To accurately determine the size of your solar energy system, a range of factors should be considered, including total energy consumption, available subsidies, roof size, and budget.
How to Choose the Right Size Solar Energy System
The first step towards choosing the right size solar energy system is understanding your energy consumption. Start by looking at some of your energy bills throughout the year – as average energy usage changes during different seasons. Electricity bills clearly display daily consumption in a graph or a chart. If daily consumption is not represented clearly, you can calculate averages based on the total amount of energy used during the month. The average daily use for a typical home with reasonable use of air conditioning or heating is around 15kWh to 25kWh. It is the average daily energy usage that typically determines the size of solar energy system required. For example, a home using 20-25kWh of energy a day will typically require a 5-6kW system to generate the required amount of energy.
After understanding your energy usage, you can decide what percentage of that consumption you wish to offset by solar energy. Most of us are at work, school, or out during the day, thus we use most of our energy in the early morning or afternoon and evening when our solar energy system is producing less energy. Maximising the use of your solar energy and savings may require the installation of a home battery so that surplus energy can be stored during the day and used in the evening. Your battery should be sized to match your evening needs. Once you have a clear picture of your energy needs it is important to check your rooftop for size and direction to see how large your PV system can be.