Calculation of an autonomous photovoltaic system
How to calculate autonomous photovoltaic system; To calculate the size of your solar photovoltaic system, take your daily energy requirement kWh and divide by the maximum hours of sunshine to get the kW power you need. Then divide the kW output by the output of your panel to get the total number of solar panels for your system. Calculate the electricity use of your home
- Collect your electricity bills for the previous year so you can calculate your average monthly electricity usage. The calculation of an average is necessary because the use of electricity peaks in the warmer months due to the high demand for air conditioning.
- Add kWhs for all 12 months and divide the number by 12 to determine the average monthly energy consumption.
- Divide the monthly amount by 30 to determine your daily kWh usage.
| Device | Watt | Hours / day | Watt-hour / Day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two 60W incandescent lights | 120w | 4 | 480W / hour |
| Exterior fluorescent light | 20w | 6 | 120W / hour |
| Ceiling fan | 50w | 4 | 200W / hour |
| Led TV 42 ″ | 70w | 4 | 280W / hour |
| Laptop laptop | 50w | 6 | 300W / hour |
| Wi-Fi router | 10w | 6 | 60W / hour |
| Total: 1440W / hrs |
OPTIONAL: To more accurately estimate your home's electricity needs, make a list of all your appliances, indicating the power consumption for each one and whether it is AC or DC. Keep track of how many hours you use each of these devices per week, and then, for each device, multiply the watts by the hours / week to determine the number of hours-hours per week you use each device. Alternatively, you can calculate the power consumption for specific devices by installing a power display between the device and the socket. If you leave the monitor in place for a week, you will have the watt hours of the device per week. Enter the data you have collected into a load-sized worksheet (see Resources). Work through the rest of the worksheet calculations to determine the total number of Amp hours per day your devices use. Determine solar insulation
- Locate a solar insulation board to determine the amount of sunlight, the average number of hours per day that the sun produces sharp sunlight (or an accumulation of all sunlight equivalent to that amount of peak sunlight), for your area .
- Find your nearest city on the table and write the average daily number. To determine specific data for solar radiation for individual days of the year, use the Atmosphere-Ocean model of NASA. ()
Calculate energy needs
- Connect the figure from Section 1, Step 3 "Daily kWh" to the following calculation. Use the average value of solar radiation from Section 2, Step 2 for the "# hours" to determine how many kW you need to produce your solar system per day: Daily kWh / # hours = # kW e.g. 12/4 = 3
- Connect the answer from the previous step to the following calculation, which corresponds to typical energy losses of solar photovoltaic systems: # kW x 1.3 (increase of photovoltaic system size by 30%) = # kW (actual size of photovoltaic system you need) e.g. 3 x 1.3 = 3.9 In this example, you will need a 3,9 kW solar photovoltaic system to meet the energy needs of your home.
Total number of solar panels To calculate the size of your solar photovoltaic system, take your daily energy requirement kWh and divide by the maximum hours of sunshine to get the kW power you need. Then divide the kW output by the output of your panel to get the total number of solar panels for your system. Once you know the number of panels you need, the next step is to determine if you can place them all on your roof and if you have the right type of roof to put panels on. Autonomous photovoltaic system calculation Selection of solar panel system
- Measure how much space you have to place your solar panels.
- Decide on a budget for your system.
- Find a system that meets your power requirements but still fits your space constraints. This will determine if you need a system on the roof or on the ground ,
- Read our guide to selection of the solar power installation program .
At purchase of a photovoltaic system, Please note that warranties range from 10 to 25 years. If you do not have the money to buy a longer term system, make sure it pays off at least your initial investment in energy savings. Also, remember to consider the many incentives on offer. Switch to solar and every time you look at the sun you will have one more reason to thank it.
