Does switching to an entirely solar-powered home sound like an appealing option for your house? You aren’t the only one coming to that conclusion. Now that the price of solar is lower than ever, many people are starting to make the switch.
However, putting together a solar installation is more than buying a few panels and hooking them up to your home. Keep reading to learn how to plan a whole-home solar system.
Roof Quality
The chances are good that you want to install your whole home off-grid solar system on your roof. After all, roofs are the most common places for solar panels. They get great sunlight and are out of the way.
However, not all roofs can handle solar panels. Your solar installation is heavy, and not every roof has a design capable of holding that weight.
Make sure your roof can handle a solar installation. If not, you’ll also need a new roof if you want to continue with your solar project.
Solar Potential
Solar energy production isn’t the same in all locations. As you move across the globe, the sun will have different intensities in those locations. That means some places on the earth are better at producing solar energy than others.
You need to keep this in mind when you’re planning your home solar system. Your location will play a role in how many solar panels you need to power your home fully. A home solar company can help you figure this out if you aren’t sure how to get this data.
Energy Needs
The next step in designing your solar system is to figure out how much energy your home needs to run. You’ll need to measure how many appliances run in your home and how much power each of them needs to run. Once you add all this up, you have your home’s energy consumption.
Of course, you don’t get solar energy at night. You’ll need to store enough energy in batteries if you want a whole-home solar system. Your total energy consumption will also help you figure out how much battery capacity you need to power your home when you don’t get enough sunlight.
Solar Options
Once you determine your solar potential and energy needs, it’s time to look into your solar options. If you want to pay for solar in cash, this isn’t as much of an issue. However, cash isn’t your only option.
When looking into how much a whole-home solar system costs, you’ll probably see that you have financing options available. Many solar installers offer loans and rentals to their customers, so they don’t have to go through banks. Check into your available options to see which one works best for you.
Now You Know How to Plan a Whole-Home Solar System
There is a lot more to installing solar panels than hooking them up to your electric box. There are many considerations you need to keep in mind when designing your whole-home solar system. Keep the above tips in mind to ensure your whole home solar panel system works correctly the first time you turn it on.
Do you want to learn more tips that will help you make your home great? Check out the latest blog posts for more great advice.
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