How Much Solar Do I Need?

This is a common question we receive from people who are looking into solar. Contrary to popular belief, how much solar you need is not dependent on your home size; instead the most important initial sizing factor is how much power is being used in your home.

READ: Solar System Sizing Myths

The “average” American home uses 830 kwh of electricity per month. But that number doesn’t mean much to your solar installer – remember, averages are just adding together the available bills and dividing by the number of homes. An average number doesn’t account for your region, electrical usage, habits, priorities, base fees and taxes, or your power needs.

There are also other variables when it comes to determining your perfect solar system size and because of this, it is difficult to size a system without at least some analysis. We need to know how much roof space you have, how much light hits the side of your roof where panels will go, and what your current electrical service is. Two identical homes next door to each other can have very different power needs based on the people and activities going on inside them. All of these things impact the design of your solar system, and can’t be accounted for without looking at your annual electrical usage or doing a detailed analysis of all of the electricity using items in your home. A skilled solar system designer looks at your electrical information, then takes into consideration your available roof space, your budget considerations, local regulations, and utility policies, to design the best system to meet your goals.

Solar power systems should always be tailored to the individual home or business; and you should be wary of cookie-cutter system proposals. At Fire Mountain Solar, we put a lot of analysis and care into each proposal because we know that every home’s needs and each homeowner’s goals are different.