Several factors affect the magnitude of an individual solar array at home. This is not SpaceX rocket science through. The calculation boils down to balancing the amount of power we want compared to what the climate can deliver. To figure out how many solar panels we need, we start with our utility bill.
Establishing Our Monthly Demand for Electricity
As we are not sitting here beside you, we are going to have to guess your average daily power consumption. An average U.S. home uses 14.2 kilowatt-hours of energy on average daily.
So let us assume we are energy conscious and average twelve kilowatt-hours a day. Engineers call this the ‘demand side’ of the equation. Now we need to consider the ‘supply side’.
Where We Live Affects How Many Solar Panels We Need
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sunshine distribution table shows huge differences in average daily sunshine per U.S. city. While the sun is shining 90% of daytime in Yuma, Arizona, Juneau, Alaska only manages a chilly 30%. So where we live has a bearing on how many solar panels we need
Deciding the Amount of Solar Power to Generate
Few American homes in cities operate completely off-grid. Most folk just want a reserve in case the power goes off, or they have an electrician in to say wire up an outside light.
However the situation is different in an isolated research station where scientists need 100% redundancy. We now know all the factors needed to calculate the size of our solar array. For purposes of this exercise let us assume:
- We live in Concordia, Kansas (average of 8 hours sunlight per day)
- Our average electricity consumption is twelve kilowatts-hours a day
- We decide to replace three kilowatts-hours a day with solar power
We therefore have 8 hours a day in which to collect our daily solar requirement of three kilowatt-hours. This averages to 375 watts per hour. We would thus need four 100-watt panels to do the job. This is only a rough estimate. Therefore consult a solar panel specialist to confirm exactly how many solar panels you need.
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Preview Image: Home Solar Project
