How Many Solar Panels Does My Home Need?

I’m sure we can agree that improving the environment and cutting energy costs is the main reason for installing dollar panels. We are aware that going solar is a great home efficiency upgrade and that this way we are able to reduce our carbon footprint. Whether your motives for going solar are economic, environmental, or personal, the list of benefits is endless. The first step before investing in panels is to determine how many solar panels you will need. 

Because every home is slightly different, there is no one answer to this question.

Instead, we can look into some of the determining factors. So, what questions must be answered before being able to determine how many solar panels it would take to run your home?

 What time of the year do you live at your property?

Depending on how often you and your family occupy the home can greatly affect the sizing of the solar system you will need. 

Some homeowners are not home all year round and choose to live in one place in the winter and another in the summer. If you are going to live in your house during the summer months you will require a smaller solar system as there is more sunlight available. If you are going to live in the house during winter you may require slightly bigger solar to account for less sun.  

What Is Your Average Annual Energy Load?

Your average annual energy load is one of the most important factors used to determine the size of the solar system you will need. The average annual energy load is the amount of energy your system will need to put out in order to eliminate using utility energy completely. Working out your energy load can be done by tracking your monthly electric bills. This way, you will be able to pick up how your energy usage fluctuates throughout the year. Typically, homes use more electricity in the summer, for cooling, and much less in the winter.  

 How to do a Rough Calculation To Determine The Number Of Panels?

While there are a variety of solar PV tools that can be used to design a solar system for your home, they can often be expensive as you can hiring someone to do this.

There are a variety of solar PV tools you can use. Or professionals you can hire to determine the size of the solar system you will need. But if you want to do some calculations to get a rough idea you can follow these steps.

1-  Decide what wattage solar panels you will use in your home. You will quickly notice that higher wattage and more efficient solar panels are more expensive but will be worth it in the long run. 

2- Determine how many hours of sunlight your home will get a day. You will then take your watt of one panel and multiply by the hours of sunlight per day to get a kilowatt-hours per day. This, multiplied by 365 days per year will determine your kilowatt-hours annually. 

Numbers can differ depending on your average amount of sunlight, personal energy usage, and a variety of other factors. It is also important to account for some losses involved in solar energy usage and thus you may need to slightly adjust the solar system to account for this.

Solar Panel Installation and Solar Panel Maintenance in Morris County NJ

At GreenHouse Solar, we offer the latest in powerful, reliable, and affordable home solar systems. As a small local company, we specialize in residential solar in Morris County, NJ, and our fully-certified and experienced team is ready to design, install and maintain your solar system, ensuring you get all the benefits of clean, affordable energy. We are an authorized dealer of SunPower solar systems. To find out more about residential solar in Morris County NJ, our company or services, please contact us today or visit our website at https://greenhouse.solar/