960 | 19.56 ¢/kWh | $2,476 | 10.1 years |
| Wyoming | 5.2 | 19 | $19,760 | 15.24 ¢/kWh | $1,891 | 10.5 years |
What the tables leave out
- Your bill: square feet are a stand-in. Add up the kWh on twelve bills, divide by 12 and type it into the panel calculator; the power-a-house guide runs half to twice the average home. 2,000 kWh a month is a different, much bigger question: see the 2,000 kWh a month guide.
- Your quote: $2.60 per watt is one national average; SolarReviews puts it at $3.03 (September 2026). A steep roof, a panel upgrade or a battery raise it, and a battery is not in these figures at all. The Texas cost guide prices 4 to 15 kW and shows the 25-year table.
- Rounding and exports: whole panels make a little more than the use (12,430 kWh against 12,173 kWh at 4.5 hours). The surplus, and anything made while nobody is home, is exported at whatever your utility pays, often less than the retail price, so real savings can be lower than the table.
- Orientation and shade: the sun hours assume a south-facing array at a good tilt; east or west roofs make 15-20% less (Energy Saving Trust). In the UK, the UK cost guide does the same sums in pounds.
Sources
Use by house size: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey, Table CE2.1 "Annual household site fuel consumption in the U.S.—totals and averages, 2020". Installed cost: EnergySage, "How much do solar panels cost?". Electricity price: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A "Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State, June 2026 and 2025", residential column, cents per kilowatthour, June 2026. Federal credit: IRS, Residential Clean Energy Credit. The full text of each, with links:
Sources of the figures on this page
- Electricity use by house size and heating fuel: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), Table CE2.1 "Annual household site fuel consumption in the U.S.—totals and averages, 2020" (released March 2023, revised March 2024): physical units, average electricity per household using it, kWh a year, by total square footage: less than 1,000 = 6,802; 1,000 to 1,499 = 9,407; 1,500 to 1,999 = 11,009; 2,000 to 2,499 = 12,173; 2,500 to 2,999 = 13,031; 3,000 or more = 15,489; by main heating fuel: electricity = 13,073, natural gas = 9,035; all homes = 10,566. Square footage "includes all basements, finished or conditioned (heated or cooled) areas of attics, and conditioned garage space"; electricity from on-site solar panels is included in consumption — https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2020/c&e/xls/ce2.1.xlsx, read on 2026-10-01
- Peak sun hours by US state: Unbound Solar, "Peak Sun Hours by US State" (undated, read 2026-09-20), table built from NREL's PVWatts data (National Solar Radiation Database); "A peak sun hour is one hour of sunlight at an average intensity of 1,000 watts per square meter (1 kW/m²)" — https://unboundsolar.com/solar-information/sun-hours-us-map, read on 2026-09-20
- Panel wattage and area: Trina Solar, Vertex TSM-DE09 data sheet (version TSM_EN_2020_PA3), product range 390-405 W: module dimensions "1754×1096×30 mm (69.06×43.15×1.18 inches)", 21.0 kg, efficiency up to 21.1%, "25 year Power Warranty, 0.55% Annual Power Attenuation, 2% first year degradation". Area = 1.754 m × 1.096 m = 1.922 m² per panel — https://static.trinasolar.com/sites/default/files/EN_Datasheet_Vertex_DE09.pdf, read on 2026-09-20
- System losses: NREL, PVWatts Version 5 Manual (NREL/TP-6A20-62641, September 2014), section 11 System Losses, Table 6: soiling 2%, shading 3%, snow 0%, mismatch 2%, wiring 2%, connections 0.5%, light-induced degradation 1.5%, nameplate rating 1%, age 0%, availability 3%; "The default total system loss is calculated to be 14 %" (the losses multiply, they do not add) — https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/62641.pdf, read on 2026-09-20
- Installed cost: EnergySage, "How much do solar panels cost?" (updated Jun 30, 2026): "systems average about $2.60 per watt before incentives"; a 12 kW system "costs an average of $31,135 before incentives". SolarReviews (published September 2026) puts the average at $3.03 per watt — https://www.energysage.com/local-data/solar-panel-cost/ and https://www.solarreviews.com/solar-panel-cost, read on 2026-09-20
- Incentive: IRS, Residential Clean Energy Credit (page last reviewed or updated 04-Jul-2026): "The credit is not available for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025." (Section 25D was ended for later expenditures by Public Law 119-21 of July 2025.) So the federal 30% credit does not apply to a system installed in 2026; state, utility or local incentives may, type them here — https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/residential-clean-energy-credit, read on 2026-09-20
- Electricity price: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A "Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State, June 2026 and 2025", residential column, cents per kilowatthour, June 2026 — https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a: U.S. total 18.34 cents per kilowatthour (June 2025: 17.47). Picking a state fills in that state's figure from the same table, read on 2026-09-20
- Export rate: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A "Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State, June 2026 and 2025", residential column, cents per kilowatthour, June 2026 — https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a (the table has no export rates), read on 2026-09-20
- Output decline per year: NREL, PVWatts Version 5 Manual (NREL/TP-6A20-62641, September 2014), section 11: after light-induced degradation "the module power stabilizes and subsequently follows typical long-term degradation over the lifetime of the installation (~0.5 %/year)". The Trina Vertex data sheet warrants 0.55%/year — https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/62641.pdf, read on 2026-09-20
Frequently asked questions
- How much do solar panels cost for a 2,000 square foot house?
