Solar power for your home means installing solar panels on or around your house. These panels soak up energy from sunlight and convert it into electricity. This electricity then powers lights, appliances, heating/cooling systems, and more in your home. According to the experts at solar energy company Vivint Solar, any extra solar power is fed back into the local energy grid.
Picking The Right Solar Panels
Solar panels come in three main types – monocrystalline, polycrystalline, and thin-film. Monocrystalline solar cells are the oldest and most efficient style. Tiny monocrystalline cells have a distinctive uniform black color and octagonal shape. Polycrystalline solar panels contain cells made up of multiple silicon crystal fragments fused together. The cells have a speckled blue square appearance on the panels. Thin-film solar cells use ultra-thin sheets of photovoltaic material on glass panels. Thin-film panels have a uniform dark blue or black tone.
While monocrystalline panels are slightly more efficient, polycrystalline and thin-film are also good options. Your installer will help pick the solar panel type best matched to your roof size, shape, shading, and local weather conditions.
Choosing The Right System Size
The size of your solar system directly affects how much of your home’s electricity requirements it provides. System sizes range from small 2–3-kilowatt setups to cover household basics to larger 10–15-kilowatt systems covering most needs. With current technology, a typical suburban home requires 20-30 panels rated around 300 watts each for a robust 7–8-kilowatt system.
Your installer will analyze your past utility bills and household energy use to properly size your system. You can always start smaller and expand later on. The goal is to have your solar panels offset at least 50-90% of your home’s annual electric consumption.
Maximizing Available Space
Besides traditional rooftop arrays, homes have other options for going solar too. Fences, patios, and garages offer usable areas for mounting panels in backyards or side yards. Ground-based pole mounts work great for awkward roofs or rental homes. Some solar systems feature sun-tracking mechanisms that automatically tilt panels to follow the sun’s daily path for improved performance.
Storing Solar Energy
Home energy storage systems let solar households bank surplus electricity rather than just exporting it to the grid. Storage uses batteries to hold excess solar energy generated during the afternoon that can then power your home at night. This solar time-shifting capability reduces reliance on the utility grid.
Battery options range from basic lead-acid to advanced lithium-ion designs. Prices vary widely too, from a few thousand dollars for entry-level batteries to over $10,000 for top-of-the-line units with 13+ kilowatt-hours capacity. For most homes, just 4-8 kWh storage combined with net metering deals are adequate for increasing self-consumption of solar electricity.
Monitoring Your Impact
Monitoring displays and phone apps showcase your real-time solar power generation data. You can view daily, monthly, and lifetime solar statistics to see how much clean energy gets produced. Seeing solar analytics makes you more aware of your energy usage too. This motivates you to be even more efficient by turning off unused lights, upgrading old appliances, etc. Detailed solar monitoring provides that final satisfying confirmation that your household is walking the walk in supporting renewable energy.
Conclusion
Thanks to diverse solar panel options, customizable system sizing, and innovative mounting solutions, rooftop solar works for all homes. Everything about your household setup, from roof type to family size to location, determines what combination is best for you. Experienced solar installers have the expertise to audit your home’s unique attributes to then configure the optimal solar power system. Join the millions going solar each year by researching providers in your region today.