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Finally decided to go solar? Fantastic! You’ll find some great energy savings in your close future. Plan on installing them yourself? There are a few things you need to know prior to purchasing them. Read on for more information. In order to determine how many panels you’ll actually need, you’ll have to do some homework. The first thing you’ll need to know is your daily watts. This is the amount of power you use every day. Don’t just go with one day. Check out a year’s worth of electric bills so that you’ll know your highs and lows. The second thing you’ll need to figure out is how much sunlight your roof get daily. Does it get more in the morning? Or, does it get more in the afternoon? Come up with a conservative yearly average. Remember, there are longer days in the summer and shorter in the winter. If you’re having trouble figuring this out, look online. There are a lot of calculators that can give you a helping hand. Now that you have your information, it’s time to figure how many solar panels you’ll need. Take your daily watts divided by the hours you receive sunlight. This give you the number of watts that should be generated in one hour. This is the number that will determine the amount of panels. Solar panel ratings are based on this formula, watts per hour. For example, 100W panels produces 100 watts of power for every hour of sunlight. So, if you need 200 watts per hour, then you’ll need two of this kind. Be advised that solar panels come in a wide variety of sizes, so you’ll have to do your research to decide what combination will work for you. The next problem you will have to solve is where the solar panels should go. Walk around your house and see what area gets the most sun. That area is going to be your sweet spot. The next step is to set up a solar budget. How much can you spend that will be overly compensated for by reducing electric bills. It won’t make sense to overspend on the panels so that it’ll take decades to show any profit. Do your research. There are different prices for the panels themselves. Make sure to look at the companies selling them. Make sure they are reputable and will give you the price in writing so that you can compare with other sellers. If they won’t give you a written estimate, walk away. They’re not going to be worth it. You’re going to want these panels to last a long time so I wouldn’t recommend going with the cheapy fly by nighters you find at the local flea market. Whoopee! You now have your panels and are ready to put them up. Don’t be shy! Ask your friends, family, neighbors and anyone else you can think of to help. Installing them is going to require muscle, a lot of it. Also, don’t forget to read the instructions. This is a very important point. Make sure to read and understand every word before you start installation. This is not a kid’s bike you’re putting together. Read, don’t just scan. And, pay attention to what you are reading. Once you completely understand, then you can begin. A final piece of advice, save the beer for celebrating after the panels are all up. You don’t want to be dropping hammers and screwdrivers on your new panels. Good luck, get started and go green! Thank you for reading. You can find us on Facebook at Solar Energy Lovers and our website at How to Build a Solar Panel Yourself. Stop by and have a look around. Thanks again for reading. Shelia Lirette
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