From the example of a standard residential polycrystalline solar panel we used above we know that if one 275 watt solar panel is 18 85 square feet then 1 kw 1000 watt of panels will require 3 63 of such solar panels and so will take up 68 42 square feet.
Average kwh per square foot of solar panel.
That translates to just over 15 watts per square foot.
Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of sizing a solar panel system is estimating annual energy usage for your household.
The national average cost of a solar panel is around 2 98 watt.
The us census bureau determined that single family homes have an average area of 2467 square feet when dividing these values you obtain 0 35 kwh per square foot assuming 0 35 kwh for a 2 000 sq.
Residential solar energy costs 0 08 to 0 10 per kwh on average and commercial or utility scale solar power costs 0 06 to 0 08 per kilowatt hour.
And the average solar power system needed is a 5 kilowatt system.
Simply put once you know how much power each panel puts out simply divide it by the square feet of the panel.
At this point you can use the calculation procedure described in the previous section.
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.
Most u s homes have rooftops that are about 1 500 sq.
System size kw square footage needed for low efficiency 16 square footage needed for medium efficiency 18 square footage needed for high efficiency 22 5 kw.
This size of solar panel layout will only take about 350 400 sq.
Ft so most homeowners will have more than enough room for solar panels.
Number of solar panels per square foot of roof space.
The average sized solar panel takes up an area of 17 6 square feet and produces 265 watts under direct sunlight.
Sizing a solar panel system to your home s electric usage can be done by taking look at your energy bills over a year.
If we take california as an example the map shows that on average 1 kw of dc peak capacity of solar panels produces 4 5 kwh per day or 1642 kwh per year.
But at 20 watts per square foot a system rated to produce 2 kilowatts would cover roughly 150 square feet while a 3kw system would take up about 225 square feet.
A number of larger consumer products or add ons can significantly change your annual kilowatt hour requirements and thus can greatly impact how many panels you will need.
Each solar installer has sophisticated software that can spell out your house s exact power needs while looking at historical weather patterns roof angles and other factors to tell you how many panels you ll need and how much power your they ll be able to generate per square foot.
