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Solar Tiny Home Kit Calculator

Enter your tiny home size, off-grid mode, and location — get a complete kit bill of materials with panels, battery, inverter, and total cost compared to grid extension.

Tiny home details
sq ft
Financial context
$
Complete off-grid kit for your tiny home
800W panels + 10.0 kWh battery + 2.0 kW inverter
Daily energy need3.75 kWh/day
Solar panels800W ($640)
LiFePO4 battery bank10.0 kWh ($6,000)
Inverter/charger2.0 kW ($800)
MPPT charge controller19A ($250)
Racking + cabling + hardware$940
Installation labor$1,200
Propane appliance allowance$800
Total kit cost$10,630
vs. grid extensionSolar saves $14,370 upfront
Monthly electricity equivalent saved$15.75/mo
Payback (standalone)56.2 yrs
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How to Use This Calculator

Enter your tiny home size and off-grid mode

Start with square footage (100–500 sq ft) and whether you're going full off-grid or want some grid backup. A fully off-grid system must cover 100% of your load from solar and battery storage. Partial off-grid systems are sized smaller with utility backup available — useful where grid connection is expensive but not impossible.

Choose propane backup option

Using propane for cooking and water heating reduces your electric load by approximately 25%, directly shrinking panel count and battery size. A propane range, water heater, and possibly a wall heater adds about $800 in appliance cost but saves $1,000–2,000 in solar system cost. This is the single most impactful decision for off-grid tiny home sizing.

Enter grid extension cost

The key financial comparison for remote tiny homes is solar vs. grid extension. Utility companies typically charge $15–50 per foot for line extensions — on a rural 500-foot property, that's $7,500–25,000 before any in-home wiring. Enter your utility's quoted extension cost for an accurate comparison. Many tiny home owners find solar is not just practical but dramatically cheaper than running wire to remote land.

The Formula

Daily kWh = Sqft × 0.025 kWh/sqft × Mode Factor × (1 − Propane Reduction 25%) Panel Watts = Daily kWh × 1000 ÷ Peak Sun Hours ÷ 0.82 efficiency Battery kWh = Daily kWh × 2 days ÷ 0.80 DoD (LiFePO4) Inverter = 2kW (under 200sqft) / 3kW (200–350sqft) / 4kW (350sqft+) Total Kit = Panels + Battery + Inverter + MPPT + Racking + Labor Savings vs Grid = Grid Extension Cost − Total Kit Cost

The 0.025 kWh per sqft per day baseline assumes efficient LED lighting, Energy Star mini-split, low-power refrigerator, and efficient appliances typical of off-grid tiny homes. A conventional home uses 3–5x more. The 2-day battery autonomy is industry standard for off-grid residential — covering typical storm systems and extended cloudy periods in most US climates.

Complete Kit Bill of Materials

Standard 300 sqft tiny home — Denver, CO — Full off-grid, no propane

Daily energy~7.5 kWh/day
Solar panels1,700W (four 430W panels) — $1,360
LiFePO4 battery19 kWh (e.g., 2× EG4 PowerPro 10kWh) — $11,400
Inverter/charger3kW (Victron MultiPlus-II) — $1,100
MPPT charge controller50A (Victron SmartSolar) — $250
Roof/ground racking$510
Cabling + combiners$400
Install hardware$300
Installation labor$1,800
Total kit cost~$17,120

This 300 sqft system in Denver (5.5 PSH) uses four standard 430W panels — a manageable roof or ground installation. The 19 kWh battery provides two full days of autonomy through Colorado's occasional multi-day overcast periods. Recommended brand bundles: Renogy 48V system kit, EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra with solar, or Bluetti AC500+B300S for modular expansion. Compare to a typical grid extension of $20,000–35,000 for a remote mountain property — solar wins decisively.

FAQ

A complete off-grid solar kit for a tiny home ranges from $4,000–15,000 depending on size and location. A minimalist 200 sqft in Phoenix with propane backup needs about $5,000–7,000 in solar equipment. A 500 sqft luxury tiny home in Seattle designed for year-round use needs $12,000–18,000. This compares favorably to grid extension costs of $15,000–50,000 for remote properties. Pre-packaged bundles from Renogy, EcoFlow, and Bluetti offer complete kits at competitive pricing versus component-by-component purchasing.
A 200 sqft off-grid tiny home typically needs 800–1,200W of solar panels (2–3 panels at 400W each), producing 4–6 kWh/day in most US locations. A 400 sqft home needs 1,600–2,400W (4–6 panels). With propane for cooking and water heating, reduce these by about 25%. Location matters significantly — the same home in Seattle needs 80% more panel capacity than in Phoenix. Most tiny home roofs can fit 1–4 standard panels; additional panels go on an adjacent ground mount or carport.
This is the most impactful design decision. Propane hybrid reduces solar system cost significantly — propane covers cooking (1.5–2.5 kWh/day equivalent) and water heating (2–4 kWh/day equivalent), reducing electric load by 25–40%. A 25-gallon propane tank costs $60–80 to refill and lasts 2–4 months for cooking. The downside: ongoing propane cost, tank logistics, and the fire/leak risk of gas appliances. All-electric is cleaner and simpler but requires more panels and battery. An induction cooktop on 240V draws 1,800W — fine for a properly sized inverter. Heat pump water heaters are extremely efficient (3–4× more efficient than resistance heating). Many tiny home owners start propane-hybrid and convert to all-electric as solar prices fall.
LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate) is the clear choice for off-grid tiny homes in 2024. Benefits over lead-acid: 3–4× longer life (3,000+ cycles vs. 500–1,000), 2× more usable capacity (80% vs. 50% DoD), half the weight, better performance in cold temperatures, and no maintenance. Cost: $500–700/kWh installed vs. $150–200/kWh for lead-acid — but LiFePO4 has 5–10× better cost per cycle. Top-rated systems: Victron Energy + CATL cells (DIY route), EG4 PowerPro, EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra (modular), and Bluetti EP760. For a 10 kWh system, budget $6,000–8,000.
Yes — in several important ways. Tiny home systems are off-grid (no grid tie) whereas most residential solar uses net metering. This means you need a battery-based inverter (not a simple grid-tie inverter) and properly sized battery storage. The system must handle your entire load independently. Tiny homes also often have limited roof space — requiring higher-efficiency panels or a separate ground mount. The system must handle diverse loads: mini-split AC (the biggest draw), refrigerator, lighting, electronics, and potentially EV charging. Most tiny homes use a 48V system architecture for efficiency; 12V is inadequate for anything over 2 kWh of storage.

Related Calculators

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⚡ MPPT Calculator
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