You only need to look at your current electric bill to discover the benefits of solar panels. Energy prices spiked over 10% during the same month as last year. No question then that home solar panels are better for many homeowners.
Yet, buying solar panels to replace your grid usage involves several factors. If you wonder how many solar panels you will need for your home, keep reading. This guide will show you how to calculate your best solar panel installation.
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Check Your Usage
A quick look at your energy bill will reveal your monthly usage. Units get measured in kilowatt-hours, and it’s best to take the yearly usage to determine your solar panel options. Divide the total by twelve to get an average monthly figure.
If you live where the seasons change, electricity usage will fluctuate depending on the time of the year. If you can’t get an annual figure, take monthly bills from two or three seasons and calculate an average.
Sunlight and Wattage
Once you know your average consumption rate, it’s essential to know how much average sunlight your area gets. Home solar panels generally produce between 250 and 400 watts of power.
You will need to use the wattage figure with average daily sunlight to calculate how much energy each panel will produce. Check with Blue Raven Solar Power to get your daily sunlight power rating and wattage figures for their home solar panels.
For example, your home solar panels produce 350 watts. Multiply your daily average sunlight of 4.5, and your power rating will be 1575 watt-hours or 1.575 kW hours per day.
The average energy consumption in American homes is 10,500 to 12,000 kWh per year.
Take 11,000kWh as an example which means your home consumes almost 30 kWh per day.
How Many Solar Panels You Will Need
Calculating your solar panel installation with the figures you have acquired is straightforward. Take your annual average usage and divide it by 1.575 kWh/day. Then divide the total by the 350 watts per home solar panel. You will get 11,000 kWh/1.575/350= 19.95.
In this example, twenty solar panels producing 350 watts each will power the home. Yet, there are other factors to consider when buying solar panels. You will need to consider how much space these solar panel options will take on your roof.
On average, home solar panels are 17.5 feet. A solar panel installation of twenty panels will need 350 square feet of roof space.
Learn About Solar Panel Options
Now that you know how many solar panels it will take to power your home buying solar panels is more straightforward. Yet, technology is advancing the output of home solar panels every day. Today, buying solar panels provides new options for size, output, and weight.
Before deciding on your solar panel installation, look into some exciting new developments. If this piece helped you understand the benefits of solar panels better, please return here for more insightful articles.
