HOW MANY SOLAR PANELS DO YOU NEED TO POWER A HOUSE IN AUSTRALIA?
Are you looking for sustainable methods to save energy and power your house? Solar panels are the answer! But the bigger question is, how many solar panels would you require to power a home in Australia? What about the cost in this matter? This article will provide you with sufficient information. So, giddy-up and get ready to digest all the information here!
Points you should remember:
- Generally, a home-use 15KWh to 20kWh in a day.
- The system’s overall capacity is more important than the count of the panels.
- It is always advantageous to get a bigger system for your home. So, that solar panels in Australia have gotten cheaper.
Solar photovoltaic PV “peak output” describes the solar power system’s capacity or size. This term indicates the amount of electricity the solar panel will deliver on an optimally sunny day. It provides the best result when the sun is at its pinnacle.
Let us understand the factors at play here that determine approximately how many solar panels you need to power a house in Australia.
Comprehending Your Electricity Use And Noting Your Savings Expectation
First things first: how much energy is your home is using at the moment?
The solution to this will be looking out for your mean daily usage of electricity. Electricity consumption will be billed in Kilowatt-hours (KWh). If no average figure is available, you have to divide the annual or monthly average by 365 or 30 respectively. Now you know the amount of electricity that you use and the typical amount ( 15KWh to 20KWh ) too.
When Do You Need Solar Power The Most
Seasonal use and the time of the day when you use it plays a colossal role in your case. When is everyone not at home, school, or work? When is your home usually empty. During the weekends or the weekdays? If your chief power consumption is after the sun goes down. Then the solar power is not useful. Its energy wasted. It is always the best option to generate the power and use it in the daytime than transferring it to the grid at night.
Moreover, do not forget to add factors such as when you are using air-conditioners or heaters. Then, sum these up and form an estimate of your power usage in contrast to time.
Calculate The Capacity of Your Photovoltaic ( PV ) System
What size will your PV system require to cover your power usage? If you have a grid system, then solar power that has not been used during the day will be exported to a grid system. It will supply electricity when the solar panels are not supplying sufficient energy.
On-Grid Versus Off-Grid
On-Grid: The on-grid system is the most common type. It is common in Australia. These have panels along with an inverter. It’s connected to the prime electricity grid. The way the grid system works have been explained in the paragraph above.
Off-Grid:
This sort of system is generally separated from the main grid. All the houses’ electricity is either generated by solar power or any other type of power generation. These systems mostly implement storage batteries to take hold of unused power from the panels. This stored energy is used to provide power in low days of sunlight or at night time. These systems often include a fuel-powered generator for days with extended lows of sunlight, and there is a sudden intensified demand for electricity.
Off-grid systems are less desirable than on-grid ones because they are more expensive and complex as well. Furthermore, these require more capacity than the usual on-grid systems and need to be especially energy-efficient. Such systems are used in isolated properties where a grid connection is either unavailable or too expensive.
Installation Factors
Space on Roof
No matter how many solar panels you need, freestanding houses will have space on their roof for that. Heavily shaded sections or roofs that have an unusual pitch may decrease your available roof surface area to install solar panels. Solar panels are typically lifted on brackets to enable proper angling besides air circulation.
Direction
To maximize the sunlight that the panel received, face it to the north. However, doing this is not vital — northeast and north-west are fine most of the time. Often, an amalgamation of east and west looking work best. However, this orientation can provide slightly lower power generation in the midway of the day but produce the most power in the late afternoons and the mornings.
If none of this orientation is possible for you, do not lose hope. Solar panels that face south are estimated to produce around 80% of their actual potential.
Inverters
An inverter of a solar system is an essential part of its RV. It takes electricity generated via the pan in Direct Current and converts it to alternating current for household use. The size of the inverter has to match that of PV’s arrays.
The inverter’s alternative is microinverters. Where each panel is attached to its own tiny inverter. Typically these are very expensive and have many cons.
Can A Battery Be An Option?
A storage battery is useful in captivating unused power from the solar panels produced during the day. Thus, energy will be saved for use at night time. Yet, batteries are fairly expensive to power homes in Australia.
Battery and solar panels combined might not meet your energy demands throughout the year. You may still have to withdraw power from the grids. Moreover, batteries are unlikely to protect you in times of blackouts. Despite having solar panels and a fully charged battery, you might still lose all the power in your home. This happens due to “anti-island” protection in grid-connected systems. In the case of a blackout, any engineer working along the grid lines have to be saved from the surges of electricity. It is known as ‘islands’ in this context. Most PVs shut down entirely in such circumstances. Hence, your household does not have any power at all.
Conclusion
Despite your knowledge of solar panels needed to power a house, you should always consult with a few solar installers. An ideal installer will work with you and contribute to finding out your home’s usage of power and the suitable solar system needed for your home. He will also see how to make the best use of your available roof space. If you have any other queries, do not hesitate to contact us!