Solar / May 16, 2016

Try ‘Going Green’ On for Size

How Experts Determine the Appropriate Size for Your Solar Power System

A home with a solar power system is like a car that makes its own gasoline—the definition of true efficiency.

Benefits of going solar are substantial in terms of improving your home’s energy efficiency and reducing your footprint (as well as your monthly electric bills). But, reaching the point where the benefits finally begin to shine through takes precise pre-planning and calculations.

Thanks to Mauzy Solar Energy’s expertise and dedication to helping customers achieve their individual goals, going green has never been easier. To ensure that the appropriately-sized solar system is chosen for your home, our team will evaluate every influential factor under the sun.

Energy Level Evaluation

As long as the sun rises, solar power is possible; however, the amount of energy that a home must accumulate from the sun to provide proficient power varies.

Calculating your household’s energy requirement is rather simple, and it plays a hefty role in the feasibility of going green. To do this, revisit past electricity bills and locate your home’s stated energy usage, which is indicated on one of three forms: daily, monthly or yearly. For this calculation, concentrate on the daily usage.

If reported in terms of monthly or yearly usage, simply divide the reported number by 30 or 365, respectively. This will generate the daily total usage in kilowatt-hours, completing the first step.

Turning Green

You calculated your average daily energy usage. Now, it’s time to decide how much of that energy you would like to “turn green.”

Whether your individual energy goal is to completely eliminate your monthly electricity bill or to simply make a small dent in the monthly total, your intentions are the sole driving force in deciding the percentage of energy usage that will be offset by solar power.

There is a general offset rule of thumb; that is, the higher the percentage of your energy that’s switched to solar energy, the higher the electricity bill savings will be—and the higher the amount of solar panels needed to achieve that target.

Keep in mind that various extrinsic factors (i.e., weather conditions, hardware issues, etc.) temporarily cause solar panels to generate less energy than expected, hindering your solar power system from consistently operating at its maximum efficiency. In an attempt to counteract this energy loss, the Mauzy Solar Energy experts recommend adding a 25-percent “cushion” to your projected solar energy percentage to cover any potential inefficiencies.

Location Equals Efficiency

The presence of the sun is reliable, but when it comes to the sun’s visibility and capability to reach different areas of San Diego, it’s a different story.

Locations throughout San Diego have different solar energy potential. The more open the area, the easier it is for light to reach the solar panels. On the other hand, heavily shaded areas complicate the process—ultimately, reducing the system’s efficiency.

Even more, peak sunlight hours directly impact a solar panel’s ability to absorb and produce energy. The amount of time that a solar panel spends absorbing peak sunlight depends on the home’s location. That doesn’t signify that a homeowner in a shadier area is incapable of reaching his or her solar energy goal; it simply implies that more solar panels are needed to duplicate the efficiency found in sunnier locations.

Research your specific area’s number of daily peak sunlight hours. Once established, divide that number by the previously calculated daily home energy requirement to determine the amount of energy your panels need to absorb every hour during the peak sunlight period to meet your home’s needs.

One, Two, Three

You’ve calculated the amount of energy that both your home requires and your solar panels must produce to meet your needs. Nevertheless, there’s one question that remains unanswered: how many solar panels are necessary to achieve your goal?

A solar panel’s quality, size and cell’s technology have a significant effect on a system’s capabilities and performance. That’s why, when calculating the total number of panels needed for your home, you must divide your home’s hourly energy requirement by the wattage of your chosen type of solar panel. Repeat this calculation for both a high-wattage and a low-wattage panel option to establish a realistic range that will help you determine the number of panels required to accommodate your particular electricity generation needs.

Judge a Roof by its Appearance

An evident, yet important factor that affects your home’s solar panel needs and capabilities lies within the physical characteristics of your home. A Mauzy professional installer can assess your roof’s structure, its angle toward the sun, and other architectural factors to determine the appropriate number and location of panels that will are needed to attain your daily energy production goals.

Come to the Bright Side, We Have Savings

Change can be a scary thing—but with Mauzy’s team of solar energy experts on your side, it doesn’t have to be. We will help facilitate your transition to solar energy by educating and assisting you in choosing the right panels for your home so you can go greener, faster—and save some green while you’re at it.

See how much you can save by going solar by visiting us at www.mauzysolar.com, or by calling 619.448.9545 today!