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What size system will I need?
The system size you’ll need is based on your energy consumption and usage patterns. Our engineers analyze your electric bill to determine the amount of kilowatts your system will need to produce to offset your consumption. From there, they will determine just how many panels you will need, as well as what part of your roof to place them on to maximize the panel’s production abilities!
The amount of energy a solar panel can produce is measured in kilowatts (KW). The amount of energy you consume over an amount of time is measured in kilowatt hours (KWH). To determine how many KW your panels will need to produce, we first need to know how many KWH your home is consuming.
According to the US Energy Information Administration the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 10,649KWH . Knowing the average is helpful, but each home’s consumption is different.
Basic steps to energy generation with solar panels
- Your personal energy consumption via a current power bill
- The direction in which your roof faces, as well as the amount of space,and the layout and slope of your roof.
- The amount of sunlight your roof gets and any potential factors that could hinder your panels performance (shade, tree growth, etc.)
- The wattage of the panels being placed on your home.
Our team of engineers analyze your energy bill, breaking down your annual kilowatt-hour (KWH) consumption, year-over-year, month-to-month, as well as daily. From here they will find your average KWH consumption. From this information they will determine the production required from your solar panels to ensure an efficient offset of your energy consumption. This is then calculated to determine the specific amount of energy your solar panels will need to produce to power your home.
That’s not all though, from this point, our engineers will plug your usage into specialty software, and using satellite imagery they will determine the exact amount of sunlight your roof receives at different times of the day to determine the optimal placement of panels to maximize efficiency. Using this software they can measure the surface area of your roof, the slope, and any inhibiting factors that may interfere with the placement of the panels. With this information they will then add the correct amount and type of panels, in their strategic placement, and confirm their production with their software to finalize the correct number of panels you need.
All that is needed from you to effectively determine the amount of panels is a copy of your energy bill, and the engineers do the rest. It’s as simple as that!