Kano State
Solar in Tarauni: sunlight, tariffs and what a system costs
A rooftop in Tarauni gets about 4.6 peak sun hours a day, so every kilowatt of panels makes roughly 1,388 kWh a year. A 5 kW home system produces about 19 kWh on an average day, against roughly 18 kWh of daily demand.
Every figure below is recalculated for the audience you pick.
Peak sun hours
4.6 h/day
Daily average across the year
Yield per kW
1,388 kWh/yr
Delivered output, after 17% system losses
5 kW system output
19 kWh/day
6,940 kWh a year
Grid tariff (modelled)
₦209.50/kWh
KEDCO Band A, cost-reflective
What power actually looks like in Tarauni
8% of Tarauni runs a generator, the grid arrives for about 14.4 hours a day, and roughly 88% of what people would use they simply go without. 14% of the electricity actually consumed here is made by a generator rather than delivered by Kano Electricity Distribution Company.
Grid hours a day
14.4 h
Band-implied supply, 14.4–14.4 h across buildings here
Energy from generators
14%
Share of units actually consumed
Buildings with a generator
8%
7,543 of 98,861 buildings
Demand going unmet
88%
Energy people want but do not get
Spent on power a year
₦223,981
₦18,665 a month, typical building
Of that, generator fuel
₦30,948
Bought in small amounts all year
Hours are the nameplate supply the feeder's band implies. What actually arrives is lower, which is why the generator share above is the figure that bites.
Tarauni electricity usage — home
A home of this size in Tarauni works through about 18 kWh a day, roughly 6,570 kWh a year, and gets around 14 hours of grid supply a day from Kano Electricity Distribution Company. Demand is light through the working day and peaks between 6pm and 10pm, when solar has already stopped. Cooling load rises through the hot dry months, exactly when generation is strongest.
Weighted average tariff (KEDCO)
₦88.11/kWh
Weighted across the Band A/B mix in Tarauni — about 18 hours a day on paper; actual supply hours are often lower
Generator units
₦594/kWh
Diesel at ₦1,800 a litre, fuel only
Solar units (5 kW / 10 kWh)
₦174.96/kWh
Levelised cost of a 5 kW solar and 10 kWh battery system over 25 years
Your electricity bill in Tarauni: KEDCO
Tarauni is served by Kano Electricity Distribution Company. Your band depends on how many hours of supply your feeder is promised, and it is printed on your bill. Most buildings here — about 84% — are billed on Band B.
Buildings by band in Tarauni
| Band | Supply promised | ₦/kWh | Buildings here | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band A | 20+ hours a day | ₦209.50 | 16% | Cost-reflective, no subsidy |
| Band B | 16–20 hours a day | ₦65.29 | 84% | Subsidised |
| Band C | 12–16 hours a day | ₦47.57 | — | Subsidised |
| Band D | 8–12 hours a day | ₦32.02 | — | Subsidised |
| Band E | 4–8 hours a day | ₦31.88 | — | Subsidised |
Every calculation on this page is run against the Band A, cost-reflective rate of ₦209.50/kWh. Bands B–E are subsidised and under review, so pricing solar against them would flatter the subsidy rather than the system.
For comparison, a small petrol or diesel generator delivers a unit for roughly ₦594/kWh once fuel is counted — several times a subsidised band, and the reason solar pays back fastest where the grid is weakest.
What a 5 kW array makes each month in Tarauni
6,940 kWh a year, about 19 kWh on an average day. Strongest in Jul, quietest in Dec.
Three prices for the same kilowatt-hour
A unit off the grid, a unit out of a generator and a unit off your own roof cost very different amounts in Tarauni.
Grid (KEDCO Band A)
₦209.50/kWh
When supply is on
Diesel generator
₦594/kWh
Diesel at ₦1,800 a litre, fuel only
Petrol generator
₦1,114/kWh
Small household set, modelled locally
Licensed minigrid
₦400–600/kWh
What Nigerians already pay a licensed operator
Your own roof
₦174.96/kWh
5 kW / 10 kWh over its life
The roof unit is fixed the day you buy it. The other three move with tariff reviews and the fuel price.
