When a person decides to switch to solar it usually has a few motives behind. It can be wanting to get rid of the electricity bill, reducing the carbon footprints you make, or it can be to maximize your ROI. Mostly the homeowners are looking to save money on their electricity bills and reduce carbon footprints.
How Many Solar Panels Do I Need for My Home?
One of the questions that come to the mind of a person when they decide to go solar is, “How many solar panels do I need for my home?” The number of solar panels a person requires depends upon the electricity they use, the efficiency of the panels and the square foot size of the installation area.
We will see all the factors and how they affect the number of solar panels you need to have to accomplish your purpose of getting solar plates installed. All the values that are used in the tables are estimated values from our calculations and experiences in more than 2500 projects all over Pakistan.
Based On Your Electricity Bill Units
The first and foremost criteria to calculate how many solar plates are needed to achieve your goal is to take account of your electricity bills. We recommend having a record of the past 12 months of bills because it varies throughout the year having different peak and valleys. Electricity is mostly used during the summers in Pakistan as air conditioning is required.
You can have an idea by looking at your bill, as the kWh usage of a day will decide how much solar panels are needed. You can find the unit value here on your bill.
The system you will need is as following:
| Monthly Units(kWh) | Typical system needed(kW) |
| 300 | 2.5 |
| 500 | 3.5 |
| 700 | 5 |
| 1400 | 10 |
| 2100 | 15 |
| 2900 | 20 |
Based on the Appliances
The number of equipment that you want to use at your home also decides the system and the panels you will need. You can use the appliances alternatively when needed, however the systems are calculated based upon the calculations of using all of them simultaneously. The more appliances you want to use the greater the system will be in size. The following table shows the size of the system and the number of the panels for a certain count of appliances.
| AppliancesSystem | Fans | Lights | AC / Iron | Fridge | Water Pump / Washing Machine | LED TV |
| 5 KW | 5 | 10 | 1 / 1 | 1 | 0 / 1 | 1 |
| 10 KW | 10 | 15 | 2 / 1 | 1 | 1 / 1 | 2 |
| 15 KW | 20 | 30 | 3 / 1 | 2 | 1 / 1 | 3 |
| 20 Kw | 20 | 30 | 5 / 1 | 4 | 2 / 2 | 4 |
Based on the Square Foot Size Area
The size of the roof area or the ground area where the system has to be installed also affects the number of solar panels that can be fitted there. This is one of the reasons why Premier Energy recommends using high efficiency panels as they produce more electricity and use less space. If the panels are of low or medium efficiency, and the roof does not allow the installation of enough panels, it will be a total waste of the effort. The following table shows the system that can be installed on a certain area.
| Square Footage | System than can be installed |
| 1100 | 3 kW |
| 1150 | 5 kW |
| 2500 | 10 kW |
| 3600 | 15 kW |
| 5000 | 20 kW |
Panels Based Upon the System
The panels you will need based upon the system you have installed depends upon the following two factors:
Efficiency
A higher efficiency can produce more current in a day as compared to a low efficiency plate.
Production Capacity of the System
The watts per plate capacity decides how much electricity you are getting per plate and thus decides the number of plates required per system.
The following table shows how many solar panels you will need for a particular system that you are going to get installed at your residence.
| Installed System(kW) | Plate (440 W)(Premier’s recommended highest efficiency) | Plate (375 W)(Medium Efficiency) | Plate (315 W)(Low efficiency) |
| 2.5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 3.5 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| 5 | 12 | 14 | 16 |
| 10 | 24 | 27 | 32 |
| 15 | 36 | 40 | 47 |
| 20 | 48 | 55 | 65 |
A Proposed Scenario
Let’s consider a house of 10 Marla (2722 sq. ft.) consumes around 1300 units of electricity monthly. It means the perfect fit for this house would be a 10 kW system. The 10 kW system will consist of only 24 panels (Premier’s recommended high efficiency 440 W).
Premier’s Solar Consultancy
Premier Energy is not only the best solar provider in the country, but we also guide our customers with transparency, clarity and utmost integrity. With our affordable solar solutions, our consultancy service is free of cost and full of required information. Our solar consultants in Pakistan are experienced and skilled engineers who lead you through your solar journey, making it easy and more profitable. You don’t have to spend your time on these calculations and that’s why we not only made this blog, but you can contact us anytime to get a customized proposal, especially and specifically designed for you, based on your requirements.
Pick up the phone, ring us, or come visit us at our office any time to have a sip with us and discuss your solar plan. We guarantee you that this is an investment that will never disappoint you.
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