Affordable Solar & Wind

How Many Batteries Does My Solar System Need?

So, you have decided that you want solar power for homes. You've checked out a few solar panels and visualized what they might look like in or on your house or office ... but how can you tell exactly how many solar power panels will you need?

Making your own solar and wind power for less than $200

Here's how to determine exactly how much wattage you'll need, specifically tailored for your home individually and how to take that info and use it to know precisely how many solar panels you will need. Would that be useful? You know it would!

You have to start by establishing how much energy your home consumes. You cannot know the exact amount of solar power panels that you'll need until you have accurately made that calculation.

Do this by studying your old utility bills. Establish your monthly average energy usage, ideally over the course of a full year to account of the changes in the seasons. Take note of the total amount of kilowatts per hour (kw/hr) your home consumes.

To get the average kw/hr your home requires, simply divide the total kw/hr by the total number of days in the billing period you're looking at. Most utility company billing periods are for 30 days.

By doing that you will know how many kw/hr your solar power for homes system will require each day to meet your solar energy needs. If you do this for the whole year, you'll know both your average daily usage and times in which your consumption is likely going to peak. This is essential information for sizing up how many watts your home needs.

You have to confirm that your electricity company is happy to buy back the extra solar power that your solar power system makes. While it is rare indeed for an electricity company to actually pay you for the extra electricity you supply them, most are happy to buy back power up to the extent of your current bill. After that, they will accept it but only under condition that they won't actually pay you for it. You need to check out where your local company stands on this matter.

If you are someone who is choosing to not go fully off-grid (which is perfectly reasonable by the way!) and you haven't invested in any batteries to store the extra solar power, then some days you'll be selling your solar energy to the utility company. In the U.S., by law electric companies have to pay you whatever rate you would pay them. On other days, you don't produce enough solar power for homes and you may be buying energy from them. Either way, over the duration of a full year, you want to aim at having your energy bill end up around the zero mark. In other words, you want to have just the right amount of solar power panels, not too many and not to few.

Energy companies rarely (if ever) offer to give you money if you over-supply them. So do not build a solar power for homes system that will produce more solar energy than you could ever possibly use. You want the system to generate just enough to keep your bills at zero.

To establish exactly how many watts of solar power panels you need, you have to work out how many hours of direct sunlight that your solar power for homes system will receive. Effectively, how many hours of direct sunlight does your home soak up on average over the course of the year?

There are several ways to work this out. The 'hard way' is to take time daily to notice for how long the sun shines on the part of your roof where you are thinking of installing your solar power panels. Now let's face it! Because you probably won't want to keep this up this laborious daily chore for a whole year, this way is almost certainly totally impractical.

If your solar power for homes system has tracking system, (a built in ability to move and track the sun) the number of hours of sunlight your roof receives will not be the same as the number of hours of direct sunlight. Your calculations will be different because the sun's light hits the solar power panels from many different angles (not only when it's coming in at right angles to your roof).

Making your own solar and wind power for less than $200

Generally speaking, most houses enjoy roughly 5 hours direct sunlight on average throughout the year. This is a rough approximation, so don't get upset with me if it turns out you get less energy than this article suggested! (You could always return to daily readings if you want!)

If you live in the U.S. and you want to get a far more accurate assessment, look for your local average regional value. In August 2004, the Florida Solar Energy Center presented a study entitled "Geographic Variation in Potential of Rooftop Residential Photovoltaic Electric Power Production in the United States" in which they tested power generation of a 2 kilowatt solar power for homes system all around the U.S.A. They took readings in more than 200 locations throughout the U.S. The research showed that on average a 2 kw rooftop system would harness between 5 and 8.5 kw/hr per day throughout the year.

So taking the low end of the scale, a 2-kw system would experience 5 hours per day of sunshine. Therefore, that 2-kw system could expect to enjoy 10 kw/hr of solar power per day on average across the period of the whole year.

Consider how you were planning to use the solar power for homes. Were you wanting to go completely off-grid? That will create greater demands on your solar power for homes system. Also, be aware of any potential problems such as tall trees blocking your sunlight to the solar power panels.

