🇪🇸 Solar Calculator Spain

Enter your city, monthly electricity bill, and roof area — get system size, panel count, autoconsumo savings, and payback period in euros.

kWp
🇪🇸 Solar system for Spain — Madrid
6 × 550W panels (3.3 kWp installed)
Peak sun hours (PSH)5 hrs/day
Annual solar production4380 kWh/yr
Self-consumed energy2409 kWh/yr
Excess export compensation138/yr
Autoconsumo savings554/yr
Total annual savings692/yr
System cost (incl. 10% IVA)4950
Payback period7.2 years
25-year net savings12.351
IVA note: Solar panel installations in Spain are subject to 10% IVA (reduced rate vs standard 21%). Some Canary Islands installations may qualify for IGIC at 7%. Confirm with your installer.
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How to Use This Calculator

Select your city and enter your electricity bill

Choose the city or region closest to your location. Spain's solar resource varies enormously — Seville and the Canary Islands average over 5.5 peak sun hours per day while Bilbao in the Basque Country averages only 3.8. This dramatically affects how many panels you need and your payback period. Enter your monthly electricity bill from your Spanish utility (Endesa, Iberdrola, Naturgy, or one of the alternative suppliers). Check the factura de electricidad for the total monthly amount.

Set roof area and system size

Enter the south-facing roof area available in square metres. Each 550W panel takes approximately 2m² including spacing; a 5kWp system needs roughly 20m². System size (kWp) can be adjusted to match your roof space and budget — the calculator will warn if the system won't fit. Most Spanish homes install between 3-8 kWp. Larger systems require authorization from your autonomous community for systems above 100 kWp.

Choose autoconsumo and battery options

Autoconsumo (Royal Decree 244/2019) is Spain's self-consumption framework. Enabling it means you register with your utility to sell excess solar to the grid at the market price (typically €0.05-0.10/kWh in 2026). Without registration, excess energy is still exported but not compensated. Battery storage increases self-consumption from ~55% to ~75% — especially valuable if you work away from home during solar peak hours (10am-4pm).

The Formula

Monthly kWh = Monthly Bill ÷ €0.23/kWh (avg Spanish rate) Annual Production = System kWp × PSH × 365 × 0.80 efficiency Self-Consumed kWh = Annual Production × 55% (no battery) or 75% (with battery) Autoconsumo Savings = Self-Consumed kWh × €0.23/kWh Excess Compensation = Excess kWh × €0.07/kWh (market rate) System Cost = kWp × €1,200-1,800/kWp + IVA 10% Payback = Total Cost ÷ Annual Savings

The key Spanish-specific factors: the 10% IVA rate applies to solar installations rather than the standard 21% (confirmed under Spanish tax law for supply and installation as a single service). The excess compensation rate fluctuates with the Spanish electricity market (OMIE pool) — the calculator uses €0.07/kWh as a 2026 average; actual rates range from €0.05 to €0.10/kWh depending on market conditions and the compensation mechanism in your contract.

Example

Ana — Home in Seville with 8kWp system

Ana has a detached villa in Seville with a large south-facing roof. She pays €220/month to Endesa and wants to install 8kWp. She opts for autoconsumo registration and battery storage to maximize savings.

CitySeville (5.5 PSH — best in mainland Spain)
Monthly bill€220/mo (~957 kWh/mo)
System8 kWp — 15 × 550W panels
OptionsAutoconsumo + battery storage

Result

Annual production~12,848 kWh/yr
Self-consumed (75%)~9,636 kWh/yr
Autoconsumo savings~€2,216/yr
Export compensation~€225/yr
Total annual savings~€2,441/yr
System cost (incl. IVA)~€17,600
Payback~7.2 years
25-year net savings~€43,400

Seville's excellent sunshine gives Ana a fast 7-year payback. Her 8kWp system produces nearly as much energy as she consumes annually. With battery storage, she covers 75% of her usage directly from solar — the remaining 25% comes from the grid on cloudy days and winter evenings. Over 25 years, she saves over €43,000.

FAQ

Autoconsumo is Spain's self-consumption solar framework established by Royal Decree 244/2019. It allows residential and commercial solar owners to consume their own generated electricity and export the surplus to the grid. Under the "autoconsumo con excedentes acogido a compensación", excess energy is compensated at the simplified compensation mechanism price — typically €0.05-0.10/kWh. Registration is required through your distributor (Red Eléctrica). The process typically takes 4-12 weeks and requires a bi-directional smart meter installation.
A complete residential solar installation in Spain costs approximately €1,200-1,800 per kWp installed, including panels, inverter, mounting, wiring, and installation labour. A 3kWp system costs €3,600-5,400 before IVA; 8kWp costs €9,600-14,400. Premium brands (SunPower, LG) and complex roofs cost more; standard Chinese panels (Longi, Jinko) and simple pitched roofs cost less. The 10% IVA adds to these figures. Most installers provide a 10-year installation warranty and 25-year panel performance warranty.
Spain's national PREE 5000 and similar programs from the Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia (funded by EU NextGenerationEU) provided subsidies of 30-45% for solar installations through 2024. In 2026, check your autonomous community for active regional subsidies — Madrid, Catalonia, Andalusia, and Valencia all have had their own programs. Additionally, the 10% reduced IVA rate (vs standard 21%) remains a permanent tax benefit. Some municipalities also offer IBI (property tax) reductions for solar installations.
The Canary Islands lead with 5.8 peak sun hours per day — ideal for solar and giving paybacks of 5-7 years. On the mainland, Seville (5.5 PSH), Malaga (5.3 PSH), and Madrid (5.0 PSH) are excellent. Zaragoza (4.8 PSH) and Valencia (5.0 PSH) are also strong. Bilbao (3.8 PSH) is the weakest on this list — northern Spain's Atlantic climate means significantly more cloudy days and a longer payback of 10-13 years for the same system.
Yes — Spain's autoconsumo regulations explicitly support "autoconsumo colectivo" (collective self-consumption) for apartment buildings and communities. A shared solar installation on the community roof allocates production to individual apartments via a distribution coefficient. This requires a vote by the community owners (comunidad de propietarios) with 3/5 majority approval under the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal. Individual balcony systems under 800W are also exempt from grid registration requirements.

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