Before installing solar panels, you will certainly want to consider whether or not the solar panels will be able to provide enough electricity for your home’s use. This usually entails calculating how much energy the solar panels can produce. But for calculating the capacity of solar panels, many people do not know how to do so. However, in this article, we will introduce you to the calculation of solar panel capacity and related issues.
1. How to calculate the energy produced by solar panels?
Determine the wattage of the solar panel: The wattage of the solar panel directly determines how much energy the solar panel can produce.
Know the local peak sunshine hours: Peak sunshine hours will be longer near the equator and shorter in higher dimensions. Peak sunshine hours for specific areas can be found on the link below.
Roughly estimate the efficiency of your solar system: If you have an off-grid system, you only need to roughly estimate the efficiency of the solar inverter and solar battery. But if you have a hybrid solar system, the sum of the efficiencies of the inverter, solar battery, and grid delivery is the solar system efficiency. You can use the formula below to calculate the amount of energy your solar panels can produce. And you only need to know the first two figures.
Solar panel’s energy production = solar panel’s wattage * peak sunlight hours
Assuming that your solar panel has a wattage of 500W and that the peak sunshine duration in your area is 4h, then the energy that your solar panel can produce is 500W*4h=2000Wh.
If you want to calculate the usable energy produced by the solar panel, you can use the following formula to calculate.
Solar panel’s energy production = solar panel’s wattage * peak sunshine hours * solar system’s efficiency
The efficiency of your solar system is 80%, so the amount of usable energy produced by your solar panels is 500W*4h*80%=1600Wh.
If you want to calculate how much energy your solar system produces as a whole, just multiply the number of solar panels on top of the original.
2. What affects the capacity of solar panels?
Types of solar panels: Different types of solar panels have different photovoltaic conversion efficiencies. These types are monocrystalline silicon solar panels, polycrystalline silicon solar panels, thin film solar panels.
Monocrystalline solar panels have a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of more than 20%.
Polycrystalline solar panels have a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 15 to 18 percent.
Thin-film solar panels have a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 6% to 15%.
Peak sunlight hours: The longer a solar panel can be exposed to sunlight, the more electricity it will generate. If you use a 500W solar panel in an area with 3h of peak sunlight, the amount of electricity generated will be much lower than if someone else uses the same wattage solar panel in an area with 5h of peak sunlight.
Ambient Temperature: Generally speaking, solar panels will have their maximum power generation efficiency between 15°C and 35°C. Beyond this range, the power generation efficiency of solar panels decreases. The specific decrease is also related to the temperature correction factor of the solar panel. If your solar panel has a temperature correction factor of -0.5%, this means that when the temperature exceeds every 1°C of the operating temperature range, the power generation efficiency of the solar panel will decrease by 0.5%.
Efficiency of solar battery and inverters: For inverters, which are required in almost all solar systems, the efficiency of inverters in converting DC power to AC power is not 100%, so there will be losses in this process. For solar battery, in off-grid or hybrid solar systems, power needs to be stored in the battery, because solar battery have a self-discharge rate, there will be a loss of energy in the storage process.
3. Ways to maximize solar panel capacity
Each solar panel will have a power rating and photovoltaic conversion efficiency, but only the following part of the factors that affect the power generation of solar panels. If you want to increase the power generation capacity of solar panels. You can first choose solar panels with higher photoelectric conversion efficiency. Then you can possibly install your solar panel in a place where the sunlight can shine directly, which basically can provide you with the power generation capacity of the solar panel. However, you will also need to clean your solar panels on a regular basis in order to reduce the decay rate of the solar panels in the later stages of use.
Conclusion:
There are many factors that affect the power generation of solar panels, such as the local peak sunshine hours, the installation location, the type of solar panels, etc. You need to consider all the elements together in order to increase the power generation of solar panels efficiently. If this is too much trouble for you, you can also hire a professional to design a solar system for you.
FAQ
If you find the above calculations too cumbersome, you can just install a separate meter for your solar panels and you will know the capacity of your solar panels directly. In addition to this method, you can also install an online monitoring tool for your solar system, so you can check how much power your solar panels are generating in real time on your cell phone or computer.
When you know the approximate daily capacity of your solar panels, you can design a more reliable power system for your home and reduce your electricity bill. If you plan to upgrade your solar system at a later date, it will also be easier to install.
