Solar energy is everywhere, we do not have to pay “anyone” for it, it is an inexhaustible source of energy. Thanks to the use of photovoltaic cells united in solar panels, we can transform solar energy into electrical energy for residential or commercial use, anywhere in the world.
Solar energy has been used gradually, more and more frequently, in all the countries of the world, and as more of these “photovoltaic cells” are manufactured, they are falling more and more in price while competition between manufacturers gives way to invent better products with the highest manufacturing standards and the highest electrical power production capabilities as possible.
Originally designed to be used in rural areas and places where conventional electrical wiring did not reach, currently the use of solar energy has already become present in almost all the main cities of the world; and little by little it is definitively replacing conventional electrical wiring, definitively replacing traditional electrical energy with solar energy.
With the use of this inexhaustible source of energy, humanity not only protects the environment and the ecosystem, but also allows us to save enormous amounts of money on our electricity bills.
The necessary mechanism to take advantage of this type of energy is very simple, and the installation of solar panels is no more difficult than installing a television antenna on the roof of a house. But unlike television antennas, solar panels can be installed anywhere, on the ground, walls or roof, or anywhere that sunlight reaches.
How feasible and economical is the use of solar panels?
This depends on some factors among which we would have to determine the following:
- Your electricity consumption habits;
- The daily hours of available solar radiation; and,
- The space available to install the solar panels.
These 3 factors must be carefully taken into account to determine if it is feasible to transition your electrical energy from a third-party provider to your self-supply of solar energy.
1.- Your electricity consumption habits
To determine the number of solar panels, the space required for the installation, and the total cost of the installation, it is necessary to discover, as accurately as possible, your current daily electrical energy consumption.
To accurately know your average daily consumption of electricity in kWh, (Example: 36 kWh), carefully review the electricity consumption form provided by the company that provides your electricity service to determine how many kWh you consume on average each day.
Example: If your bill says you consume 2,345 kWh per month, then divide 2,345 / 30 = 78.17 kWh/day
This information is very important because this way we will know how many solar panels we are going to need so that you can self-provide this service without sacrificing your consumption habits. Obviously, the use of solar panels brings with it a variant that you did not have before, (or it was not very important), and it is that solar panels have an average limit and a maximum limit of energy production which you should try to keep your consumption below those limits, so you don’t have to continue using external energy.
2.- The daily hours of solar radiation
If solar panels are going to be installed on the roof, you must be sure of how many hours a day the roof is exposed to the sun. You should not count the hours that the sun has been blocked by trees or other nearby buildings. For example: in the worst case, the sun rises at 7:00 a.m. and hides at 5:00 p.m. this is a total of 10 hours per day. If the sun touched the roof of the building at 12:00 noon, then we would only have 5 hours of sun exposure per day. The best way to know this is to put your feet in the exact area where you want to place the solar panels and see for yourself the number of hours per day that the sun touches the surface of the exact place where you want to install the panels. Note: It is not when the sun rises in the morning and sets in the afternoon, but the number of hours that the sun directly touches the surface where you are going to place the panels.
3.- The space available to install the solar panels
We must accurately measure the area available for the installation of solar panels. Since solar panels differ greatly in size, shape, weight, and features, depending on various factors such as the number of cells per panel, storage power, materials used, type of framing, security system, finishes, etc. We must be sure how many panels we will need to meet the demands of electricity consumption during the hours of solar exposure, and thus be able to choose the appropriate panels, depending on the maximum area available for the installation.
If the area is very small, then we would have to install panels with a higher voltage capacity, which are much more expensive than medium and low voltage ones, but even so, it is much more advisable to install solar panels than to continue paying the high cost of electricity consumption.
If you already have these 3 pieces of information, then you are ready for the next step, which is: determine how many Solar Panels you need, what voltage power you should order, and what dimensions and characteristics you require. Find out now a little more about the different types of Solar Panels that exist and their costs.