So as much possible, your electricity consumption should happen during the day when the panels are generating. Likewise, minimise your power consumption at night. Night-time power is going to come from the grid — which is relatively expensive. Alternatively, night-time usage will come from your storage battery if you have one, and you won't want to drain that any faster than you need to. So consider running your dishwasher and washing machine during the daytime, using a timer or "delay start" function if they have one.
Likewise, try to use air conditioners and heaters during daylight, and again consider using timer functions — this can reduce the amount you need to run them during the evening. Online "solar calculators" can help you work out the size of solar system you need. And while we don't endorse any in particular, they're worth a look. However, some solar calculators focus on aspects other than system sizing, such as payback times, cost of finance and so on — all potentially useful but it might not be the information you're looking for.
By far the most common type in Australia, these systems have solar panels and an inverter, and are connected to the main electricity grid. The solar panels supply power during the day, and the home generally uses the solar power first before resorting to electricity from the grid. The grid connection is used to supply power at night assuming there's no storage battery connected and at other times when the solar panels can't generate enough power, such as on low-sunlight days.
This type of system is completely standalone from the main grid. All the home's power comes from solar panels, and possibly some other types of power generation as well, such as wind. These systems almost always use storage batteries to capture unused power from the solar array, for use at night and on low-sunlight days.
They often also have a diesel-powered generator for back-up in extended periods of low sunlight and when there's a sudden high demand for power such as when a pump starts up.
Off-grid systems are usually more complex and expensive than grid-connected systems. They need more solar capacity than a typical grid-connected system, and may also need inverters capable of higher loads to cope with peak demands. Homes that run off-grid need to be particularly energy-efficient and the load demand needs to be well-managed throughout the day. Off-grid systems generally only make sense for remote properties where a grid connection isn't available or would be prohibitively expensive to install.
They should be designed and installed by a supplier with particular expertise in this type of system. Most freestanding houses will have enough roof area to support however many panels the home needs. Factors that might reduce your available roof area include heavily shaded sections and roofs with unusual pitch.
Solar panels are mounted on brackets to ensure correct angling and air circulation, so installers can usually find a way to make most roof spaces work well. It's usually best to have the panels facing north, to maximise the amount of sunlight that falls on them. But that's not always possible and it's not essential. North-east or north-west are often just as good. Your installer should be able to work out the best orientation for your panels given your location, roof space and household needs.
Sometimes a mix of east- and west-facing panels can work best — this may give a slightly lower amount of power generation in the middle of the day, but will produce more in the morning and late afternoon compared to a north-facing array. If you tend to use more power at those times, this orientation might make more sense. Plus, if you already have north-facing panels, you can always expand your solar PV, or add a separate system, on the southerly aspect.
Solar panels are cheap enough that this can make economic sense, but you may want to put on a few more panels in the south-facing array to make up for the reduced production. It's not always easy to calculate exactly how much capacity you'll need for your solar panels, or how much you'll actually be able to fit on your roof.
So while this article will help you do your homework, in the end you should still talk to at least a couple of solar installers to get a detailed quote. A good installer will work with you to figure out your home's power usage and the right sort of solar system to suit both your power needs and the roof space you have available. The inverter is a key part of the solar PV system — it's the box on the wall or sometimes the roof that takes the electricity generated by the solar panels in direct current DC and converts it to alternating current AC for your household circuits to use in powering your fridge, TV, lights and so on.
The inverter size must match the solar PV array's size. Basically, if you have 5kW of panels on the roof, you'll need a 5kW inverter as well. But note that the panels rarely if ever deliver their maximum rated output, due to variable sunlight conditions, loss of efficiency as the panels age, reduced efficiency in extreme heat and so on.
Ultimately, the number of solar panels you could need to see potential savings is unique to you. Request a free quote today to determine how many panels you could need to see potential savings or learn more about how solar panels work on your home.
New customers only. You are still responsible for paying your monthly loan to your lender. Rebate not applied toward your loan by us. Allow wks. The amount of power available from the battery during a power outage is limited, depending on the loads connected, customer usage and battery config.
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Reply HELP for assistance. If you don't have much space, you might want to invest in solar panels with higher power ratings since they're equipped to generate more energy per panel. But they're also more expensive, so bear that in mind if the solar budget for your home is tight.
Your physical location is a key factor that impacts the efficiency of your home solar panels. As you might expect, solar systems are best suited for sunny areas -- which is why solar is incredibly popular in states like California and Arizona.
With more sunshine, each of your individual solar panels will generate more power. For our calculations, we'll assume that you get four hours of sunshine per day.
The location of your home isn't something that you can change, but it's still important to recognize that your region plays a role in how well solar will work for you. In short, your panels will operate at maximum capacity when they can absorb the most possible sunlight.
But this isn't just about where you live -- it's also about how your particular property is laid out and how much sunlight reaches your roof. For instance, if you have tall trees that create shade over your roof, your solar panels won't produce as much power as if they were under clear skies. With those variables in mind, we can roughly estimate the number of solar panels for home that you'll need. In this example, we'll use the average annual energy consumption, solar panel wattage and hours of sunlight that we mentioned earlier.
Let's say that your property receives four hours of sunshine each day, and you're purchasing watt solar panels. In that case, each panel can generate 1, watt-hours per day or 1.
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