Balcony solar in Torrance
800 W of panels on a south-facing balcony railing in Torrance 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 | 550 kWh | 1,030 kWh |
| South-east | 730 kWh | 1,210 kWh |
| South | 800 kWh | 1,320 kWh |
| South-west | 820 kWh | 1,290 kWh |
| West | 670 kWh | 1,130 kWh |
Output by month
Show as a table
| Month | Railing (vertical) | Tilted at 30° |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 92 kWh | 93 kWh |
| Feb | 82 kWh | 96 kWh |
| Mar | 78 kWh | 120 kWh |
| Apr | 59 kWh | 130 kWh |
| May | 41 kWh | 130 kWh |
| Jun | 31 kWh | 110 kWh |
| Jul | 34 kWh | 120 kWh |
| Aug | 50 kWh | 130 kWh |
| Sep | 62 kWh | 110 kWh |
| Oct | 85 kWh | 110 kWh |
| Nov | 92 kWh | 95 kWh |
| Dec | 93 kWh | 90 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 · 3 mi
- Hawthorne 840 kWh a year · 6 mi
- Compton 840 kWh a year · 8 mi
- Inglewood 840 kWh a year · 9 mi
- Long Beach 800 kWh a year · 10 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