What You Need To Know When Considering Solar Electricity For Your Home

Renewable energy sources are a great way to reduce the cost of powering your home throughout the year, but there are some things that you need to know when considering solar panel installation. Using solar power to offset the electricity you purchase from the utility or convert your home entirely to solar power can have some challenges. You may need to make some decisions based on where you live, the property you own, and the amount of energy you want to generate. 

Solar Collection

When considering solar energy for your home, you must consider solar panel installation carefully. Most solar contractors will spend some time with you assessing the property to ensure that you have the right conditions for solar collection and what the power generation potential is for your home. 

Typically, solar panels are mounted high up on a roof to ensure they have a good line of sight to the sky and have the most time in the sun during the day. Panels blocked by trees or shaded during some parts of the day can reduce the potential energy collection for the entire solar system, and adjustments may be necessary to remedy the situation. 

Trimming trees, moving the panels to another location, or solar panel installation on a ground-based carry may work better for you. Your contractor will discuss these concerns during the site assessment and determine the best way to maximize the solar collection potential for your home. 

Power Demands

When assessing the site, the solar contractor will also want to discuss your current energy usage in your home to determine how many solar panels are necessary to power your home. The best way to determine the home's energy use is to look over the utility bills for the previous year and average them to determine the use potential over time and by season.

If you live in an area with cold winters, you may use more power in those months, and that can be a problem because the days are shorter, so the amount of solar energy you can collect is lower. To combat the situation, the contractor may recommend more solar panels in the system. That may mean solar panel installations covering a large portion of the roof on several sides. 

If your home sits in a position to allow solar panel installation on the south, west, and north sides of the home, you can maximize the exposure in the winter months. In some cases, you can use the roof of a garage or outbuilding for additional panels. If necessary, the contractor can also add solar panels to a stand in the yard that will help collect sun when it is lower on the horizon and help provide that additional boost you need during the short winter days.

For more information on the benefits of solar panel installation, contact a company near you.