Solar Power Cells, Hot Water, Energy, Collectors

How Much Do I Need? An Answer to the Most Common Question in Solar Power

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We have the pleasure of working with hundreds of people every day that want to reduce their energy bills, go green and jump on the solar power bandwagon. And the question we see over and over again is: Just how much do I need and what will it cost? We’ll tackle that question here and show you how we calculate system size and cost. We have simple solar calculators that can do this on our website but so many people have asked how this is actually calculated that we thought we’d give a quick solar design lesson.

We spoke to someone just yesterday who wanted solar panels on a 8’x22’ trailer. We asked him what his usage was, and his answer floored us. He was using 7000 kilowatt-hours per month, about 6 times the average household consumption. As it turns out, the trailer was an enormous ice maker. This illustrates that homes and buildings of all sizes vary widely in their energy consumption. A 1200-square-foot house in Florida might use 3 or 4 times what a similar house in Missouri uses because of air conditioning and different types of HVAC units.

Source: CleanTechnica