In 2022, residential solar panels generated 37 million megawatt-hours, representing 18% of total U.S. solar energy, according to the Energy Information Administration. The average American home uses about 11,000 kilowatt-hours per year, meaning residential solar panels generate enough electricity to power 3.4 million homes in 2022.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, solar is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sources in the United States. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the United States had about 3.9 million residential solar photovoltaic systems installed by the end of 2022. That number has grown at a rate of 37% per year since Congress passed the federal solar tax credit in 2005.
In 2022, Congress passed additional tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act to help more Americans invest in rooftop solar. By the end of 2022, a small percentage of all homes (2.7%) had solar panels installed. Overall, residential solar generates a small fraction of total energy in the United States, accounting for less than 1% of total electricity production in 2022.
Small-scale solar power vs. large-scale solar power
In 2022, small-scale solar installations, including those in homes, businesses, and non-utility industrial sites, generated 29% of total solar energy in the United States. At 61 million megawatt-hours, small-scale solar generated enough electricity for 5.6 million homes. That’s more than five times the amount recorded in 2014.
Meanwhile, solar farms and other utility-scale solar facilities generated enough electricity to power more than 13 million homes in 2022, totaling about 144 million megawatt-hours. Utility-scale solar facilities generated eight times more power in 2022 than they did in 2014.
