Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash
If you are considering using solar panels as the power source for your home, you are not alone. In fact, there are more than 2 million homes in the US that are now benefiting from this power source.
Because it’s going to be a significant investment on your part, it’s natural that you have a lot of questions regarding solar panels. For instance, if you’re thinking about getting solar panels in Jacksonville, you’re probably wondering how many panels you would need and how much that would cost.
Before answering that, it’s essential that you first understand how much energy your household consumes in a day:
How Much Energy Do All Your Household Items Use Up Daily?
Most people don’t think about the amount of energy consumed by their household items. But it would be interesting to have a glimpse of how it really is. For instance, a standard fridge uses roughly 600 kWh per year, and this would need two solar panels to produce that energy. Central air conditioning units use about 1,000 kWh, which uses three panels. If you charge an electric vehicle at home, that would require ten panels for 3,000 kWh consumption.
What’s the Solar Generation Potential in Your Area?
Now that you know how much energy your household items consume, you need to start calculating how well solar panels can create energy. This would typically be based on your location. For instance, if you live in Florida, the production ration would be between 1.2 and 1.5. That’s a bit less than what solar panels in California can produce, which is at a 1.4 to 1.8 production ration.
The next thing you need to do now is to calculate how many panels you are going to need. For instance, if you consume about 11,000 kWh every year and the production ration in your area is 1.5, and you are going to use 250-watt panels, and you can use this calculation:
11,000 / 1.5 = 9565 then 7,333 / 250 = 38.26 panels
This calculation shows that you should get about 38 panels to cover your yearly energy consumption.
Other Considerations to Make
Aside from this calculation, you also need to consider the size of your roofing. Do you have enough space for all that 38 panels? It also depends on the efficiency of the solar panels you are planning to use. This is because high-efficiency panels require less space than those with lower-efficiency panels.
How Many Solar Panels Are Used by an Average Home?
The average American home uses anywhere between 20 and 35 panels. That said, the best way to know for sure how many panels you are going to need and how much space that requires is to call a pro.
EnLight.Energy’s solar panel experts can examine your home for free to determine how many panels you will need and provide you with unbiased recommendations.
Conclusion
Switching to solar panels is a big step but one that is highly recommended. Not only will you be able to save money on energy bills in the long run, but it’s also environment-friendly. The cost of solar panels has been lower in the last few years, so more homeowners can enjoy them now. Compared to their prices a decade ago, today’s solar panels cost almost half of what they used to be.
Of course, the overall cost would depend on how many panels you are going to use, the type of solar panels, and the installation cost. If you want to be one of those zero energy homes in Jacksonville, switching to solar panels for your power source is a tremendous initial move that will take you a step closer to your goal!
EnLight.Energy can provide you with top-quality solar panels in Jacksonville, so you can make that big switch anytime you want. Contact our team today, and we’ll do a free assessment of your home to determine the best solar panel solution for you!
