Solar Panels Watts Per Square Foot
The average system size in the u s.
Solar panels watts per square foot. How many solar panels are needed to power an average house. That translates to just over 15 watts per square foot. For a 300 watt solar panel with dimensions 64 inches x 39 inches 1 61 meters squared or 17 31 square feet the peak instantaneous electricity production per square foot at stc is 14 58 watts per square foot. The top panel in the e series comes out at a whopping 435 watts.
Energy information administration in 2018 the average monthly electricity consumption for a home in the united states was 914 kwh per month or about 30 5 kwh per day and 11 000 kwh per year. Considering 6 peak sun hours per day and 300 watt panels you need 16 to produce 700 kwh each month. For instance if you have a panel that puts out 265 watts and is 65 4 by 39 inches in size the energy produced per square foot would be around 15 watts. According to the u s.
Simply put once you know how much power each panel puts out simply divide it by the square feet of the panel. In order to calculate the below data we averaged annual kwh production in the top 12 solar states and assumed standard 250 watt panels in order to calculate how many panels you would need. The solar panel with the highest watt is the sunpower e series a commercial solar panel line. The cost of solar panels to power your house are 4 to 10 per square foot.
Sizing a solar panel system to your home s electric usage can be done by taking look at your energy bills over a year. Cost of solar panels per square foot. With energy prices on the rise this may be the perfect time. To produce the maximum amount of power per square foot a solar panel has to be well designed to handle temperature spectrum angle and amount of light.
Solar panels usually range in wattage output from around 250 watts to 400 watts but some panels exceed the 400 watt mark. If you have limited roof space the best recommendation is installing the most efficient solar panels available. Below are cost estimates based on home size. Is 5kw 5000 watts so you can use that as a benchmark if you re unclear on what your power needs will be.
But every home is unique and could use more or less power than the average home. Installing a solar panel system costs an average of 23 597 and dropping most homeowners pay between 16 532 and 30 820 expect to pay 2 50 to 3 50 per watt with most systems in the 3kw to 10kw range until the end of 2020 you can deduct 26 of the installation costs with the federal investment tax credit itc. However most installers estimate solar costs by the amount of energy needed at 2 53 to 3 15 per watt before any tax credits or incentives. The first is to look at the peak possible instantaneous solar power production per square foot for a particular solar panel.
How many solar panels do i need for 1 000 kwh per month. While this does not sound like very much square feet do add up pretty quickly.