If you’re considering making the move towards a more eco-friendly and affordable energy source, solar power is probably at the top of your list.
But before you start saving to buy a set of solar panels, you need to know the size and quantity of panels that you’ll need for your home.
The general rule is, the bigger your home, the more solar panels you’ll need. But it’s helpful to know the specifics for solar panel sizing, and that’s what this article will cover.
How to Correctly Size Solar Panels For Your Home
When you’re sizing solar panels for your home, you’ll need to consider the following factors:
- The size of your home
- How much electricity you use every year (in kilowatt-hours or kWh)
- How many hours of daylight your region gets
- How efficient you want your solar panels to be
The good news is that you don’t have to figure this all out yourself. Your solar power installation company will consider all these factors when pricing up your quote. That said, it’s helpful to be aware of these things before you start shopping for solar panels, so you have a rough idea of how much money you’ll be spending.
Solar Panel Sizes For 1-5-Bedroom Homes
As we mentioned, the actual size requirements for solar panels depends on a few different factors. But to keep things really simple here, we’ve shared a list of different property sizes and the number of solar panels needed.
Just keep in mind that these recommendations don’t take everything into consideration, which is why it’s important to discuss your needs in detail with your solar panel installer.
- 1-bedroom apartment: 3 x 350W solar panels
- House with 1-2 bedrooms: 6 x 350W solar panels
- House with 3 bedrooms: 10x 350W solar panels
- House with 4-5 bedrooms: 14 x 350W solar panels
This is assuming that the solar panels will cover around 50% of your electricity needs.
Solar Panel Sizes For Different Household Sizes
Aside from the size of your home, you also need to think about the number of people in your family.
This will inevitably affect your electricity usage, as will your occupations and hobbies. For instance, if you have a gamer in the family, somebody works from a computer at home, or you use your oven a lot for baking, you’ll probably exceed the average electricity usage.
Again, looking at this very generally, here’s the number of solar panels you’ll need for different household sizes:
- 1-2 person household: 6 x 350W solar panels
- 2-3 person household: 10x 350W solar panels
- 4-5 person household: 14x 350W solar panels
- 6+ person household: 16+x 350W solar panels
Final Word
Remember, there’s no way to accurately evaluate the number of solar panels you need until you’ve assessed your specific situation.
But hopefully, this article should have served as a helpful resource if you’re just looking to get a basic idea of what you’ll need before you contact a professional installer for a quote.
