How Many Solar Panels for a 2 Bedroom Flat?

Short answer: a 5kVA inverter, 15.36kWh of lithium battery and 6 × 550W panels — ₦4.4M – ₦7.54M installed.

A two-bedroom flat with one 1HP AC, a fridge, a freezer, a washing machine and an electric iron. The iron and the AC barely use energy across the day but they are what force the inverter up a size — which is why ironing on solar is a decision, not a detail.

Quote SB-5K-D3BXPS · equipment priced at Nigerian market rates last checked September 2026.

The answer

Inverter
5kVA
Battery
15.36kWh
Panels
6 × 550W
Installed
₦4.4M – ₦7.54M

That is the Standard build for this load: 3610W if every appliance runs at the same moment, 12kWh across a normal day, and about 6 hours of backup once the sun is down. Best single estimate: ₦5,226,736.

The load this is sized for

Daily hours are the calculator defaults. Change any of them — and add or remove anything — by opening this load in the calculator.

ApplianceWatts eachQtyHours/daykWh/day
Air Con (1HP)900W143.6
Ceiling Fan70W281.12
DSTV/Decoder25W160.15
Deep Freezer250W182
Electric Iron1200W10.50.6
LED Bulb10W1080.8
Phone Charger15W340.18
Refrigerator200W181.6
Standing Fan75W180.6
TV (32")60W160.36
Washing Machine600W110.6
WiFi Router15W1240.36
Total3610W peak12

Three ways to build it

Same load, three budgets. The inverter is sized from the full peak in every tier — an undersized inverter trips, so that is not where you save. What changes is backup hours, panel headroom and component class.

💰 Budget

Essentials, lowest cost

Inverter
5kVA
Battery
10.24kWh · 2 modules
Panels
4 × 550W · 2.2kWp
Backup
about 4h
₦2.33M – ₦4.32M
best estimate ₦3.23M · installed

Runs your essentials (lights, fans, fridge, TV) with ~4h of night backup. Heavy loads like AC only while the sun is up.

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Standard

Most installed

What most Nigerian homes install

Inverter
5kVA
Battery
15.36kWh · 3 modules
Panels
6 × 550W · 3.3kWp
Backup
about 6h
₦4.4M – ₦7.54M
best estimate ₦5.23M · installed

Runs everything on your list with ~6h of overnight backup. Grid or generator tops up on very cloudy days.

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👑 Premium

Deye-class, full independence

Inverter
6kVA
Battery
25.6kWh · 5 modules
Panels
7 × 550W · 3.85kWp
Backup
about 10h
₦7.55M – ₦12.7M
best estimate ₦9.21M · installed

Everything on your list plus headroom to add more, ~10h backup, premium inverter with app monitoring and 5–10yr warranty.

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What you are actually buying (Standard)

Line by line, at Nigerian market prices last checked September 2026. The low column is the Alaba/wholesale floor, the high column is showroom retail — most real installs land between them.

ItemQtyLine costRange
Hybrid inverter5kVA 48V hybrid — Growatt / Luxpower / Must / Solis1 unit₦625,000₦500k – ₦1M
Lithium battery (LiFePO4)5.12kWh 48V 100Ah module · 10+ yr life — Felicity / Growatt / Dyness3 modules₦3,148,800₦2.87M – ₦4.15M
Solar panels550W mono/bifacial — Jinko / JA Solar / Longi6 panels₦759,000₦611k – ₦990k
Mounting, cables & protectionRails, DC/AC cable, breakers, surge protector, combiner, earthing, changeover1 lot₦543,936₦319k – ₦1.1M
Installation & commissioningLagos / Abuja / PH roof-mount labour (transport outside city extra)1 lot₦150,000₦100k – ₦300k
Installed total₦5,226,736₦4.4M – ₦7.54M

Equipment ₦3.98M – ₦6.14M · mounting, cables and protection ₦319k – ₦1.1M · labour ₦100k – ₦300k. Transport outside Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt is extra.

Why this size

The inverter comes from the worst moment

Add up every appliance as if it switched on together — 3610W here — then add 25% headroom so the unit is never running flat out, and round up to a size sold in Nigeria. That gives 5kVA. Sizing the inverter on an average instead of the peak is the single most common mistake in Nigerian quotes: the system works until the day everything is on, then it trips. Motors — pumps, fridges, compressors — also pull several times their running watts for the first second, so check the inverter's surge rating, not just its kVA.

The battery comes from how long you want it

Nothing runs at peak all night. We take 60% of peak as the real running load, multiply by the hours of backup you want, and allow for lithium only being safely emptied to about 90%. At 6 hours that is 15.36kWh3 modules of 5.12kWh. Because Nigerian solar sits alongside the grid rather than replacing it outright, buying backup for every possible hour is where budgets get wasted; six hours covers the usual overnight outage.

The panels come from the day's energy

This load uses 12kWh a day. A Nigerian roof averages about 5.5 peak sun hours, and roughly 78% of what the panels make survives heat, wiring, the charge controller and the round trip through the battery. Divide one by the other and round up to whole 550W modules: 6 × 550W panels (3.3kWp). Harmattan dust and a genuinely overcast week will cut that — which is why the Premium build adds panels rather than battery.

What it replaces

A generator sized for this load would have to burn fuel for every one of these 12kWh, every day, plus servicing — and it still cannot run quietly at 2am. Solar front-loads that cost into ₦4.4M – ₦7.54M once. Whether that pays back faster than your current fuel bill depends on how many hours of supply you actually get, so work it out on your own PHCN hours before you commit — we will do that with you rather than sell you a bigger system than the numbers justify.

Questions people ask about this

How many solar panels do I need for a 2 bedroom flat in Nigeria?

5kVA inverter, 15.36kWh lithium battery and 6 × 550W panels (3.3kWp). Installed in Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt that works out at ₦4.4M – ₦7.54M, with ₦5,226,736 as the realistic middle, at September 2026 Nigerian prices. The load is 3610W if everything runs at once and 12kWh across a day.

How many batteries does this need?

3 × 5.12kWh LiFePO4 modules, so 15.36kWh installed. That is sized to carry the average running load of this list for about 6 hours after dark. Drop to 4 hours and it is 10.24kWh (2 modules); go to 10 hours and it is 25.6kWh (5 modules).

How many solar panels, and will they cover the load?

6 × 550W panels (3.3kWp). At the 5.5 peak sun hours a Nigerian roof averages and 78% system efficiency, that array is sized to replace the 12kWh this load uses each day. Each 550W module is a little over 2m long and about 1.1m wide, so count 6 of them on one unshaded roof plane before you commit.

What is the difference between the budget, standard and premium versions?

Budget: 5kVA, 10.24kWh, 4 panels, about 4h backup — ₦2.33M – ₦4.32M. Standard: 5kVA, 15.36kWh, 6 panels, about 6h — ₦4.4M – ₦7.54M. Premium: 6kVA, 25.6kWh, 7 panels, about 10h — ₦7.55M – ₦12.7M. The inverter is sized from the same peak load in every tier; what you buy with the extra money is backup hours, panel headroom and inverter class.

Your list is not exactly this list

Open this exact load in the calculator, add the things you own and delete the things you do not, and the inverter, battery, panels and price all move with it. Then send it to us and we will source the equipment at the price on the page.

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