What your roof in Tarauni can take
A 5 kW array needs roughly 28 m² of clear roof once walkways and setbacks are allowed for. The typical usable roof here is about 30 m², enough for about 5.4 kW of panels, and sized against real demand the modelled fit for a home in Tarauni is around 2.1 kW with storage for the evening — not the biggest array the roof allows.
Smaller roof (p25)
17 m²
About 2.9 kW of panels
Typical roof (median)
30 m²
About 5.4 kW of panels
Large roof (p90)
123 m²
About 21.7 kW of panels
Roofs over 30 m²
69%
Enough for a starter array or better
Flat roofs
14%
Tilt frames needed; the rest mount flush
Typical array bought
2.1 kW
Modelled across every viable roof here
Typical installed cost
₦1.9m
Hardware and installation
Typical daily demand
30.3 kWh
Modelled, per building
Quoted on this page
5 kW / 10 kWh
₦4.2m
- Half the roofs in Tarauni take at least a 5.4 kW array; the biggest quarter take 10.6 kW or more.
Roof size caps the array, not the battery. A small roof with a bigger battery still covers the evening.
Where the power comes from in Tarauni
Home · 5 kW + 10 kWh — 5 kW of panels with a 10 kWh battery, simulated hour by hour for a full year against a measured residential house demand pattern. Solar and storage carry 81% of the load.
Each band is an average hour across the year: sunlight first, then the battery after dark, with the grid filling whatever is left.
What this system returns in Tarauni
A four-bedroom home running fans, fridge, TV, pumps and light air conditioning. 5 kW solar, 10 kWh battery, 4.8 kW inverter — installed at about ₦4.2m. Solar costs ₦175 a unit over its life, and 81% of demand is met without the grid.
Year-one savings
₦1.1m
₦93,201 a month off the bill
Payback
5.0 yrs
Simple payback on installed cost
Return (IRR)
22%
Over a 20-year life
20-year savings
₦16.4m
Net present value ₦2.3m
What it returns here
No two buildings in Tarauni save the same amount. Across every viable roof modelled here, the middle half lands between 5.9 and 5.9 years to pay back, with returns of 19%–19% a year. If you already run a generator, solar starts by replacing the most expensive units you buy, so it pays back fastest; a grid-only building displaces cheaper units and takes longer.
Payback
5.9–5.9 yrs
Median 5.9 years
Return a year
19%–19%
Median 19% IRR
With a generator today
5.9 yrs
Fuel displaced first, then grid units
Grid-only building
5.9 yrs
Nothing to displace but tariff units
This page's system
5.0 yrs
From the simulated run above
Year-one saving
₦330,396–₦330,396
Implied by the payback spread on a typical system
Pay back inside 5 years
14%
3% inside three years
Energy independence
19%
Share of the year covered by solar and storage
Demand unlocked
1.2 kWh/day
439 kWh a year, per building
What that runs
27 fan-hours
Or a fridge running unbroken, plus lights all evening
Modelled solar unit
₦131/kWh
Across every viable roof here
- Beyond the money, the change people notice is that the things they switch off stay on — about 1.2 kWh a day of currently suppressed demand comes back.
Modelled at today's fuel and tariff, against what each building spends on power now. Both have moved upward, which shortens payback.
Environmental benefit in Tarauni
Diesel avoided
859 L/yr
About ₦1.5m of fuel
CO₂ avoided
4,124 kg/yr
Grid factor 0.5 kg per kWh
Generator hours cut
344 hrs/yr
At a typical 2.5 L an hour
Clean energy
6,247 kWh/yr
Used on site, not exported
What it costs and how you pay
A five-year facility on this system costs about ₦122,535 a month, against ₦93,201 a month of savings — a gap of ₦29,333 a month to top up until the fuel bill falls away.
Pay outright
₦4.2m
Lowest lifetime cost, fastest return
5-year facility
₦122,535/mo
Indicative at 25% a year
Monthly saving
₦93,201
Year one, fuel and tariff combined
Monthly top-up
₦29,333/mo
What you add until the fuel bill falls away
Spent on power today
₦18,665/mo
Typical building in this area
What this area buys
Mid package, often financed
Affordability index 1.12 against the national average
Lease and pay-as-you-go structures exist for businesses with a steady load — those are priced per site, not per package.
