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PPL Electric Utilities · Pennsylvania · Updated August 2026
Why your PPL Electric Utilities bill is so high
What PPL Electric Utilities charges, why it moved, and what a roof produces against it.
~19.2¢All-in rateRanked #1 by Solar Power World · Inc. 5000 · 20,000+ installations
Updated September 2026
How many solar panels for 1,500 kWh a month?
1,500 kWh a month is an average single-family home with central air. How much solar it takes depends almost entirely on where you live — the same house needs a system a third larger in Vermont than in Arizona.
Use the full calculator →1,500 kWh a month, by region
| Where you live | System size | Panels | Roof area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast and Great Lakes Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, upstate New York, Michigan | 16.2 kW | 41 panels | 861 sq ft |
| Mid-Atlantic Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, Indiana | 14.7 kW | 37 panels | 777 sq ft |
| Southeast Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Missouri | 13.4 kW | 34 panels | 714 sq ft |
| Southwest Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, southern California | 11.4 kW | 29 panels | 609 sq ft |
Assumes 400 W panels and an 80% system derate, which accounts for inverter losses, wiring, heat and soiling. Roof area is the panel footprint only — fire code setbacks and obstructions typically add 20–30% on top.
Why the same usage needs different systems
Sun hours, not sunshine
A peak sun hour is an hour of 1,000 W per square metre. It is a measure of energy over the year, not of how sunny a day feels. Vermont gets about 3.8 a day averaged annually; Arizona gets about 5.4. That is a 42% difference in what each kilowatt of panel produces.
Orientation and pitch
South-facing at roughly the local latitude is the reference case. East and west lose roughly a fifth. North-facing is usually not worth installing on.
Shading costs more than it looks
Midday shading is far more expensive than early-morning shading, because those hours carry most of the production. A single tree on the south side can move a system size by 20%.
Check your real usage before you size anything
1,500 kWh is a starting point, not your number. Your utility's online account holds twelve months of actual kilowatt-hours — use that. Dollars move with the rate; kilowatt-hours are the quantity, and the quantity is what a system has to cover.
Two things distort a single month badly: air conditioning in July and electric heat in January. If you have either, size on the annual total rather than a summer bill.
Sizing to 100% is not always right
Where your state credits exported power at the full retail rate — Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maine — covering 100% of your usage is defensible, because an exported kilowatt-hour and a consumed one are worth the same.
Where export credit is below retail — California under net billing, Ohio at the generation rate, Illinois on supply only since January 2025 — the surplus you build to reach 100% is worth a fraction of what you paid to generate it. In those states an array sized to your daytime load, sometimes with storage, produces a better result than a bigger one.
Work out what an exported kilowatt-hour is worth where you live →
Work it out with your own numbers
Full system size calculator · What share of your usage it covers · When a purchase pays for itself · Whether your roof has the area
Common questions
How many solar panels do I need for 1,500 kWh a month?
In the Mid-Atlantic, roughly 37 panels at 400 W each. In the Northeast it is more and in the Southwest fewer — the table above works it out by region. Your own roof's orientation and shading move it further.
How much roof space does 1,500 kWh a month need?
About 777 square feet of panel area in the Mid-Atlantic. Usable roof is smaller than total roof — fire setbacks, vents and chimneys typically remove 20–30%.
Should I size solar to cover 100% of my usage?
Only where your state credits exports at the retail rate. Where export credit is well below retail, an array sized closer to your daytime load performs better.
Where do I find my actual usage?
Your utility's online account has twelve months of kilowatt-hours. Use that rather than estimating from a dollar amount — dollars move with the rate.