For renewable energy sources solar energy is an option that can be widely used in homes. However, before buying solar panels, you need to know how many solar panels you need. If you don’t have enough solar panels in your solar system, then you won’t be able to use electricity properly. But if you do not have too much solar energy in your solar panel system, you will need a higher cost. In this article, we will take you through the process of calculating how many solar panels you need for a 2000 square foot (185 square meter) home.
1. How many solar panels do I need for a 2000 square foot home?
For a 2000 square foot home, the square footage of the home is not the square footage where solar panels can be installed. And there will be different solar systems for different roofs. The main types of homes that are currently looking at installing solar panels are sloped color steel or tile roofs and horizontal concrete roofs. Below we will calculate the number of solar panels for each type of roof.
Sloped Color Steel or Tile Roofs
For sloped color steel or tile roofs, we generally place the solar panels directly on the roof flat.
Know the power of the solar system that can be installed on the roof: If you want to install a solar system, you first need to know the power of the solar system. Then you will need the following formula.
Total power of installable solar panels = 210W/m x roof area
For a house of 2000 square feet (185 square meters), you can install a solar system with a power of 210W/m
*185 square meters = 38,850W.
Determine the power of your solar panels: For choosing the power of the solar panels installed on the roof, the size of the solar panels should not be too big. After all, when the size of the solar panels is bigger, the corresponding power will also be bigger, which will make the price of such solar panels more expensive. And large size solar panels are not easy to install. Once you have chosen the power of your solar panel, you will need to use the following formula.
Number of solar panels = total power of the solar panels that can be installed / power of the solar panels
If you are using 550W solar panels, the number of solar panels you need to buy is 38,850/550 ≈ 71.
Summary: So for a 2000 square foot (185 square meter) house with a sloped color steel or tile roof, it can install a solar system with 38,850W of power, and 71 550W solar panels can be installed.
Horizontal Concrete Roofs
For a horizontal concrete roof, most of the time we will mount the solar panels on the roof using brackets and concrete piers, but of course we can also mount the solar panels flat on the roof, which is the same calculation as for a sloped color steel or tile roof, so we won’t introduce it. The main thing is to understand the use of brackets plus cement piers installed on the roof of the calculation.
Understanding the power of the solar system that can be installed on the roof: The way of calculating the power of the solar system that can be installed on the roof is different for these two types of roofs. For a horizontal concrete roof, you will need to use the following formula.
Total power of installable solar panels = 150W/m x roof area
Then the power of the solar system you can install is 150W/m * 185 square meters = 27750W
The rest of the steps are the same as the first calculation, so we will calculate it for you directly without going into too much detail.
If you choose 550W solar panels, then the number of solar panels needed is 27750W/550W=51.
Summary: For a 2000 square foot (185 square meter) house with a horizontal concrete roof, it can install a solar system with 27750W and 51units 550W solar panels!
Conclusion:
After you read this article, I believe you already know how many solar panels are needed for a 2000 square foot (185 square meter) house. For how many solar panels are needed for a house, perhaps because of the power of the solar panels you choose or the type of roof affects the number of solar panels you need for your solar system.
