Balcony solar in Santa Monica
800 W of panels on a south-facing balcony railing in Santa Monica produce about 840 kWh a year and save about $142.
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 | 580 kWh | 1,080 kWh |
| South-east | 770 kWh | 1,280 kWh |
| South | 840 kWh | 1,380 kWh |
| South-west | 850 kWh | 1,340 kWh |
| West | 680 kWh | 1,170 kWh |
Output by month
Show as a table
| Month | Railing (vertical) | Tilted at 30° |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 99 kWh | 99 kWh |
| Feb | 89 kWh | 100 kWh |
| Mar | 81 kWh | 120 kWh |
| Apr | 61 kWh | 130 kWh |
| May | 41 kWh | 140 kWh |
| Jun | 31 kWh | 120 kWh |
| Jul | 35 kWh | 120 kWh |
| Aug | 51 kWh | 130 kWh |
| Sep | 65 kWh | 110 kWh |
| Oct | 91 kWh | 110 kWh |
| Nov | 95 kWh | 98 kWh |
| Dec | 97 kWh | 93 kWh |
Savings and payback
At $0.3258 per kWh you save about $142 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 52% 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
- Inglewood 840 kWh a year · 9 mi
- Hawthorne 840 kWh a year · 11 mi
- Los Angeles 830 kWh a year · 14 mi
- Burbank 830 kWh a year · 15 mi
- Torrance 800 kWh a year · 15 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