Peak sun hours in New Jersey
New Jersey averages 4.1 peak sun hours a day across the year, 35th of the 50 states. At that figure a 400-watt panel produces about 1.26 kWh a day after real-world losses, and covering the 900 kWh average US bill takes about 24 panels. Newark, the state's biggest city, sits at 4.1 hours, close enough to the statewide figure to use either, though elevation and distance from water still move the number street by street.
modest sun: 4.1 of a possible ~6.5 hours
Panel counts for New Jersey bills
Computed at New Jersey's 4.1 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 | New Jersey | System size | US average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 kWh/mo | 14 panels | 5.6 kW | 12 panels |
| 750 kWh/mo | 20 panels | 8 kW | 18 panels |
| 900 kWh/mo | 24 panels | 9.6 kW | 22 panels |
| 1,000 kWh/mo | 27 panels | 10.8 kW | 24 panels |
| 1,500 kWh/mo | 40 panels | 16 kW | 36 panels |
| 2,000 kWh/mo | 53 panels | 21.2 kW | 48 panels |
What 4.1 hours means in practice
New Jersey runs 9% below the national solar average, 35th of 50 at 4.1 hours. That is workable sun, not bad sun: the 900 kWh bill takes 24 panels here versus 22 nationally, 2 more. Germany built the world's densest solar fleet on worse.
How a New Jersey year is shaped
The 4.1-hour figure is an annual average, and no month is average. These are the twelve monthly means for New Jersey from NASA's 2001-2020 solar climatology, each as a share of the state's own annual mean, with that share applied to the 4.1-hour planning figure. July and December are marked.
| Month | Share of the annual average | Peak sun hours (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| January | 49% | 2.0 |
| February | 71% | 2.9 |
| March | 95% | 3.9 |
| April | 123% | 5.1 |
| May | 138% | 5.7 |
| June | 152% | 6.2 |
| July | 154% | 6.3 |
| August | 134% | 5.5 |
| September | 110% | 4.5 |
| October | 77% | 3.1 |
| November | 56% | 2.3 |
| December | 42% | 1.7 |
New Jersey peaks in July rather than June, which is normal where spring stays cloudy and the clearest skies wait for high summer. July runs 154% of the annual average, December 42%, a spread of 3.7 to one; the four best months hold 48% of the year's light. Put in hours, that is 6.3 a day in July against 1.7 in December.
Half the New Jersey calendar sits above the annual average and half below: April through September are the six months that beat it, carrying 67% of the year's light. April is already worth about 5.1 hours a day, so the productive half of the year starts earlier than most people expect.
New Jersey homes are light users by national standards, 662 kWh a month on EIA's 2024 average against 863 nationally, 23% below. That is only 18 panels at the annual figure, which is why modest arrays go a long way here. Carrying the same house through December on its own would take 42, 2.3 times more.
New Jersey is more uniform than most. The 4 grid cells sampled across the state span 8%, sunniest in the southwest and dimmest in the north, which scales to about 4.3 hours against 3.9. Enough to notice on a production estimate, not enough to change which system you buy. Newark sits inside that band, not at the edge of it.
What that sun is worth on a New Jersey bill
| EIA, 2024 residential averages | New Jersey | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Average home's monthly use | 662 kWh | 863 kWh |
| Price per kilowatt-hour | 19.34¢ | 16.48¢ |
| Average monthly bill | $128.13 | $142.26 |
| One 400W panel, a year's output | 461 kWh | 506 kWh |
| What that output displaces | $89 | $83 |
New Jersey pays 19.34¢ a kilowatt-hour, 11th highest in the country and 17% over the national 16.48¢. A single 400-watt panel therefore displaces about $89 of electricity a year here. Prices above the national line do more for a solar case than an extra half hour of sun does, because the sun sets the numerator and the rate sets what it is worth.
Which is why the sun ranking undersells New Jersey. It places 35th of fifty for sunlight and 14th for what a panel actually earns, a jump of 21 places, and the second number is the one that shows up on a bill. Compare it with a state that gets similar sun: Rhode Island gets the same sun (4.1 hours to New Jersey's 4.1) and pays 28.65¢ against 19.34¢, so one panel is worth about $43 less a year in New Jersey than in Rhode Island.
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; 19.34¢ is every New Jersey 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 New Jersey?
About 24 400-watt panels (9.6 kW) for the 900 kWh a month an average US home uses, at New Jersey's 4.1 peak sun hours. For the average New Jersey home specifically, which EIA measured at 662 kWh a month in 2024, it is 18. Your own bill is the variable that matters, and the calculator takes any figure.
Is 4.1 peak sun hours good for solar?
It is below the 4.5-hour national average but far from disqualifying. Panel counts run about 10% higher here for the same bill, and the December trough measured above deserves respect in any off-grid plan. Grid-tied systems ride through it on net metering.
How much is one solar panel worth a year in New Jersey?
About $89. One 400-watt panel at New Jersey's 4.1 peak sun hours makes roughly 461 kWh a year after the 0.77 derate, and New Jersey residential electricity averaged 19.34¢ a kilowatt-hour in 2024 (EIA), which puts New Jersey 14th of the 50 states on this measure against 35th 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 New Jersey?
Yes, by a factor of 3.7 here. NASA's 2001-2020 climatology puts New Jersey's July at 154% of the annual average and December at 42%, so the 4.1-hour figure on this page is the midpoint of a curve running from roughly 6.3 hours a day down to 1.7. Grid-tied homes bank the summer surplus as credit; off-grid designs have to size for the trough, and in New Jersey that means 42 panels for an average local bill instead of 18.