Solar Calculator Saudi Arabia — What kW System Do You Need?
The arithmetic is your monthly units divided by what one installed kW produces in a month. In Saudi Arabia the second number is the problem: no irradiance or yield source we could reach publishes a figure we are willing to print, which is why our Saudi payback guide publishes break-even in kilowatt-hours rather than years.
This calculator makes the same call. The generation field is empty until you type your installer’s annual production estimate divided by 12 and by the system kW. The cost fields are empty too, because verified checks of the major Saudi suppliers found quote-only models with no published prices at all.
Every field below is editable, and every default carries its source and date on the field itself — the defaults are a starting point, not a claim about your bill. We sell no hardware and take no installer commission; see how we verify.
7 fields on this page ship blank, on purpose
No source we can cite publishes these figures for Saudi Arabia, so the fields start empty rather than pre-filled with something plausible. The calculator prints no result until you supply your own.
- Units per month per installed kW — No Saudi irradiance or yield source we could reach publishes a figure we are willing to print, so this ships empty rather than guessed — the same call the Saudi payback guide made when it published break-even in kilowatt-hours instead of years. Ask your installer for the annual production estimate and divide by 12 and by the system kW.
- Installed cost per kW — low (SAR) — Installed rooftop pricing in Saudi Arabia is quote-only: verified checks of the major suppliers found no published prices at all. Type the per-kW figure from your own written quote.
- Installed cost per kW — high (SAR) — Same reason as the low figure: no Saudi supplier we verified publishes an installed price.
- Battery cost (SAR per kWh) — Our Saudi index prices gel batteries by amp-hour and portable power stations by unit, not fixed home storage by kWh — see /sa/prices/batteries for the dated rows. Deriving a SAR/kWh for home lithium from those would be arithmetic on the wrong product, so this stays blank.
- Battery modules added to a new system (SAR per kWh) — Same reason as the battery cost above — no Saudi source we verified prices fixed home storage by kWh.
- Price of one panel (SAR) — Saudi panel listings quote a per-watt rate that is only comparable within a module class — our own index has a legacy 270W poly at SAR 0.93/W sitting UNDER current 630–660W modules at 1.19–1.44 SAR/W. A single default would flatten exactly the distinction that matters. See /sa/prices/solar-panels and type the price you were quoted.
- Usable kWh per panel per day — Follows from the yield figure above, which we could not source for Saudi Arabia. Use your installer’s estimate.
No result yet — generation per installed kW has no published figure for this market, so there is nothing to calculate from until you type your own. That is deliberate: a number we invented would look exactly like a number we verified.
How this calculator works — the actual arithmetic
- Generation: whatever you type into the "units per month per installed kW" field. No Saudi source we could reach publishes one, which is the same reason our payback guide publishes break-even in kilowatt-hours rather than years.
- System size = monthly units ÷ your generation figure, rounded up to the nearest 0.5 kW.
- Battery = (monthly units ÷ 30 ÷ 24) × backup hours × 1.25, covering depth-of-discharge and round-trip losses.
- Cost: only if you supply a per-kW figure. Verified checks of the major Saudi suppliers found quote-only models with no published prices at all.
Why there is no worked example on this page
There is no worked example because there are no defaults to work from. What we can give you is the tariff side, which is consistently reported even though SERA’s own page was unreachable when we checked: 18 halalas per kWh up to 6,000 kWh a month, 30 halalas above it, plus a SAR 10 meter charge and 15% VAT on the bill.
That 6,000 kWh line is the single most important number on this page. Solar displaces your most expensive units first, so a household above the threshold is offsetting 30-halala energy until consumption drops below it — after which every further unit is worth only 18.
Sources for this market’s defaults
- SERA (Saudi Electricity Regulatory Authority) — consumption tariff categories. The page exists; it was NOT reachable from our research session, which is why the Saudi tariff is labelled corroborated rather than primary. accessed 2026-08-05
- GlobalPetrolPrices — Saudi household electricity SAR 0.200/kWh all-in (December 2025), the cross-check that reconstructs from 18 halalas + meter fee + 15% VAT accessed 2026-08-05
- pv magazine — Saudi rooftop PV provisions: net billing, 7 halalas/kWh residential and 5 halalas/kWh non-residential export credit accessed 2026-08-05
- Aramco — retail fuels, Saudi Arabia pump prices (Gasoline 91 SAR 2.18/litre under the cap). Not reachable at time of writing; corroborated across independent trackers. accessed 2026-08-05
What this calculator does not know
- No generation default means no cost band and no payback claim. This calculator sizes; it does not price.
- The tariff figures are corroborated, not primary. Multiple independent sources agree and the all-in cross-check lands, but the regulator’s own page was not reachable from our research session on 5 August 2026. Check your own bill.
- It knows nothing about the SEC application. Grid connection is a separate process with its own approval, and a system you can size is not a system you are permitted to connect.
- Per-watt panel rates only compare within a module class — our own index has a legacy 270W poly at SAR 0.93/W sitting under current 630–660W modules at 1.19–1.44 SAR/W.
Frequently asked
What size solar system do I need in Saudi Arabia?
Divide your monthly SEC units by what one installed kW produces per month on your roof. We publish no default for that second figure because no Saudi irradiance or yield source we could reach is one we would print. Ask your installer for the annual production estimate and divide by 12 and by the system kW.
What is the electricity tariff in Saudi Arabia?
The residential rate is consistently reported at 18 halalas per kWh up to 6,000 kWh a month and 30 halalas above it, with a SAR 10 meter charge and 15% VAT on the bill. We present these as corroborated secondary figures because the regulator’s own tariff page was not reachable from our research session.
Why does the 6,000 kWh threshold matter when sizing?
Because solar displaces your most expensive units first. Above 6,000 kWh a month you are offsetting 30-halala energy until consumption drops below the threshold, after which each further unit is worth only 18 halalas — so the value of extra capacity falls once you cross back.
How much does a solar system cost in Saudi Arabia?
Installed rooftop pricing in Saudi Arabia is genuinely quote-only — the suppliers we verified publish no prices. That is why this calculator sizes the system and leaves the money to your written quote rather than printing a SAR-per-kW figure nobody published.
Guides that explain the numbers
What a displaced kilowatt-hour is really worth once VAT is counted.
SEC net billing and the solar applicationWhy net billing, not net metering, and what that does to payback.
Rooftop solar payback in Saudi ArabiaBreak-even published in kilowatt-hours, because years needs a generation figure nobody publishes.
Products this applies to
Real SAR rows, with the module class attached — per-watt rates only compare within one.
Saudi battery prices (dated survey)Saudi inverter prices (dated survey)