3kW, 5kW and 10kW solar systems: what each one makes in Central Luzon
The kilowatt figure is the size of the array: what the panels would deliver together in full midday sun. It is not what you get. What you get is kilowatt-hours over a month, and that depends on how much sun your town receives.
Below are the monthly figures for each size at five named towns, how many panels each takes and how much roof those panels cover. It is the same arithmetic we use when we size a residential solar installation, before a survey replaces the assumptions with your own roof.
What each size makes in a month, by town
Average kilowatt-hours a month across a year. Each town’s figure is the Global Solar Atlas value at that town’s coordinates, with a performance ratio of 0.8 for the losses in the inverter, the wiring, heat and dust.
| Town | 3kW, kWh a month | 5kW, kWh a month | 10kW, kWh a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Fernando Pampanga | 382 | 637 | 1,274 |
| Malolos Bulacan | 372 | 620 | 1,239 |
| Balanga Bataan | 385 | 641 | 1,282 |
| Tarlac City Tarlac | 388 | 646 | 1,292 |
| Olongapo Olongapo | 373 | 622 | 1,244 |
These are yearly averages. The habagat months come in under them and the dry season over. The sun figures for each town, and how they were read, are on the peak sun hours page.
How many panels, and how much roof
Worked with a 600 watt panel measuring 2,278 by 1,134 millimetres, from a current JinkoSolar datasheet. Smaller panels mean more of them for the same size.
| System | Panels | Glass area, m² |
|---|---|---|
| 3kW | 5 | 13 |
| 5kW | 9 | 23 |
| 10kW | 17 | 44 |
Glass area is the panels alone. The roof needs more than that: room for the rails and clamps, a way to walk between rows for cleaning, and clearance from the edges. On a pitched roof only the faces that get the sun count. That is why a survey comes before a size is fixed.
Matching a size to your bill
Look for the kWh figure on your bill, not the amount in pesos, and compare it with the table. At San Fernando a 3kW system averages about 382 kWh a month, a 5kW about 637 and a 10kW about 1,274.
Then ask when the house uses it. Panels only make power in daylight. A grid-tied system cuts what you use while the sun is up; what you use after dark still comes from the grid unless there is a battery, or a net metering credit for power you exported earlier in the day. Without either, a household that is out all day and runs the air conditioning at night gets less from the same size than one with somebody home. What a night of aircon takes from a battery is worked out separately.
How to read your meter and split the day into sun hours and dark hours
What people ask about system sizes
How many kWh does a 5kW solar system produce per month?
About 637 kWh a month at San Fernando, Pampanga, as a yearly average. Across the five points on this page the figure runs from 620 at Malolos to 646 at Tarlac City.
The rainy months fall below the average and the dry months rise above it, so a single month’s bill will not match it exactly.
How many solar panels is a 3kW system?
5 panels of 600 watts make 3.0 kW. With smaller panels it takes more of them: the count is the size in watts divided by one panel’s rating, rounded up.
How much roof does a 10kW system need?
17 panels of the size on this page cover about 44 square metres of glass. The roof has to be bigger than that, because panels need room for the mounting, for walking access and for clearance at the edges, and how much depends on the roof.
Which size do I need?
Take the kWh on your bill, not the peso amount, and compare it with the monthly figures here. A system that makes about what you use in daylight cuts the most for its size. Power used after dark comes from the grid unless there is a battery, or a net metering credit from what was exported earlier.
From a size on a table to a size on your roof
The table assumes a clear roof facing the sun. Shade from a neighbour’s extension, a water tank or a mango tree changes the answer, and so does what the roof is made of. A visit settles all three, and the quotation follows it. That is how our residential solar installation starts.
Tell us your kWh and your town
Send the kWh from a recent bill and where the property is. You will get a written answer with a size, the panel count and the next step.
Tell us the property and what you are trying to cut, and you will get a written answer with a size and a next step. No visit is booked and nothing is charged for asking.
Sources: Global Solar Atlas, the World Bank Group and ESMAP, on Solargis data, data version 2.2.68, read 23 September 2026 at each town’s coordinates; JinkoSolar datasheet JKM580-605N-72HL4-(V), F8 EN edition, read 1 October 2026, for the module size and rating. The panel is an example used for the arithmetic, not a quotation.