Home Removal Services Blog

With green living becoming more and more important, many people are starting to install home solar power to supplement their power, and reduce their electric expenses.

But how much solar panel watt power do we need to say halve our power bills? And how much will that power cost us to install?

Here is a simple 4-step formula to help you calculate your home’s solar panel watt requirements and costs:

1 – What Is Your Daily Power Consumption?:

To work out how much power you use on an average daily basis, this is what you have to do: First go back and look at your past 12 months electricity bills. Then work out the average kilowatt hours (kWh) used per month. The reason we do this is because we use different amounts of power throughout the year. The calculation is month 1 + month 2 + month 3 etc… then divide that by 12. If you do not have all the statements, just use last month’s bill.

Now take your average kwH per month and divide that by 30 to get your average kWh per day.

- So for example: If you have a monthly power consumption of 800 kWh, then your daily amount is 800/30= 26.7 kWh per day.

- Now if you want to only halve your power bill then you need to produce 26.7 / 2 = 13.4 kWh of solar panel watt power per day.

2 – Work Out Your Solar Panel Watt Requirements:

To do this, you first need to determine how many usable hours of sunlight your area receives per day. This is where a solar insolation map comes in handy – you can view one from our original article on our website.

Now take the average daily kWh calculation and divide that by the number of daily usable sunlight hours, then multiply that by 1.25 (to take into account the wasted energy from wiring, charge controllers. batteries, and inverters).

- Continuing from our example: Our solar panel watt needs equal:

13.4 kWh required / 5.5hrs of insolation x 1.25 = 3.045 kW or 3045 Watts daily.

This tells us that our solar panels must be capable of producing at least 3045 Watts of electricity.

3 – Calculate Solar Panel Watt Costs:

Next you need to work out how much it will cost to buy solar panels that produce at least 3045 Watts. Currently the highest average cost for solar panels in North America is $4.85 a Watt.

- Following on from our example, the solar panels will cost 3045 x 4.85 = $14,768 to only halve our monthly power costs. This excludes the cost of wiring, charge controllers, batteries, inverters, and installation fees.

4 – Offset Tax Credits And Rebates:

Before you think you are going to have to fork out at least $14,768 for only 3045 Watt of solar panel power, you need to consider the effect of government subsidies and incentives.

2009′s Federal renewable energy tax credits came into effect from the beginning of the year, and coupled with the state-side incentives in places like Connecticut, California, New York and New Jersey, the cost of the solar power system will be much less.

- Let’s use our example: If we were from California we would receive tax rebates of about 20% of the cost, and a federal tax credit of 40% on the remainder. So after rebates and credits, our solar panels would cost us:

$14,768 – $14,768 x (20%) – $14,768 x (1 – 20%) x 40% = $7,089.

A word of warning: The formula outlined here will give a rough estimate of what you can expect to pay for your solar panel watt needs. Obviously the costs will differ with regard to special offers, the state you reside in and the contractor you use to install the system.

However, from the example, you can see that for Californian to reduce their power bill by half, they would have to buy $14,768 worth of solar panels, costing them $7089 after rebates. A cheaper option would be to learn to source affordable and even free solar cells, and build your own solar panels. This can be done by following a relatively inexpensive step-by-step solar power manual, such as Earth4Energy.

The favorite thing for your children to do is not going to be moving to a new home and being surrounded by new faces and places. They will go through all kinds of different emotions from fear to hesitation. When moving remember your children will need more attention during this stressful time. There sadness can change by helping them and listening to them. When moving with children address these three main tasks. One, help them get settled. Two, Prepare them for the move. Three, remember their special needs.

Be sure to inform your children of the move as soon as you can. This way there is more time to think and react. They may be sad to start, but as time goes on it will go away and they will be ready for the move.

Be sure your children are sharing their feelings about the move. They are going to have anxiety and fears that should be discussed. Be sure they know you are also concerned about the move and your new job and city and all. They will feel like they arent alone.

If your children are older enough, try to evade their uncertainties and make them think about the prospective positives associated with the move.

Help the children prepare a list of contact information about their friends and people they care. Assure your children that their relationship with these people need not be cut off altogether and could be maintained. This will make the children happy and relieved. After all they are more loving than the grownups. Isn’t it?

Getting the children apparently involved in the moving is the key. Talk with them about the new home. Ask their suggestions. Show them the pictures of the new home. If possible take them once to the new home and let them get a feel of new neighborhood. This will help the young hearts to handle the issue much easier.