How many solar panels do you need to run a house?
January 15, 2012 by admin
Filed under Solar Panels
How many solar panels do you need to run an air conditioned house? To be exact, an 3,4000 square foot house? And how much would the total cost be?
If you mean without being connected to the grid you would need a bunch of batteries too.
Depending how much your air conditioner pulls. You would need one heck of a AC inverter to run something heavy like that seeing it pulls hard every time it starts up.Then again you may be able to use a large DC motor to turn a 120v generator providing the power. You would need lots of space in your back yard or roof to set up your panels, and maintenance is also required taking care of them. You also will have to empty your wallet $$$ to buy many panels for this type of operation. Panels normally sell by the wattage they put out.
Depends on how big the house is.
My guess is that your real interest is in saving money? If you are thinking long term, solar electricity can save money if you live in a suitable area. It does not have to run the entire house. A modern system will work side-by-side with the normal power you use today, so whether the solar displaces 10% of your electricity or 100%, you can still save money.
The only way to get an accurate estimate of the financials is to ask a solar installer for a quote. Prices of systems vary widely depending on how much power you want, and the local price of labor.
http://www.dowchemical.com and type in solar house in the search. They have built a very cool solar house complete with solar shingles and the works. It is one mean green machine!