If your average power consumption were to be 600 kw/hr per month and you establish that your electricity company has a billing period of 30 days per month, then you can know that your daily energy consumption is 20 kw/hr per day (i.e. 600 kw/hr divided by 30 days per month).

Using the Florida simulation data found in the graphic entitled, "Geographic Variation of PV Power Production Around the U.S.", we can see for example that the southernmost tip of Florida has an estimated value of 7.5 kw/hr based on the use of a 2kw rooftop PV system. Therefore, we can know that people living in Southern Florida receive an approximate average of 3.5 hours of direct sunlight per day.

If you know your home is currently using 20kw of electricity per day (aka 20,000 watts), then, given that you know you receive an average of 3.5 hours per day of sunlight from which to produce your total solar energy needs, then the solar power for homes system you would need to incorporate roughly 5,700 watts of solar power panels to deliver the amount of energy your home typically consumes every day.

So don't delay. Nothing speaks louder than action. Go source and purchase those solar power panels today!

Making your own solar and wind power for less than $200

About the Author

Best Residential Solar Energy Systems and other Related Resources:

Magniwork Magnetic Energy Generator - How would you like to create a generator which creates free electric energy? Using our easy-to-follow guide, you will be able create a Magnetic Power Generator which creates absolutely free energy, and doesn’t require any resource like wind or solar energy to function, the magniwork generator creates energy by itself and powers your home for free. The generator works fully off the grid.

GreenDIYEnergy is a guide on how to start generating your own green energy at home. Developed by Ultimate Results, LLC, GreenDIYEnergy's page promises to give users a step-by-step video and manual on building and installing their own personal solar panels. GreenDIYEnergy's site also gives users a snek peek at the video that shows them how to buld and install their own solar panels.

Homemade Energy is fast becoming the buzz word in environmental circles. Consumers are becoming fed up with the problems associated with using conventional energy resources. Tired of rising costs, changing our lifestyle and in some cases being subjected to rationing, many home owners are turning to the newest trend in energy conservation DIY Solar Power Kits. A number of companies are now producing homemade energy guides, available for instant download on the internet, which give you step by step instructions on how to assemble the materials for your own DIY solar power kits.

Emerson's New State-of-the-Art, Energy-Efficient Data Center

Used Solar 20In Ride $29.99 In Store Used USED SOLAR 20IN RIDE

Used Solar 16In Crash $32.99 In Store Used USED SOLAR 16IN CRASH

Tascam Tc-1S Solar Tuner Pink $39.99 TASCAM TC-1S Solar Tuner Pink

Tascam Tc-1S Solar Tuner Black $24.99 TASCAM TC-1S Solar Tuner Black

Tascam Tc-1S Solar Tuner Green $39.99 TASCAM TC-1S Solar Tuner Green

Tascam Tc-1S Solar Tuner White $39.99 TASCAM TC-1S Solar Tuner White

Tascam Tc-1S Solar Tuner Orange $39.99 TASCAM TC-1S Solar Tuner Orange

Tascam Tc-1S Solar Tuner Blue $39.99 TASCAM TC-1S Solar Tuner Blue

Used Solar Sabian Hh Top 14In $30 In Store Used USED SOLAR SABIAN HH TOP 14IN

Used Solar Sabian Hh Bot 14In $30 In Store Used USED SOLAR SABIAN HH BOT 14IN

Used Solar 13In Hi Hats (Pair) $40 In Store Used USED SOLAR 13IN HI HATS (PAIR)

