How Many Solar Panels Will My Home Need?
If you’re seeking to generate renewable energy for your Las Vegas home, Lifetime Solar can help you determine how many panels you will need. We can assist with planning and designing your system, obtaining the required permits, system installation, monitoring, and more.
Estimating Your Home’s Solar Needs
Every home is different, but the average residential property typically needs around 20-25 panels to be powered entirely using solar energy. Your specific needs will depend on several factors, including:
- Your Average Annual Electricity Usage
- Each Panel’s Power Rating
- The System’s Production Ratio
- What Percentage Of Your Home’s Energy You’d Like To Derive From Solar
Your Annual Energy Usage
Different households have different energy needs, but the average family uses just over 10,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year. If you want a more precise estimate of your home’s specific electrical needs, you can try keeping a log of how many hours each of your appliances runs per day as well as their wattages, which is likely stamped on the back or underside of each appliance.
Next, you can apply the following formula to calculate the annual energy consumption of each appliance and then add up all the results:
Annual energy usage = (Wattage × Hours Used Per Day) ÷ 1000 x (number of days used per year)
Alternatively, to avoid doing the math, you could install a whole-house energy monitoring system.
How Much Of Your Home’s Energy You Want To Derive From Solar
When deciding how many solar panels to install on your roof, it’s important to consider what your energy goals are. For instance, do you want to completely offset your electricity bills by going 100% solar, or do you want to “ease into” the renewable energy experience by replacing a fraction of your energy usage with solar panels while still partially relying on the grid?
Different Panels Have Different Power Ratings
A power rating is a measurement of an individual panel’s wattage, or how much electricity it is able to produce under ideal conditions. Panels that produce more watts are more efficient, so you’ll need fewer of them to meet your energy output goals.
At Lifetime Solar, we’re a proud authorized dealer of Tesla solar systems and SunPower solar panels, which are some of the highest-wattage products on the market. We’ll help you install panels with a maximized power output so that you require fewer panels overall.
Production Ratios Affect Energy Output
Your system’s production ratio is the approximate energy output (kWh) over time divided by the system’s overall wattage (W). This value varies substantially by geographical location since different areas have different levels of exposure to sunlight.
Luckily, the Las Vegas Valley receives around 300 days of sun per year, making it one of the best U.S. cities for solar energy production!
Residential Solar Panels In Las Vegas
At Lifetime Solar, we’re dedicated to making the process of going solar easier and more affordable. Our solar panel installation experts can help you estimate your home’s energy needs before installing high-wattage SunPower or Tesla panels. Contact us today for more information.