Solar Panel Energy Output Per Square Foot

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.

Solar panel energy output per square foot. How much energy does a solar panel produce. The average cost to install solar panels is from 10 626 to 26 460 after tax credit for a 6kw to 12kw system to power an entire house. To understand how much solar power is produced per square foot it s helpful to know what solar panels are made of. 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.

There are plenty of. We then took 11 000 kwh and divided it by the respective ratios and then divided that number by 250 the typical panel wattage. Sunpower solar panels are the most efficient you can buy. Typically a modern solar panel produces between 250 to 270 watts of peak power e g.

A home that consumes 1 000 kwh per month will normally need between 20 and 30 solar panels. Sizing a solar panel system to your home s electric usage can be done by taking look at your energy bills over a year. According to the u s. The average solar panel payback period is 7 to 12 years and solar energy saves 600 to 2 000 per year on electricity costs.

How many solar panels are needed to power an average house. The average sized solar panel takes up an area of 17 6 square feet and produces 265 watts under direct sunlight. You need to divide the number of watts at which the panel is rated by the total surface area of the panel. How many solar panels do i need then.

Before purchasing a solar energy system for your home an important step is finding out how many solar panels you need. Most solar panels last for 50 years have a 25 year warranty and start generating a return on investment after 8. 5 hours x 290 watts an example wattage of a premium solar panel 1 450 watts hours or roughly 1 5 kilowatt hours kwh. How many solar panels do i need for 1 000 kwh per month.

For instance if the surface area is 1 500 square meters and the rating of the panel is 250 watts you would divide 250 by 1 500 and then multiply by 100 to find the percentage for this example the solar panel in question would have an efficiency rating of 16 67 250 1500 x 100 16 67. In order to find a range for number of solar panels we compared arizona and maine s solar panel production ratios 1 31 and 1 61 the highest and lowest in the u s. The exact number changes depending on the specifications of the chosen panel model as well as the sunshine available at the project site. For the sake of example if you are getting 5 hours of direct sunlight per day in a sunny state like california you can calculate your solar panel output this way.

The first is to look at the peak possible instantaneous solar power production per square foot for a particular solar panel. 250wp dc in controlled conditions. This is called the nameplate rating and solar panel wattage varies based on the size and efficiency of your panel. Thus the output for each solar panel in your array would.

That translates to just over 15 watts per square foot.