Peak sun hours in Kansas
Kansas averages 5.2 peak sun hours a day across the year, 10th of the 50 states. At that figure a 400-watt panel produces about 1.60 kWh a day after real-world losses, and covering the 900 kWh average US bill takes about 19 panels. Wichita, the state's biggest city, sits at 5.2 hours, close enough to the statewide figure to use either, though elevation and distance from water still move the number street by street.
strong sun: 5.2 of a possible ~6.5 hours
Panel counts for Kansas bills
Computed at Kansas's 5.2 hours with 400W panels and the 0.77 derate; the US-average column shows what the same bill takes at 4.5 hours, so you can see what your state's sun is worth in hardware.
| Monthly usage | Kansas | System size | US average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 kWh/mo | 11 panels | 4.4 kW | 12 panels |
| 750 kWh/mo | 16 panels | 6.4 kW | 18 panels |
| 900 kWh/mo | 19 panels | 7.6 kW | 22 panels |
| 1,000 kWh/mo | 21 panels | 8.4 kW | 24 panels |
| 1,500 kWh/mo | 31 panels | 12.4 kW | 36 panels |
| 2,000 kWh/mo | 42 panels | 16.8 kW | 48 panels |
What 5.2 hours means in practice
Kansas sits in the strong tier of American sun, 10th of 50 at 5.2 hours, 16% above the national average. In panel terms the 900 kWh average bill needs 19 panels here instead of the US-average 22. Systems this far into the Sun Belt usually pencil on production alone; the variables that actually kill quotes here are shade and roof direction, not the resource.
How a Kansas year is shaped
The 5.2-hour figure is an annual average, and no month is average. These are the twelve monthly means for Kansas from NASA's 2001-2020 solar climatology, each as a share of the state's own annual mean, with that share applied to the 5.2-hour planning figure. June and December are marked.
| Month | Share of the annual average | Peak sun hours (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| January | 54% | 2.8 |
| February | 71% | 3.7 |
| March | 95% | 4.9 |
| April | 118% | 6.1 |
| May | 134% | 7.0 |
| June | 151% | 7.9 |
| July | 148% | 7.7 |
| August | 131% | 6.8 |
| September | 109% | 5.6 |
| October | 81% | 4.2 |
| November | 60% | 3.1 |
| December | 47% | 2.5 |
The gap between Kansas's best month and its worst is 3.2 to one: June at 151% of the annual average, December at 47%, or about 7.9 hours a day against 2.5. Four months carry 47% of the year's light. A grid-tied system rides that out on net metering without anyone noticing.
Half the Kansas calendar sits above the annual average and half below: April through September are the six months that beat it, carrying 66% of the year's light. April is already worth about 6.1 hours a day, so the productive half of the year starts earlier than most people expect.
Kansas's average home used 876 kWh a month in 2024 by EIA's count, within a few percent of the national 863, so the national panel counts on this page transfer here better than they do in most states. That average bill needs 18 panels across the year and 38 to be carried by December sun alone, a factor of 2.1.
The state average also hides a real geographic split. Sampling 20 grid cells across Kansas, the southwest comes out 17% sunnier than the northeast: call it 5.6 hours against 4.8 once it is scaled to the 5.2-hour statewide figure. That is larger than the gap between many neighbouring states in the ranking.
What that sun is worth on a Kansas bill
| EIA, 2024 residential averages | Kansas | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Average home's monthly use | 876 kWh | 863 kWh |
| Price per kilowatt-hour | 14.15¢ | 16.48¢ |
| Average monthly bill | $123.90 | $142.26 |
| One 400W panel, a year's output | 585 kWh | 506 kWh |
| What that output displaces | $83 | $83 |
Cheap power cuts the other way. Kansas residential electricity averaged 14.15¢ a kilowatt-hour in 2024, 14% under the national 16.48¢ and 20th cheapest in the country, so the same panel that offsets $83 a year at national rates offsets about $83 here. Nothing is wrong with the sun. There is just less money in each kilowatt-hour it makes.
Kansas ranks 10th of fifty for sun but 18th for what a panel is worth, 8 places lower, because the power it displaces is cheap. Oklahoma gets less sun (5.1 hours to Kansas's 5.2) and pays 12.24¢ against 14.15¢, so one panel is worth about $13 more a year in Kansas than in Oklahoma.
Two warnings on those dollar figures. They are displaced electricity and nothing else: no install cost, no incentive, no financing, and no assumption about how your utility settles a surplus, which is the single biggest unknown in the sum. And a state average hides the utility you are actually on; 14.15¢ is every Kansas residential customer averaged together, and neighbouring territories can differ by more than the gap between two states in the ranking.
Getting a number for your address
For a location-exact figure, run your address through NREL's free PVWatts; it uses measured weather for your grid cell and will also model roof tilt and direction, which statewide numbers cannot. Then compare its annual kWh against a quote's promise before you sign anything.
Questions people ask
How many solar panels do I need in Kansas?
About 19 400-watt panels (7.6 kW) for the 900 kWh a month an average US home uses, at Kansas's 5.2 peak sun hours. For the average Kansas home specifically, which EIA measured at 876 kWh a month in 2024, it is 18. Your own bill is the variable that matters, and the calculator takes any figure.
Is 5.2 peak sun hours good for solar?
Yes, comfortably. Kansas ranks 10th of the 50 states, 16% above the national average, which means fewer panels per kWh of bill than almost anywhere else in the country.
How much is one solar panel worth a year in Kansas?
About $83. One 400-watt panel at Kansas's 5.2 peak sun hours makes roughly 585 kWh a year after the 0.77 derate, and Kansas residential electricity averaged 14.15¢ a kilowatt-hour in 2024 (EIA), which puts Kansas 18th of the 50 states on this measure against 10th on sunlight alone. That figure is displaced electricity only. It says nothing about install cost, incentives, or how your utility settles a surplus.
Do peak sun hours change with the seasons in Kansas?
Yes, by a factor of 3.2 here. NASA's 2001-2020 climatology puts Kansas's June at 151% of the annual average and December at 47%, so the 5.2-hour figure on this page is the midpoint of a curve running from roughly 7.9 hours a day down to 2.5. Grid-tied homes bank the summer surplus as credit; off-grid designs have to size for the trough, and in Kansas that means 38 panels for an average local bill instead of 18.