Can Solar Panels Fully Power Your House? Understanding Their Capabilities
Given the savings that come with using solar panels to generate electricity, it's no wonder that people take an interest in completely eliminating the need to draw energy from the grid. Is it possible? Absolutely! Even though your home remains tied to the grid, you can offset 100% of your electricity bill with solar. The price of solar energy has fallen to become comparatively affordable, especially with the available Federal Tax Credit. However, there are quite a few things you’ll have to look into before tackling a fully solar-powered home. Factors such as weather, climate and geographic location vary the production capacity of solar panels greatly on an individual basis.
To find out how many solar panels you’ll need to cover your entire current energy consumption, you’ll need a solar calculator to determine the number based on factors such as monthly energy consumption in kilowatt hours (kWh), the average amount of sunlight that your area receives each day, and your chosen offset. If you want to completely power your house on only solar energy, the offset will be 100%, but you can opt to install more solar panels and go up to 150% if you plan to increase your consumption within the next year. Your monthly electricity consumption can be found on your electricity bill or by contacting your local utility company. Now you’re ready to use a solar calculator and find out how many solar panels you’ll need. If you’d like to get a quick, accurate, hassle-free calculation, try out SolarQuote’s free estimate tool.
In order to maximize your solar savings, you can try out a few things around the house that will encourage energy efficiency. By reducing your electricity consumption, you can make sure you don’t have to rely on the grid and fossil-fuel generated energy which contributes to global warming. Take a look at how you consume power on electronics, such as your computer system, phone or TV, and your home appliances, such as your fridge, air conditioning, heating and dishwasher. Try to lessen your electricity consumption by unplugging devices when you don’t need to use them, switching to rechargeable electronics and appliances, or searching for more energy-efficient electronics, even something as simple as switching to LED bulbs can reduce your electricity bill immensely. Consequently, you’ll find that you reduce your energy consumption and can rely on solar power completely.
Once you know exactly how many solar panels you’ll need to run your home efficiently with solar power, make sure you have enough roof space to host your panels. Ground-mounted solar panels are an option, but they take up a lot of space. You can divide your roof's square footage by the square footage of your solar panels to see how many will fit on your roof. You can also get a site survey done through your solar installation service to get a more detailed picture of your solar mounting options.
When powering your home with solar, you need battery storage to make sure you have power at night or on days when your solar panels produce less electricity due to weather conditions. You can recharge your batteries during peak sunshine hours, and then use the stored energy when you need it. You could have your home up and running when others are scrambling during a grid blackout and have enough power to last you for days should your panels be inconvenienced by a string of storms.
Interested in going solar and powering your home on sunshine alone? Buy solar panels online quickly and easily with SolarQuote. Check out our free solar quote tool and watch your project unfold with every detail before your eyes. Get started today!
