Setting up a Solar Power System for your Home
Free power for many many years. Freedom from utility bills. Smile! As you know that power consumed from a solar system has zero carbon emissions.
Enjoy your independence. You can achieve all this by powering your home with a Solar system.
In this guide, we walk you through the list of steps that you might need to think about, before taking the plunge in order to get off the grid or reduce your dependence on the grid.
Enjoy your independence. You can achieve all this by powering your home with a Solar system.
In this guide, we walk you through the list of steps that you might need to think about, before taking the plunge in order to get off the grid or reduce your dependence on the grid.
In order to plan a solar power system for your home, you would need to think about the following
- Calculate Loads
First, you’ll need to find out how much power you’re currently using. This really comes down to just one figure: the number of Kilowatt-Hours (kWh) that you use each month. One kWh = 1 unit of electricity.
So think of all the appliances that you want to be powered by solar. And find out how much power each appliance consumes in kWh to find out the total load.
Here is an example. - 4 tube lights, say each consuming 40 watts an hour. 4 * 40 = 160 W per hour. Lets say you use them for 4 hours per day.
- So the total power consumed by the tube lights in 4 hours would be 16 * 4 = 640 Watt hours
- 2 fans, say each consuming 20 watts an hour. 2 * 20 = 40 W per hour. Lets say u use them for 4 hours per day.
So the total power consumed by the fans in 4 hours would be 40 * 4 = 80 Watt hours - 1 exhaust fan, which consumes 20 watts an hour. 1 * 20 = 20 W per hour. Lets say u use it for 1 hour per day.
So the total power consumed by the exhaust fan would be 20 * 1 = 20 Watt hours - 2 TV. Lets assume they consume 60 watts an hour. 2 * 60 = 120 W per hour. Lets say u use them for 3 hours per day
So the total power consumed by the TV's would be 120 * 3 = 360 Watt hours - 1 Computer, which consumes 70 watts an hour. 1 * 70 = 70 W per hour, lets say i use the computer for 8 hours per day.
So the total power consumed by the computer would be 70 * 8 = 560 Watt hours - 1 Big Refrigerator. A modern energy star refrigerator uses less than 100 watts for cooling. So, 100 W per hour.
So the total power consumed by the refrigerator running 24 hours would be 100 * 24 = 2400 Watt Hours (2.4 kWh)
640 + 80 + 20 + 360 + 560 + 2400 = 4060 Watt hours (Just over 4 units a day!)
- Calculate Required Solar Input
We live in India, so we get intense solar radiation, lets expect a usable average of around 7 peak sun hours per day.
Required solar panel input = (4060 Wh / 7h) * 1.4 = 812 W
To ensure that adequate power is produced in the monsoon months, use a figure of around 4 to 4.5 peak sun hours per day
instead of 7.
- Select Solar Panels
Select solar panels to provide a minimum of 812 W.
7 x 125 W solar panels chosen which, when connected in series, will provide 875 W
Also remember, the watts on a solar panel is max. watts, this sort of power is created from a panel in a laboratory when they do flash tests on panels. 1000 W of light, under specified conditions. We will almost never get that on any kind of a roof. So select an extra panel for your needs. - Select Inverter
An inverter would take the electrical power produced by the solar panel which is “Direct Current” (DC) and convert it to the form of electricity that your house uses, called “Alternating Current” (AC).
Select an inverter that is more than capable of supplying the maximum anticipated combined AC load required.
So for this setup you will only need a 1000 W inverter. - Select Battery
Battery would be needed if you want to use your appliances at night. Everything you generate during daytime and doesn't get used right away, will be stored in the battery for later use.
A 12 volt 500 amp hour (AH) battery will give us 6000 watt hours worth of energy. Even say at "safe” 70% capacity, we will get approx 4200 watt hours of energy from battery.
So a 12 volt 500 amp hour (AH) battery would do great in this case.
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The cost of Battery is almost half the cost of the Solar Power system setup.
There will be Zero recurring cost for changing batteries every 2 to 5 yrs. This is excellent if there is net-metering as you will feed into the grid for 10 to 12hrs and use less power during night |
Conclusion
So you can follow these basic guidelines, while planning for a solar system for your home.
Also lots can change in the future. If Net Metering is implemented in India, then you wont need a battery to store your energy. This will mean the cost of setting up will be half as the cost of batteries is half the investment. Everything you generate during daytime and doesn't get used right away, can be given back to the grid and they would pay you for the energy your panels generate! Then at night, you can use the energy from the grid.
These are exciting times!!
So you can follow these basic guidelines, while planning for a solar system for your home.
Also lots can change in the future. If Net Metering is implemented in India, then you wont need a battery to store your energy. This will mean the cost of setting up will be half as the cost of batteries is half the investment. Everything you generate during daytime and doesn't get used right away, can be given back to the grid and they would pay you for the energy your panels generate! Then at night, you can use the energy from the grid.
These are exciting times!!