La Crosse Technology WS2811BRNIT Professional Weather Center with Solar Wind SensorBrown $243.95 Our consumer electronics products include radiocontrolled clocks and watches wireless weather stations power monitors and other measuring devices. We introduced radiocontrolled clocks to the US market in 1991 and continue to be on the cutting edge of this technology in America. Our weather instruments clocks and watches are calibrated daily to the atomic time standard of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Professional weather center featuring the power of solar technology. Wireless thermohygro rain USB transceiver to transfer weather data to your PC and wireless solar wind sensor updates every 30 seconds to the display. Features relative air pressure with a 12 or 72 historical graph rainfall of last 12hours 24hours and total wind speed direction gust and chill indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity and dew point. Also has minimum and maximum and high and low alarms for all values. Professional display can hold up to 3000 weather data sets. Indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity. 12/72 relative air pressure historical graph. Solar wireless wind sensor. Wireless outdoor sensors. Color: Brown. Dimensions: 7.7 x 1.5 x 7.8 inches

La Crosse Technology WS2811OAKIT Professional Weather Center with Solar Wind SensorOak $243.95 Our consumer electronics products include radiocontrolled clocks and watches wireless weather stations power monitors and other measuring devices. We introduced radiocontrolled clocks to the US market in 1991 and continue to be on the cutting edge of this technology in America. Our weather instruments clocks and watches are calibrated daily to the atomic time standard of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Professional weather center featuring the power of solar technology. Wireless thermohygro rain USB transceiver to transfer weather data to your PC and wireless solar wind sensor updates every 30 seconds to the display. Features relative air pressure with a 12 or 72 historical graph rainfall of last 12hours 24hours and total wind speed direction gust and chill indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity and dew point. Also has minimum and maximum and high and low alarms for all values. Professional display can hold up to 3000 weather data sets. Indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity. 12/72 relative air pressure historical graph. Solar wireless wind sensor. Wireless outdoor sensors. Color: Oak. Dimensions: 7.7 x 1.5 x 7.8 inches

Midi Solutions Continuous Midi Data Pedal Controller $129.99 MIDI Solutions Continuous MIDI Data Pedal Controller

Sennheiser Bb3 3Ft Bnc-Bnc Data Cable $9.99 In Store Clearance SENNHEISER BB3 3FT BNC-BNC DATA CABLE

Amer Dj Rainbowdc100 100Ft Data Cable $39.99 In Store Clearance AMER DJ RAINBOWDC100 100FT DATA CABLE

Ecologists Remove Solar Powered Sensors and Probes That Record Data $39.99 Michael Nichols Ecologists Remove Solar Powered Sensors and Probes That Record Data - Photographic Print

National Center for Data Mining $86.03 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles The National Center for Data Mining (NCDM) is a center of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), established in 1998 to serve as a resource for research, standards development, and outreach for high performance and distributed data mining and predictive modeling. NCDM won the High Performance Bandwidth Challenge at SuperComputing 06 in Tampa, FL and recently demonstrated the use of UDP Data Transport. Author: Surhone, Lambert M./ Tennoe, Mariam T./ Henssonow, Susan F. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 116 Publication Date: 2010/10/07 Language: English Dimensions: 6.00 x 9.02 x 0.28 inches

Jackson Jackson 280 3050 879 Wc Pc1-Sol Usa Phil Collen Solar Natural $2609.99 Jackson JACKSON 280 3050 879 WC PC1-SOL USA PHIL COLLEN SOLAR Natural

Jackson Jackson 280 3050 879 Wc Pc1-Sol Usa Phil Collen Solar Mocha Flame Maple Fingerboard $2999.99 Jackson JACKSON 280 3050 879 WC PC1-SOL USA PHIL COLLEN SOLAR Mocha Flame Maple Fingerboard

Jackson Jackson 280 3050 879 Wc Pc1-Sol Usa Phil Collen Solar Chameleon $2999.99 Jackson JACKSON 280 3050 879 WC PC1-SOL USA PHIL COLLEN SOLAR Chameleon

Amer Dj Rainbowdc30 33Ft Rainbowtube / Tubeii Data Cable $15.99 In Store Clearance AMER DJ RAINBOWDC30 33FT RAINBOWTUBE / TUBEII DATA CABLE

Amer Dj Rainbowdc5 Rainbowtube / Tubeii 5Ft Data Cable $6.59 In Store Clearance AMER DJ RAINBOWDC5 RAINBOWTUBE / TUBEII 5FT DATA CABLE