Solar Power Generation System

Prospective users of home solar power systems will likely find that they have different requirements in terms of the appropriate number of solar panels for their systems Your monthly electricity bills will be reduced no matter how many panels you decide to install . If you’d like to go all the way off the grid, though, you’ll want to be precise about how many solar panels to use .

Step one is determining how much electricity you use in your home per day . To do this, first, gather up as many of your monthly electricity bills as possible . (In many cases, you can look these records up online if necessary .) Use these bills to find out the number of kilowatt-hours (kWh) you use on a monthly basis . Your average daily usage can then be calculated by dividing this figure by 30 .

Another important factor pertaining to solar power systems is insolation . Insolation is a measurement of the quantity of sunlight which touches a given surface area over time . Solar panels generate electricity when struck directly by sunlight . The sunlight also needs to be of a certain intensity . In most areas , sunlight exposure varies over the course of a year . These variations, of course, make a difference with regard to solar panel performance . The average exposure for a given area is reflected by its insolation value . Maps with insolation values can be found online . You can find the amount of power you’ll need from your solar power system by dividing your daily kWh figure by the insolation value .

There’s one more factor to consider . Even with more recent systems, there is still some power loss during conversion . This can be tough to measure accurately , so it’s usually recommended that you use a safe figure of 25%; multiply the figure from the previous step by 1.25 to get the amount of power, with loss factored in , that you’ll need . Now you can see how many kWh of power you need, adjusted for insolation and efficiency .

Divide this number by the kWh output of your solar panel of choice to see how many of these panels will be necessary in order to generate enough power for your everyday needs .

One of the foremost questions a homeowner faces when choosing on whether to install a home solar power system is, “How many solar panels do I need?” If you are interest to know the answer to this important question , you can check out,  How Many Solar Panels Do I Need?

For the finest guide to building your own solar panels, including complete instructions and step-by-step videos, go to  Build Solar Panel. You might also be interested in a mini course on how to build your own solar power system . Check out  Solar Power Calculatorto sign-up for a 6 part mini course.