How many solar panels do you need to power your home?

At an average cost of $ 20,000 per system, residential solar panels are a significant investment for most homeowners. If you are considering switching to solar power, you will likely have a few questions about it, including how many solar panels you will need to power your property.

Typically, the average home solar system consists of 20-25 panels, but the exact number you need will depend on many factors including where you live, how much energy you typically use and the power of your panels. produce.

It might sound like a lot to consider, but it’s pretty straightforward when you break it down. Let’s take a look at three key factors that determine how many solar panels you need to power your home, along with an example of how to calculate the size of your system.

Read more: 5 things to consider before buying solar panels

Average energy consumption

Understanding how much electricity you use over the course of a year, month, and day on average is essential for estimating how many solar panels you need. Energy use can vary widely depending on the number of people in your household, as well as how many appliances you have and how often you use them.

Look at last year’s energy bills to find out how much electricity you use over the four seasons (hint: it’s measured in kilowatt-hours or kWh). Once you have this number, you will know how much solar energy you need to generate to meet your needs. For reference, the average American home uses 10,649 kWh per year. That’s a little over 29 kWh per day.

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Solar panel output

Individual solar panels are capable of producing a certain amount of energy, depending on the conditions of your home (including the amount of sunlight you receive and the amount of shade covering your roof). This number is called rated wattage and is measured in watts, with a typical panel generating between 250 and 400 watts of power. For example, you can buy a solar panel with an indicated wattage of 325W. You will need to multiply the wattage of the panel by the number of hours of sunlight you get each day to understand how much energy it will produce (more on this in the next section).

If you don’t have a lot of space, you might want to invest in solar panels with higher wattage ratings, as they are equipped to generate more power per panel. Unfortunately, they’re also more expensive, so keep that in mind if your home’s solar budget is tight.

Sunshine at home

Your physical location is a key factor that influences the efficiency of the solar panels in your home. As you might expect, solar systems are best suited for sunny areas – which is why solar power is incredibly popular in states like California and Arizona. With more sunlight, each of your individual solar panels will generate more energy. For our calculations, we’ll assume that you get four hours of sunshine per day.

Of course, the location of your home isn’t something you can change, but it’s always important to recognize that your area plays a role in how solar power will work for you. In short, your panels will operate at full capacity when they can absorb as much sunlight as possible.

But it’s not just about where you live, it’s also about how your property is laid out and how much sunlight hits your roof. For example, if you have large trees that create shade on your roof, your solar panels will not produce as much energy as if they were under a clear sky.

Put it all together

With these variables in mind, we can roughly estimate how many home solar panels you will need. In this example, we will use the average annual energy consumption, the power of the solar panels and the hours of sunshine that we mentioned earlier.

Suppose your property receives four hours of sunlight per day and you purchase 325 W solar panels. In this case, each panel can generate 1,300 watt hours per day (or 1.3 kWh). Assuming your energy consumption is the average of 29 kWh per day, you would need 23 325 W panels to create enough electricity for your home.

Key points to remember

While the upfront costs of a residential solar system may seem high, there are several ways you can save money on your investment. For example, the federal government provides a tax credit on new solar installations, and many state and local governments offer rebates or incentive programs. Alternatively, if you can’t afford your signs, you can choose to rent them (but you won’t be eligible for tax credits and incentives).

Figuring out how many solar panels you need is only part of the equation. Learn more about the benefits and costs of solar home power from CNET: