Solar Panels for a Tiny Home or House

Solar Panels for a Tiny House: Getting the Most Watts From a Small Roof

Solar panels for a tiny house have to solve a problem a normal home never faces: the roof is small, often pitched steeply, and on a house on wheels it also has to survive highway travel. That pushes the decision toward high-efficiency modules that put the most watts into the fewest square feet, and toward system voltages that keep wiring short and simple.

This collection holds 43 panels and small panel kits from Rich Solar, Sungold Power, Anker SOLIX and BLUETTI. Prices start at $69 for a 50W rigid panel and reach $980 for a 560W bifacial kit.

How to choose solar panels for a tiny home

• Watts per square foot. On a roof of 150 to 250 square feet you cannot afford low-efficiency modules. The Rich Solar MEGA 100W SLIM runs N-Type TOPCon cells at up to 25.1% efficiency in a 50.0 x 15.7 inch frame, so several fit between a skylight and a roof vent. The Sungold Power 440W N-Type Panel gives the most output per module for a house with one clear roof plane.
• System voltage. A tiny house running a 12V battery with a small inverter pairs with 12V panels such as the MEGA 100 or MEGA 50. If you are building around a 48V battery and hybrid inverter, the 48V kits (415W, 560W, 200W) wire in series with fewer connections. The Rich Solar MEGA 200W 24V at 36.3V nominal replaces two 100W panels with one, which cuts roof penetrations in half.
• Roof-mounted or portable. A house on wheels that parks in shade can run a portable panel on the sunny side of the lot instead. The Anker SOLIX 400W PS400 Portable Panel and the BLUETTI 350W fold away when you move.
• Bifacial for ground mounts. If the house has a yard, the Sungold Power 560W bifacial kit captures reflected light from the back side, which the pack rates at up to 30% more energy over a conventional panel on a raised ground mount.

Popular picks in this collection

Setup and sizing tips

• Run the Solar Kit Calculator with your ZIP code and appliance list. A tiny house with a mini-split needs far more array than one heated with propane, and the calculator shows the gap in watts.
• Measure the roof with obstructions marked. Vents, a skylight and a stovepipe usually leave two or three usable rectangles; the SLIM panel's narrow shape was designed for exactly those strips.
• Mind the road height. A tiny house on wheels is already near the 13.5 foot legal limit in most states, and tilt mounts add inches. Flush-mount rigid panels or a portable panel keep you legal.
• Match panel voltage to your charge controller's input range. The MEGA 200 at 36.3V nominal needs an MPPT controller rated for that input on a 12V bank.
• The Sungold 440W kit can be ordered up to 31 panels at a time, so leave roof space to add modules later.

Frequently asked questions

How many panels does a tiny house need? An off-grid tiny house without electric heat usually runs on 600 to 1,200W of panels. That is six to twelve 100W modules or two to three 415W panels, depending on which fits your roof.

Can I mix rigid roof panels and a portable panel? Yes, if each connects to its own charge controller or the controller accepts them on separate inputs.

Does a tiny home solar panel kit include a battery? Not in this collection. These are panels and panel-only kits; pair them with a battery and inverter, or see our full kits if you want everything in one order.

Everything ships free to the mainland US from our brand partner warehouses, typically within a few business days, with 30-day returns. Send us your roof dimensions and we will help lay out the array.