How many solar panels do I need?
How many solar panels do I need?
So, you’re about to join the many people who’ve done their bit for the planet – and their pocket – by switching to solar power. Or maybe you’re exploring solar for the first time. No doubt one of the questions you’ll ask yourself is: “how many solar panels do I need?”
In this blog, we will show a simple way of working this out, based on how much energy you use in your home.
So, how many solar panels do I need?
To find out the answer to this we first need to look at how much power is used by different types of home in the UK. This table shows the average annual energy use per home, across the country.
| Home Type | Energy Usage (kWh) |
|---|---|
| Mid-terrace | 2,779 |
| Flat | 2,829 |
| End terrace | 3,442 |
| Semi-detached | 3,847 |
| Bungalow | 3,866 |
| Detached | 4,135 |
All electricity use is accounted for in the above figures, but they don’t include space heating (or storage heaters used to warm parts of the home) so you may need to factor a bit more in if you use electricity in this way.
The most accurate way you can find out how much electricity your home uses is to look at an energy bill or speak to your supplier about how many kWh you typically use. This will give you an exact figure to work with.
But how many solar panels do I need?
Well, armed with that information, you can now start to make calculations as to how many solar panels you will need on your roof. If we take the UK average household energy usage of 3,800 kWh as a baseline, we can see that just 10 400 kWh panels will be enough to reach that demand.
But what about smaller or less capacitive panels? Take 250 kWh panels, for example. You would need 16 of them to meet the average demand (and more if your home uses more electricity than average, of course).
If you typically use a lot of electricity, it is probably worth investing in higher-output panels – ones that can generate more than 300 kWh. The other benefit to this is that you will require fewer of the panels to meet your energy needs, leaving more of your roof uncovered.
We make it easy
Other things to consider when asking yourself ‘how many solar panels do I need?’ include the size of your roof and its orientation, whether your energy demands are above or below average, and the maximum power output of the solar panels you’re thinking of buying. It’s also worth remembering that you don’t need to meet your entire energy demands with solar: it can be used to supplement other energy use in a cheaper and greener way.
After a few quick calculations, you should have a good idea of how many solar panels you will need on your roof.
Of course, our team of experts love to help customers, so when you book a Project Solar UK consultation, our representative will take care of all the above maths, as well as advising on the best solar configuration for your property and needs. This means you can be sure you’re getting the best combination of a cost-effective and highly efficient solar system.
For more information and to speak to a consultant today, get in touch now.
