Solar Power & Energy

Powering your home with solar energy is an ideal way to reduce or eliminate electricity bills and become more self-sufficient. Photovoltaic solar panels can be installed as a stand alone system so that you are not connected to any other power source or they can be designed to supplement the energy you receive from your local electric company. The first step in setting up a solar energy system for your home is determining how much power you need.

Energy Use
The amount of solar energy you need for your home depends entirely upon your rate of consumption. Your house can be the exact same size and design as your neighbor’s house, yet you may use much more or much less overall electricity than they do. One person may run his air conditioner at 68 degrees in the summer while another may run his at 75 instead. The difference in operating temperatures creates a difference in the amount of energy each person uses. Some households may use multiple computers or leave two televisions turned on all day long. Other households may open the refrigerator door three times more often during the day than another.

Energy Calculation
Before you can determine how much solar energy you need, you must first calculate how much power you use on a daily basis. Appliances and electrical devices provide you with basic energy use information on the power cord or a sticker on the back of the appliance. You need to determine the total number of watts your household uses by adding up the amount from each electrical device and appliance. Appliances that do not list the amount of watts they use list volts and amps instead. Multiply the amps times the volts to calculate the watts. Alternatively you can purchase a watt meter tool that will monitor the electrical flow in your home and display total usage.

Energy Conservation
After you have determined how much power your household uses each day, you may be surprised. A refrigerator may use more than 1200 watts and the air conditioner or furnace may use 600 watts per hour. If the total amount of energy you use in your home is too much to support with solar panels, you may want to consider reducing your consumption before converting your household. Look closely at the appliances and devices you use and determine where you can cut back. A large refrigerator can be replaced with a compact, energy efficient design that uses one-third of the power for example. If you have multiple DVD players and an automatic coffee machine, these devices pull “ghost” energy loads even when they are turned off. A regular incandescent lightbulb pulls 100 watts for every hour that it is on while an equivalent string of LED lights may use just 13 watts per hour.

House Efficiency
The way your house is designed and its efficiency are important factors to consider when preparing to change to solar energy as well. A poorly insulated house uses more electricity because the cooled or heated air in the summer and winter is able to escape through cracks and openings. A home with old-fashioned windows looses a lot of heat through the windows in the winter, and gains extra heat in the summer. Houses with trees around them use less energy for air conditioning in the summer because the trees naturally help reduce the air temperature around your home, thus causing the air conditioner to work more effectively.