Sizing a Solar Power System for Business or Home

With an increased interest in going green and government incentives, such as grants and tax breaks, adding a solar power system to a private home or business is now much more attainable. Installing a solar system saves the owner money on their monthly utility bill. This savings often more than compensates for the initial cost of installation. A major factor in the installation cost of a solar power system is the size of the system. How many panels you have to install to produce enough energy for your home or business greatly affects the price. Here’s what you need to know to get an estimate of how many square feet of panels you would need for the sun to produce 100 percent of your electrical needs.

Your Energy Needs

To start, you will need to know how much electricity you use daily. You can usually find this information on your utility bill calculated as kilowatts per hour (kWh). It may be listed on a daily, per month, or per year total for you to draw the information from.

Solar Peak Hours

The more sun your region gets, the more energy a single solar panel can produce. The term “solar peak hours” or “solar radiance” is a calculation of the hours of sunlight combines with the sunlight intensity for a given region. Figures reflect a year round average. You can find your solar peak hours at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Resource Assessment Program Solar Radiance Map. Most solar energy installers will also have this information on their website. As you can expect, those living in the southwestern U.S. have the highest solar peak hours while those in the most northern states receive the least. Residents in locations with a lot of sun year round will need fewer solar panels to meet their needs than those in the north. cctv might also be a good idea to protect your solar power system.