Every year, more people are having solar panels installed on their roofs. The cost of panels has come down significantly, meaning they pay for themselves far faster than in years past. Here’s what to consider when figuring out how many solar panels you need to supply 100% of your home’s energy usage.
The Size of Your Home Isn’t Important
The size of your house isn’t necessarily relevant to how many solar panels you need to completely power your residence. Rather, what matters is how much energy you use per year. To figure this out, you need to look at a year’s worth of energy bills and add up the kilowatt-hours used each month and find out how much wattage the panels you’re purchasing produce.
The Direction of Your Roof
Which way the solar panels are pointed will also determine how many you need. Southern-facing roofs receive more sunlight than ones facing north in South Central Texas.
Where You Live
While solar power is viable across the contiguous United States, it’s more efficient in the southeastern states than in areas like New England. This means that you don’t need as many solar panels if your house is in California as compared to somewhere like New Jersey. Southern states get more sunlight every day on average than those in the north.
What About Nighttime and Cloudy Days?
If you plan is to truly try to produce all of your home’s usage with solar, you’d need battery storage also. Options like Tesla Powerwall store unused energy produced by your panels to be used when the sun isn’t shining or in the event of a power outage.
Another variable to consider include accounting for is rainy days. If you experience multiple cloudy or rainy days, you wouldn’t produce enough energy to maintain daily consumption. This means you also wouldn’t have enough stored energy for usage in the evenings.
So Can I Really Completely Power My Home with Solar?
Even with an average of 300 days of sunshine per year in the Guadalupe Valley, it would be very difficult to completely power your home with solar. Energy consumption habits would have to be significantly adjusted on cloudy or rainy days—even for different seasons throughout the year—to make this possible.
Though it may not be 100% attainable, it’s certainly interesting to explore what’s possible with advancements in renewable energy. While this might not mean zeroing out your electricity bill, it can equate to significant savings! You’ll be producing your own energy and purchasing less.
The solar experts at GVEC Solar Services can help figure out your usage statistics to determine how many panels and how much battery storage is right for you based on your needs and out location in the Guadalupe Valley. We offer free, no-obligation consultations and take care of all required permits. Taking advantage of our finance options, along with the current 26% federal tax credit, makes purchasing solar solutions for your home affordable as well. Call us today at 855.898.8807 to find out more about the benefits of Solar from GVEC Solar Services.
