According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average American home goes through almost 900 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per month. And that number can be a whole lot higher in certain states.
If you’re concerned about how much energy your home is using on a monthly basis, you should set out to do something about it. There are steps you can take to save energy so that your electric bills aren’t always through the roof.
One of the best ways to save electricity is by having solar panels installed on the top of your home. You’ll be able to scale way back on the total amount of energy that your home uses and possibly even store energy so that you can utilize it later.
So, just how much energy can you save by going through the solar panel installation process? It’s going to depend on several key factors.
Here are the factors that will affect how much energy you’ll be able to save by going solar.
The Direction Your Home Faces
Do you have a south-facing home? If you do, this should make it very easy for you to save energy by having solar panels put into place.
Generally speaking, south-facing homes will be the ones that will benefit from solar panels the most since they’ll get the most sunlight. You won’t have to worry about solar panels not working the way they should when your home faces the south.
That being said, you can still benefit from going solar in a big way even if your home doesn’t face the south. A good solar panel installation company should be able to put solar panels in the right places so that they get the sunlight they need.
But you aren’t going to be able to save as much energy if your home isn’t south-facing. It’s something to keep in mind if you’re going to be purchasing solar panels for energy conservation purposes.
The Size and Style of Your Roof
Both the size and the style of your roof are going to play a big part in how much energy you’re able to save with solar panels. Why? Well, the size and style of your roof will help to determine how many solar panels you can fit on your roof comfortably.
If you have a very large roof that is easily accessible, a solar panel installation company won’t have any problem filling it up with solar panels. But if you have a small roof or a roof that is going to be difficult to climb on, a solar panel installation company might not be able to hook you up with as many solar panels as you would like.
In this case, your roof is going to limit your ability to save energy through the use of solar panels. It shouldn’t necessarily stop you from still investing in solar panels. But you should be aware of the fact that your roof might prevent you from getting your hands on as many solar panels as you would like.
The Size of Your Home as a Whole
A solar panel installation company is going to evaluate more than just the size of your roof when they’re trying to calculate how much energy you might be able to save with solar panels. They’re also going to evaluate the size of your home as a whole.
The bigger your home is, the more energy you’re going to need to keep it powered up. For this reason, you might not be able to save the amount of energy that you would like to if you have a very big house.
You’ll still be able to save some energy when it comes down to it. But you might not be able to make as big of a dent in your electric bills when your solar panels have to provide energy for a really large home.
The Type of Solar Panels You Install
One thing that homeowners don’t always realize is that there are a handful of different types of solar panels that they can invest in. Some of the types of solar panels that will be available to you will include:
- Monocrystalline solar panels
- Polycrystalline solar panels
- Thin-film solar panels
Each of these types of solar panels will help you save a different amount of energy. It’s why you should work closely with your solar panel company to choose the right type based on your specific needs.
You might discover that your solar panels aren’t going to save as much energy as you anticipated if you go with the wrong solar panels. It would be well worth doing your homework on solar panels and the different types of them so that you’re able to pick out the right option for your home.
The Solar Panel Installation Company You Hire
The total number of solar panel installation companies has been on the rise in recent years. Currently, there are more than 13,000 of these companies providing people with solar panel installation services all across the country.
You should make it your mission to track down the solar panel installation company that you like the most in your area. They should have a reputation for helping homeowners to save energy through the utilization of their solar panel systems.
Don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions to a solar panel installation company when you’re considering them. They should be able to break down exactly how much energy they can help you save by putting solar panels into place on your roof.
A great solar panel installation company should also be able to install solar panels for you without breaking the bank. You shouldn’t be shy about shopping around for solar panels that are going to fit nicely into your family’s budget.
The Climate in Your Area
Do you live in a place that is almost always warm and sunny outside? Or do you live in a place that is rainy and cloudy on a regular basis? Either way, you’re going to have to factor this into the equation when you’re preparing to do solar panel installation.
If your home gets a lot of sun throughout the course of a month, it’s going to help you save energy without a problem. Which is why solar panels in Florida or California are a great investment. All of the sunlight that your home gets will be collected by your solar panels and converted into solar energy that you can then use.
But if your home doesn’t get much sun at all each month, it’ll be a much different story. Your home’s solar panels might not be able to get enough access to sunlight, and it could hinder their ability to produce solar energy that your home can use.
Contrary to popular belief, you won’t need to abstain from installing solar panels just because you live in a place that is rainy and cloudy a lot. You can still benefit from solar panels even when this is the case.
But you should know that you might not save as much energy with solar panels when you live in this kind of climate. It’s something you’ll have to learn to live with.
The Approach You Take to Energy Conservation
If you’re going to invest in solar panels for your home, you should start to take energy conservation as a whole more seriously. You shouldn’t just depend on your solar panels to help you save energy.
And what can you do to save energy in your home? There are actually a number of things you can try to practice energy conservation.
For example, you can:
- Turn the lights off in your home when you aren’t using them
- Remove the incandescent light bulbs from your home and replace them with LED light bulbs
- Replace old appliances with energy-efficient ones
- Add weatherstripping to windows and doors
- Use a smart thermostat to control your HVAC system
And this is only the start. There are literally dozens of things that you can do to save energy in your home every month. You should try out as many of them as you can to see what kind of results you’re able to get.
You Can Save Energy in Droves by Investing in Solar Panels
Going solar is one of the smartest decisions you’ll ever make. You’ll start to save energy right away when you take the time to install solar panels.
You’re going to be amazed by just how much energy you can save month in and month out once you have solar panels installed. It’ll make you wish you had taken the time to install solar panels sooner, and it’ll have you looking for other ways to practice going green in no time at all.
Want to get more energy-saving tips and tricks? Look for them in our other blog articles.
