If you are interested in the idea of using free, environmental friendly energy to power your household, and you want to have a solar panel array installed, one of the most basic requirements you need to keep track of is the number of solar panels that you need.

There are many factors that would determine just how many you would need to use, and how many you will actually be able to buy. Some of these include the results of your energy consumption target calculations (how much energy your household appliances and devices need in order to function properly), the budget you have at your disposal and the type of solar panel you are using.

Also, depending on whether you are considering the purchase of a high-tech solar array or you're thinking of building your own panels yourself out of cheaper materials, the prices may vary. Therefore, the number of solar panels you can put together in an array may be different, and their quality might also have to be assessed.

Calculating Energy Consumption

If you want to determine precisely how many solar panels you need, it is essential to measure the amount of energy that a solar panel can offer, and compare it with the value that you require. Considering that a normal household consumes about 8000 - 9000 kwh on a yearly basis, and the fact that a $300 solar panel of good quality can only provide about 100 - 200 watts of energy, the number of panels you need to power your entire home may be quite substantial.

Of course, depending on your needs, you might not always have to use up so much energy on a regular basis. Especially if you are an environmental solar panels Texas , and you know how to choose appliances that provide better functionality, while consuming less energy, you might actually be able to reduce that number to half, or even less.

Also, if you want to build your own solar panel, you might find that the manufacturing costs can effectively be reduced to under $200 for a standard 36 cell solar panel. Depending on the quality of your homemade solar array, you only need about 30 or 40 panels to provide enough power for your entire home.

This number may still be too large, but it can be reduced if you wish to use an additional type of energy, such as wind power. This can offer you more energy on cloudy and rainy days, when solar panels don't operate as well, and reduce the need for panels to half or even less.