What a system costs in Tarauni
Installed price estimates using today's median Nigerian hardware rates plus installation, and savings valued at your local tariff and what a generator costs to run. Estimates, not quotes.
Essentials
Lights, fans, TV, phones and a small fridge
₦2.9m
3 kW solar · 5 kWh battery · 3.5 kVA inverter
- Generates
- 347 kWh/month
- Avoided spend
- ₦109,066/month
- Pays back in
- 2.2 years
- Fuel avoided
- 487 L/yr
Family home
Full home minus air conditioning, with overnight backup
₦5.1m
5 kW solar · 10 kWh battery · 5 kVA inverter
- Generates
- 578 kWh/month
- Avoided spend
- ₦192,469/month
- Pays back in
- 2.2 years
- Fuel avoided
- 859 L/yr
Whole home
Air conditioning, boreholes and a home office
₦10.2m
10 kW solar · 20 kWh battery · 10 kVA inverter
- Generates
- 1,157 kWh/month
- Avoided spend
- ₦393,492/month
- Pays back in
- 2.2 years
- Fuel avoided
- 1,756 L/yr
What hardware costs right now
Median advertised Nigerian prices, taken from live listings. Hardware only — installation, mounting and wiring sit on top.
Solar panels
₦225/W
350 W panels and larger
Inverters
₦123,266/kVA
2.5 kVA inverters and larger
Batteries
₦203,676/kWh
3 kWh batteries and larger
Where solar does not work in Tarauni
Not every building here is a candidate, and it is cheaper to know that now.
- 31% of roofs are under 30 m² — enough for lights, fans and phones, not for air conditioning or a freezer room.
- Rented property where the landlord will not approve roof work, and shared blocks with no clear roof allocation.
- Buildings whose demand is mostly daytime heavy machinery — those need a commercial design, not a home package.
- Buildings on a well-supplied band with low consumption — about 100% of Tarauni sits on Band A or B, and with a small bill there is little expensive energy for solar to displace.
What Tarauni is built of
Of the buildings mapped here, 97% read as homes, 3% as shops, offices and other commercial premises, and 0% as industrial. That mix is why the packages above lean the way they do.
How your roof changes the answer
The figures above assume a clean, well-oriented roof. Yield per kWp installed, adjusted for direction and shade:
| South facing, 10–15° tilt | 1,388 kWh/kWp/yr | 0% |
| Flat roof, ballasted | 1,333 kWh/kWp/yr | -4% |
| East or west facing | 1,222 kWh/kWp/yr | -12% |
| North facing | 1,138 kWh/kWp/yr | -18% |
| Partially shaded (trees, tanks) | 1,041 kWh/kWp/yr | -25% |
Nearby areas in Kano
Sizing the market rather than a single site? See the rooftop market data for Kano State.
How these numbers are produced
Approach A — energy value (upper bracket)
Sizes the system to the building's full latent demand and values that energy at the mixed grid/generator tariff. It answers what the energy is worth — not what anyone currently pays.
Approach B — cash saved (lower bracket)
Sizes the system to demand that is actually served today, values it by merit order (solar displaces generator kWh first) and caps it at current spend. It answers what a building stops paying.
Cohort: Viable rooftops (≥0.6 kWp potential).
- Demand is modelled latent demand, not metered consumption.
- Fuel is priced at ₦1,800/litre (operator-set). NBS reported ₦3,277/litre for May 2026 — on that basis every naira figure here is roughly 1.8× understated.
- Generator ownership is a model output, not a survey result: it follows from the grid-availability scale and the 25% demand-suppression assumption.
- Approach A prices energy nobody currently buys. Its savings must never be read as cash saved.
- Demand is MODELLED LATENT demand, not metered consumption.
- Generator ownership is model output, not survey.
- Medians do not combine across groups — re-derive from the histograms.
- Per-building files are float32 with 4 significant figures; cast to float64 before summing, because polars keeps Float32 sums in Float32.
- Null scenario fields mean the roof cannot host 0.6 kWp, not zero savings.
- `genset` was previously named `diesel` and now uses the segment's real fuel.
- Ordering holds by construction: grid savings < mixed < genset.