- $22,880 at 4.5 peak sun hours: 22 panels of 400 W (8.8 kW) × 1,000 × $2.60 per watt, the EnergySage average before incentives. The size comes from the use: EIA's 2020 survey puts homes of 2,000 to 2,499 sq ft at 12,173 kWh a year. By state it runs from $15,600 in Arizona and New Mexico to $34,320 in Alaska, because a cloudier state needs more panels for the same kWh.
- How many solar panels do I need for a 2,000 sq ft house?
- 22 panels of 400 W at 4.5 sun hours (8.62 kW needed, rounded up to whole panels), 18 at 5.5 hours and 28 at 3.5; 19 in Texas. Daily use 33.4 kWh / (sun hours × 0.86) gives the kW, kW × 1,000 / 400 gives the panels.
- How much electricity does a 2,000 sq ft house use?
- 12,173 kWh a year on average for 2,000 to 2,499 sq ft (EIA RECS 2020), about 1,014 kWh a month or 33.4 kWh a day. Homes of 1,500 to 1,999 sq ft average 11,009 kWh and 2,500 to 2,999 sq ft 13,031 kWh. These are averages over every climate and heating fuel; the twelve months on your own bills are a better figure.
- Does electric heating change the size and the cost?
- A lot. In the same EIA table, homes heated mainly with electricity use 13,073 kWh a year and homes heated with natural gas 9,035 kWh (all sizes). At 4.5 sun hours that is 24 panels and $24,960 against 16 panels and $16,640: the heating fuel moves the answer more than a few hundred square feet do.
- Is there a federal solar tax credit in 2026?
- No. IRS, Residential Clean Energy Credit: "The credit is not available for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025." So the costs on this page are the full installed price. State, utility or local programs may still apply; the payback calculator has an incentive field for them.
- How long do the panels take to pay for themselves?
- 10 years at 4.5 sun hours and the US average price, 18.34 ¢/kWh (EIA, June 2026), if you use every kWh yourself: $22,880 / $2,280 a year. In Texas 9.8 years; fastest in Hawaii (2.7 years), slowest in Washington (14.6 years). What your utility pays for exported kWh moves it too.
- Will 22 panels fit on a 2,000 sq ft house?
- The panels alone take 455 sq ft (22 × 20.7 sq ft, the Trina data sheet). On a two-story 2,000 sq ft house the footprint is about 1,000 sq ft, and only the faces that get sun count, with gaps and setbacks around the panels. If the roof is short, cover part of the use: the panel calculator has a coverage field.
More guides
- How much do solar panels cost in the UK in 2026?
Around £7,600 for a typical 4.5 kWp system (Energy Saving Trust, 2026), £1,690 per kWp; 6 to 16 panels, savings at the Ofgem cap, payback by UK city.
- How much do solar panels cost in Texas in 2026?
Installed cost for 4 to 15 kW at the EnergySage $ per watt, Texas output and savings at the EIA price, a 7 kW system in every state and the 25-year table.
- How many solar panels for 2,000 kWh a month?
2,000 kWh a month is 65.8 kWh a day: 43 panels of 400 W (17.2 kW) at 4.5 sun hours, about $44,720 installed. Every US state and UK city.
- How many solar panels to power a house?
Panels for the average US home (EIA 899 kWh a month) from half to twice that use, every US state, and Ofgem's low, medium and high UK homes in four cities.
Last updated 2026-10-01. Estimates from published averages (NREL, EIA, Ofgem, industry cost surveys), each with its source and date: an installer's site survey and shading analysis replace them. Not financial advice.