Balcony solar in Long Beach
800 W of panels on a south-facing balcony railing in Long Beach produce about 800 kWh a year and save about $141.
Output by orientation and mounting
Yearly output with 800 W of panels and the inverter limited to 800 W.
| Panels face | On the railing (vertical) | Tilted at 30° |
|---|---|---|
| East | 530 kWh | 1,000 kWh |
| South-east | 710 kWh | 1,180 kWh |
| South | 800 kWh | 1,290 kWh |
| South-west | 840 kWh | 1,290 kWh |
| West | 700 kWh | 1,140 kWh |
Output by month
Show as a table
| Month | Railing (vertical) | Tilted at 30° |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 91 kWh | 92 kWh |
| Feb | 82 kWh | 97 kWh |
| Mar | 76 kWh | 110 kWh |
| Apr | 58 kWh | 120 kWh |
| May | 43 kWh | 130 kWh |
| Jun | 35 kWh | 110 kWh |
| Jul | 38 kWh | 120 kWh |
| Aug | 51 kWh | 120 kWh |
| Sep | 62 kWh | 110 kWh |
| Oct | 87 kWh | 110 kWh |
| Nov | 88 kWh | 93 kWh |
| Dec | 89 kWh | 87 kWh |
Savings and payback
At $0.3258 per kWh you save about $141 in the first year. A kit costing $1,300 pays back in about 9.2 years.
- Electricity price: $0.3258 per kWh (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2025-09..2026-08). Source
- Assumes a constant base load of 150 W, so 54% of the output is used at home.
- Power sent to the grid is not paid for.
Rules
California
Takes effect on January 1, 2027
Up to 1,200 W of inverter output per home.
- Certified as a plug-in photovoltaic system by UL or an equivalent nationally recognized testing laboratory, with a certified feature that prevents backfeeding during an outage; meets the National Electrical Code and the California Electrical Code.
- Your utility may ask you to register the kit.
Last verified: October 31, 2026
Nearby cities
- Carson 830 kWh a year · 7 mi
- Compton 840 kWh a year · 9 mi
- Torrance 800 kWh a year · 10 mi
- Westminster 840 kWh a year · 10 mi
- Norwalk 830 kWh a year · 11 mi
Data sources
- Solar data: PVGIS-NSRDB, PVGIS 5.2, 2011–2015.
- Electricity price: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2025-09..2026-08.
- Last verified: October 31, 2026
- How we calculate