Size your whole system
Your daily use and your darkest month decide everything. Put them in and you'll get panels, batteries and an inverter, plus a cost range.
Alaska gets about 1.0 hours of strong sun a day in December, its darkest month (NASA data).
| 4 | Solar panels, 200 W0.8 kW total — about as many as fit. In winter, top up by driving (a DC-DC charger) or a small generator |
| 3 | ~2 kWh power stations or add-on packs4.8 kWh stored · about 1.8 kWh usable each |
| 1 | Built into the power stationRuns everything you plug in |
In your darkest weeks the sun doesn't quite keep up, so the batteries end each day a little lower. Top it up from the wall when the grid's back, or add a panel.
In summer the sun does most of the work, and the batteries barely dip.
Starting full at 6pm, the batteries run the night, drop to their lowest around 6pm (4%), then the panels make about 0.6 kWh a day in your darkest month against about 3.2 kWh used. After two days they sit at 4%.
Rough one-time cost: $4,500 – $5,500, parts and wiring.
Go deeper: how this works
Panels: daily use ÷ darkest-month sun hours ÷ 0.77 (wires, heat, dust) × 1.1 (margin).
3.2 ÷ 1.0 ÷ 0.77 × 1.1 = 4.6 kWBatteries: daily use × days without sun ÷ usable storage per battery.
3.2 × 1.5 ÷ 1.8 = 3Want it done for your life?
The guides ask how you live instead of how many kWh, then size everything and show the exact picks.