Solar Lighting for Residential
What's the best for you?
Whether your goal is to generate your own clean energy, increase your home’s appraisal value, save money on your electric bill, or all of the above—investing in a small-scale solar electric system is a wise decision. A small solar electric system—or distributed generation (DG)—can produce reliable, emission-free energy for your home or business. However, it is important to make sure that your solar photovoltaic (PV) system is correctly sized, sited, installed and maintained, in order to maximize your energy performance.
Once you make the commitment to go solar, the next step is determining how big your solar PV system must be to meet your home electricity needs. “There’s no one-size-fits-all,” says Jake Greig, chief operating officer, ClearWorld.
Start by reviewing your electricity bills over the past year to get an idea of your typical electricity usage measured in kilowatt hours. For example in 2011 the average American household used 11,280 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year, reports the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Many utility companies also offer complimentary energy audits, as this can provide greater insight into your family’s energy use habits.
After you know how much electricity your household utilizes, you have to decide the amount of energy you want to offset. While 100 percent seems appealing, it may not be financially feasible or practical due to space constraints. As a general rule, 100 square feet of solar panels will generate 1 kilowatt (kW) of electricity—but only when the sun is high and perpendicular to the panels.
The amount of power generated by a solar system at a particular site depends on how much of the sun's energy reaches it. Most residential solar electric systems require between 50 square feet (for small "starter" systems) and 1,000 square feet. Commercial systems may require even more surface area or rooftop space. to operate at maximum strength — but what if you live in Seattle or simply have a heavily shaded yard? It’s not quite as simple, but you can still have solar-powered lights, even in a fully shaded area. A solar or landscape lighting pro can help position a remote photovoltaic panel on your roof or in a sunnier area of your yard, which can then be wired to the lights in the shady area.
If there simply isn’t much sunlight to be gathered, even on the roof (for example, you live somewhere like Seattle or Portland), the solar lights will still work, but they won’t shine as brightly or for as long each evening.
Many people assume that the bigger their solar PV system, the more savings they’ll generate. While the benefits are undoubtedly greater with more solar panels, other factors may be considered before covering every inch of your roof in photovoltaics.
“To make the most of your solar power, the key is to implement simple energy efficiency strategies,”
advises the ClearWorld team. For example, rather than investing in a massive rooftop solar array, homeowners could integrate energy-efficient heaters, solar hot water systems or design features such as strategically-placed vents and insulation.