Calculating your solar energy needs with a super solar calculator can help you keep track of your solar consumption. While most people prefer solar power as an alternative energy source, it often comes with a few setbacks.
For example, determining how much electricity you need can be a challenge. With traditional electricity, you don’t have to worry about how much power you consume. You only have to plug in your electrical appliances and wait for the monthly bill.
However, with solar energy, you must be sure that your solar panels and batteries are sized accordingly to meet your family’s power consumption. That’s why, in this post, we want to show you how to calculate your solar needs with Renogy’s super solar calculator.
How to Use Renogy’s Solar Calculator
We designed Renogy’s super solar calculator to help simplify the solar calculation process. This way, you can keep track of your hourly, daily, weekly, and even monthly solar power usage. Renogy Solar Calculator is a smart system sizer with an easy-to-use interface that lets you calculate how much solar power you need to power up the following:
- Home
- RV
- Boat
- Cabin
- Travel kit
That said, follow these steps to get started.
- Step 1:Select the appliances you want to power up and move them to ” My Appliances box.” The Renogy Super Solar Calculator will automatically perform average estimates for those products.
- Step 2: To manually adjust amps, watts, and volts, click on any appliance in the “My appliance” box. Compare Renogy’s super solar calculator estimates with those recommended on your product’s label. You can also adjust how many hours a day you’ll be using the appliance, so the Solar Calculator tool can estimate the overall number of watt-hours your system should produce.
- Step 3: On the “Customize” option, click “Recommendations” for different applications. For example, you can choose solar systems for vans and RVs or larger applications scaled to power cabins, tiny houses, or sheds. Next, click the “Customization” button to select which solar panels you need and different solar system components you can use as add-ons.
- Step 4: Add your zip code on the upper right corner of your user interface to enable the Solar Calculator to make estimates based on the level of sunshine available in your area. For example, if you live in St. Pete, Florida, you’re likely to receive more sunlight than if you were based in Yakima, Washington.
- Step 5: Once you’re done making your selection, the “Consumption” box will combine the total wattage all your appliances will consume based on your customized estimates or the super solar calculator estimates. At the bottom of the system’s UI, you’ll see images and names of products the super solar calculator recommends for you. Click the “Add to Cart” button to add those items to your shopping cart, or click the “Clear Cart” button to remove them.
How To Calculate The Total Watts That Your Electronics Will Consume
You can accurately calculate the total watts (W) consumption in your home using the Renogy solar cost calculator. To do this, create a list of all your appliances and record the watts consumed daily. For example, if you have a 100-watt TV that you use for three hours a day, your daily watt usage would be 300.
However, if you find the process of recording the daily watt usage of each appliance a little tedious, you can reference your monthly utility bills. Note that your monthly energy bills don’t show energy usage in watt-hours but kilowatt-hours (kWh).
Therefore, to determine your watt-hours, multiply your kWh by 1000. If your monthly electricity bill reads 800 kWh, that translates into 800,000 watt-hours per month. In a day, that would be around 27,000 watt-hours per day.
Solar Panel Cost Per Watt
If using solar power is worth your energy needs, you’ll first need to determine the cost of your solar panel per watt. Solar panels come in different sizes. The smallest has a capacity of 400 watts per panel.
The cost of each panel per watt depends on the number and size of panels you need. On average, the solar panel cost per watt can be $2.25 to $3.25. Learn more about solar panel calculators.
How Do I Calculate How Much Solar Power I need?
When you want to determine the amount of solar energy you need, you’ll have to look at your average monthly energy usage.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that the average electricity consumption per residential utility customer in 2019 was 10,649 kWh.
That translates into 877 kWh per month. To understand your energy needs, you should evaluate your energy consumption for the past twelve months. Divide that number by 12, and the result is how much solar power you need.
How to Figure Out Your Average Sun Hours Per Day
Each part of the country receives different amounts of sunshine. To determine how many hours of sunshine your location receives, you’ll have to determine the peak hours of sunshine. These sun hours are when the sunlight is 1,000 watts per square meter.
In most parts of the country, you can receive between 3-6 hours of sun. Otherwise, you can use the insolation meter to get more sun hours. Once you know how many sun hours your area receives, you can purchase the ideal number of solar panels to suit your needs.
Grid-Tie Vs. Off-Grid Solar System
Every energy system requires a storage place for the energy generated. Your panels will generate power when the sun is up, but in the evening, you’ll still need to power up your home.
You can store your energy in a grid-tied system or off-grid system. The difference between grid-tied and off-grid solar depends on where you store your system’s energy.
Grid-tied systems allow you to store the energy you generate to your utility grid. The panels feed the grid with sufficient power for later use. Off-grid systems use alternative storage such as a battery bank to provide dedicated energy storage.
How Much Do Solar Panels Cost Overall?
Using the Renogy solar cost calculator to determine your average power consumption helps you budget for your overall power needs. Each home requires a different amount of power. For example, a 2,000 square foot home requires solar panels costing $ 15,000 and $40,000.
However, the average US home is 1,500 square feet and consumes monthly electricity worth $100. On average, such a home requires a 6-kilowatt solar panel system and 15-18 350-watt solar panels.
The total cost for such a solar system would be around $18,000. You can expect to break even after seven years, saving $2,500 per year on energy expenses.
Conclusion
Solar energy is the future. More and more Americans are switching to alternative energy to save money, preserve the environment and enjoy cleaner, reliable energy.
Knowing how to calculate your solar energy costs is essential to using affordable, renewable energy. Using the Renogy solar cost calculator tool helps you understand your overall energy consumption and budget accordingly.
Talk to us for more information on solar installations, solar panel kits, and all your solar energy needs. Our services are available to all US customers.
We also have international websites for customers in other countries. Feel free to browse our Renogy online store for solar energy appliances and more.
