How Many Solar Panels Do I Need?
If you’re wondering how many solar energy panels you need to power your home when switching to solar, you are asking the right question! There are a multitude of factors and this question can actually be broken down into 4 major questions.
- How much solar power do I need?
- Looking at the monthly average of your utility bills will determine this question’s answer. In order to find this out, you can multiply your hourly energy use by the sunlight time and divide that by the solar panel’s wattage.
- If you decide to work with Orange County Solar, our professional plan engineers will calculate all this for you upon site inspection. We can even get the general idea of how many solar panels you will need with just a few pieces of information over the phone!
- How many watts of electricity do I use?
- Kilowatt-hours or “kWh” can be seen on your electric bill. You need daily and hourly wattage calculations to be able to determine how much solar panel energy you will need, so if your bill does not display this, you may need to do some averaging and calculations of your yearly bill. The average home in California uses 557 kWh per month, which is about 33% less than the rest of the country.
- Your daily average electricity usage is the target to calculate your solar needs. This is the number of kWh needed to keep you covered with your new solar energy system.
- Orange County Solar is great in assisting with measuring your daily, weekly, and yearly electric use. We provide this service to anyone interested in switching to solar with us. We are just a call away!
- How Many Hours of Sunlight Does Your Home Get?
- The number of hours the sunlight directs hits your home’s roof determines the number of panels you will need. If you live in an extremely sunny area like Cypress, CA, you would probably require fewer panels than someone who lives very close to the beach fog, like Seal Beach. The Seal Beach homeowner would require more panels to produce the same amount of energy due to less amount of direct sunlight.
- Based on your location, Orange County Solar rest assured will formulate a site plan to get you the most efficiency out of your solar, and calculate the number of solar energy panels needed to do so.
- What is the difference between solar panel sizes?
- Depending on your roof style and tile shape, will affect the size of the solar panels installed on your home. With smaller and more unusual roofs, it is sometimes more difficult to plan solar properly. Roofs on large square footage properties will require larger and more efficient solar panels to power the home.
- The average residential solar energy panel has dimensions of 5.5’ by 2.25’, with some variation amongst manufacturers. Regardless of the size, the most efficient solar panels on the market today are Panasonic Solar panels. OrangeCounty Solar is the leading Panasonic installer in Southern California and stands by their quality.
OC Solar provides premium solar services and installations to Orange County and surrounding areas of the Inland Empire, Los Angeles,and San Diego Counties. If youare looking for solar site plans to determine thebest type, size, and placement of yoursolar panels, give Orange County Solar a call today!
(949) 427-8817