How much power does a 200W solar panel produce per day?
A 200W solar panel makes about 774 Wh a day at 4.5 peak sun hours after 14% losses — about 60 Ah into a 12.8 V battery, 23.2 kWh a month.
How to work it out
- 200 W × (1 − 14% losses) = 172 Wh per peak sun hour
- × 4.5 peak sun hours = 774 Wh a day (60 Ah at 12.8 V)
Two hundred watts — one larger panel or two 100 W panels — is where a van or small RV system can start to carry a 12 V fridge as well as lights, fans and charging.
Adjust for your project
More options: Losses · Battery V
- Per month (30 days)
- 23.2 kWh
- Per year
- 283 kWh
- Into a battery per day
- 60 Ah
- In one hour of full sun
- 172 Wh
- Peak charging current (MPPT)
- 15.6 A
Output at other peak sun hours
| Peak sun hours per day | Output per day | Per month (30 days) | Into a battery per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 344 Wh | 10.3 kWh | 27 Ah |
| 3 | 516 Wh | 15.5 kWh | 40 Ah |
| 4 | 688 Wh | 20.6 kWh | 54 Ah |
| 5 | 860 Wh | 25.8 kWh | 67 Ah |
| 6 | 1,032 Wh | 31 kWh | 81 Ah |
| 7 | 1,204 Wh | 36.1 kWh | 94 Ah |
What 200 W of solar covers
- A 12 V fridge plus the basics. 774 Wh covers a fridge averaging 25 W (600 Wh a day) with about 170 Wh to spare on a 4.5-hour day — not on a cloudy one.
- One panel or two? One 200 W panel has fewer connections; two 100 W panels fit around roof vents and can be wired in series for an MPPT controller — see two 100W solar panels in series.
- Controller size. About 15.6 A peak at 12.8 V through MPPT; a 20 A controller fits with headroom — see what size charge controller for a 200 watt solar panel.
- Winter halves it or worse. At New York’s lowest month on PVWatts, about 2.9 peak sun hours, the same panel makes about 494 Wh.
Doubling up again is on how much power a 400W solar panel produces per day; the single-panel starter is how much power a 100W solar panel produces per day.
Different size? Use the full Solar Panel Output Calculator.
What you’ll need
- 100 W solar panelMid-range price
The building block of most van, boat and RV systems. Check the data-sheet Voc and Isc before you decide how to wire several of them.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - MPPT solar charge controllerMid-range price
Converts a higher panel voltage into charging current, so you can wire panels in series and lose less in the cables. Size it on output amps and maximum PV voltage.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - MC4 branch connectors (Y splitters)Budget price
Joins panels in parallel without a combiner box for small arrays. Check the connector’s current rating against your total.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
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Frequently asked questions
How much power do two 100W solar panels produce per day?
The same as one 200 W panel: about 774 Wh a day at 4.5 peak sun hours.
How much power does a 200W solar panel produce in Denver?
About 987 Wh a day at Denver’s yearly average of 5.74 peak sun hours on PVWatts.
Other common sizes
- How much power a 100W solar panel produces per day — 387 Wh a day at 4.5 sun hours
- How much power a 400W solar panel produces per day — 1.55 kWh a day at 4.5 sun hours
Sources
- National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly NREL) — PVWatts® Calculator (opens in a new tab) — Look up the solar resource (peak sun hours) and yearly output for your own address; default system losses 14%.
- NLR (formerly NREL) — PVWatts® v8 API, NSRDB PSM V3 TMY data (opens in a new tab) — City figures on this site: fixed open-rack array facing due south, tilted at the site’s latitude, 14% system losses, queried October 2026.
- Victron Energy — Which solar charge controller: PWM or MPPT? (2020) (opens in a new tab) — MPPT output current = panel watts ÷ battery voltage (100 W ÷ 13 V = 7.7 A); a PWM controller pulls the panel down to battery voltage (81 W from a 100 W panel at 25 °C, about the same as MPPT at 75 °C); temperature-coefficient method; example panel Voc 21.6 V, −0.35 %/°C.