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How Many Solar Panels Can I Fit On My Roof

5 min read

How much roof space for solar panels? That is the question that many homeowners ask themselves when they are deciding how to power their homes.

If the answer is “a lot,” then you should be focusing on calculating your solar potential and determining how many solar panels you need for your house.

Many homeowners spend time trying to decide what kind of renewable energy system they want but fail to take into account the size of their roof to get an accurate estimate of how much electricity they will generate.

This article will help walk you through all the factors that determine how many solar panels are needed for a given property!

Factors that Influence the Number of Solar Panels Required

There are a lot of factors that go into determining how many solar panels you will need, and as mentioned before your roof size must play a role.

In general the more space on your roof for solar panels the better.

Also, consider whether or not there are trees shading parts of your house from sunlight during different times in the day when you are trying to decide how much roof space for solar panels is ideal.

You can also take into account the size of your electricity bill and see if you need more or fewer panels than would normally be recommended to meet all of your energy needs!

Also Read: Here’s Your Solar Panel Installation Checklist

Solar Capacity vs. Electricity Demand

The first thing that must be considered when determining how many solar panels you will need is how much electricity your household uses.

To do this, take a look at the last 12 months of your electric bills and determine what your average kWh usage was for that period.

You can also call up the company that provides you the power to get an even more accurate reading if there are any discrepancies in those numbers from month to month.

Once you have the kWh number, multiply it by 0.24 to get an estimate of how many hours per day that electricity was used on average over a year (this is because one kilowatt-hour = 1000 watts x amount of time in hours).

You can then convert this into either AC or DC amps using the appropriate formula. If you have a 60-watt light bulb that is on for five hours, it would use three amps of electricity in AC or DC units (60 watts x 0.05 hours = three amps)!

Once you know how many amps your household uses per day, then multiply that number by 20 to get an estimate of the total wattage used per day (this is because one amp = 1000 watts/hour).

From there, you can use the appropriate formula to convert that number into kilowatts and then kWh.

For instance, if your household uses 25 amps of electricity in a given day, it will consume 250 watts over an hour which equals 0.25 kilowatts (250 watts/hour x 0.01 hours = 0.25 kilowatt).

Multiplying this number by 24 gives us an estimate of how much electricity is used per day or six kWhs.

Do not forget that the peak power demand for your home will be at least twice as high during hot summer days when you turn on the air conditioning or heat.

In general, a 6kW solar system is enough to power your whole house.

How Much Sunlight Do You Get?

The next factor to consider when determining how many solar panels you will need is the amount of sunlight your roof gets during different times of the day.

This can be a difficult measurement to take, but there are several ways that it can be done including taking into account historical data regarding when and where clouds tend to form in certain areas or using satellite imagery to look at the amount of sunlight that is hitting your roof.

The more hours per day you get direct exposure to sunlight, the better! If you live in an area where there are a lot of clouds or only get decent sun for part of the year then it might be worthwhile having fewer solar panels than what would normally be recommended just to make sure you get enough electricity to meet your needs.

Also, keep in mind that if you have a lot of shade or tall buildings nearby then this could mean less sunlight during the day which would again decrease how much roof space for solar panels might be required!

Also Read: Solar PV System: Renewable home energy solution

How Much Roof Space Is Needed?

With all of this information in hand, it’s now time to figure out just how much roof space is needed for solar panels.

To do this, take the total kWh your household consumes per day and divide it by how many hours of sunlight you expect to have on an average summer day in your area.

You can then multiply that number by the percentage of sunlight you expect to have on a given day.

For instance, if your house normally consumes 12 kWh per day and it gets an average of four hours of sunlight during a summer day in your area, then 48 square feet should be sufficient for solar panels (12kWh x 0.04 = 0.48).

How Much Space Do You Need For Solar Panels On Your Roof Or Yard?

Finally, using all of these factors, you can figure out how much space you’ll need on your roof or in your yard for solar panels.

A good rule of thumb is that one square foot equals four watts, so 48 square feet = 192-watt system (48sqft x .04watts/sqft = 192 watts).

Read Also: The Importance of Solar Power for Security Smart Solutions: A Definitive Guide

Last Words

as we mentioned some factors determine how much space do you need for solar panels, so make sure that you investigate that before taking any steps.

I hope that this article has been helpful to you! If you want more information on how much roof space is needed for solar panels, then please let me know in the comments below!