What size solar panel do I need?
There are numerous sizes of solar panels available. However, due to solar panel manufacturers producing larger panels, it would be best to buy 450W panels and up.
How many solar panels do I need?
The average household uses between six and fourteen 455W solar panels and up to around twenty-three panels for bigger homes. But, it depends on the space you have available, your electricity usage and the parameters of your inverter.
How to calculate solar system size?
Find your average monthly usage in kW, divide that by 30 (days in the month) then divide that number by 5.5 (average peak sun hours per day in South Africa). This will give you the size of the array that you’ll need. Then you take your array size and divide that by the watt rating of a panel like a 455W panel to find out how many solar panels you’ll need.
Example:
- 900kWh average monthly usage / 30 days = 30kWh daily usage
- 30kWh / 5.5 average maximum production hours = 5454.54kWh array size needed
- 5454.54kWh / 455W solar panel rating = 11.988 solar panels needed so round it up to 12.
How long do solar panels last?
Solar Panels can last 20 years and sometimes even up to 30 years. Ensuring that your system is in good health, you should see your solar equipment running smoothly well into the future.
How many panels in a 5kw solar system?
The number of panels you will need within a 5kW system is entirely dependent on the parameters of the inverter. You will first need to check what the maximum PV array input is and secondly, check the voltage ranges of the inverter. You do not want to exceed either of those 2 parameters.
Which direction should solar panels face in South Africa?
Your solar panels should be in the sun all day to be able to produce solar power. So north-facing is best in South Africa. However, if your roof is not north-facing, you can still produce solar power by installing two arrays, one on the east and one on the west-facing roof. That way your east-facing array will produce solar power in the morning and your west-facing roof will produce solar power in the afternoon. To do this, you will need a high voltage inverter with 2 MPPTs or 1 MPPT with a combiner box.
