It’s a good idea for homeowners to know as much as possible about solar power prior to making the commitment to get solar panels for their home.
For example, here’s a major question you may want to have answered before solar installation: “How much energy does a solar panel produce?” Let’s dig into the answer.
How Do Solar Panels Work?
Residential solar panel installation rose from 2.9 gigawatts in 2020 to 3.9 gigawatts in 2021, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), a government agency.
Do you know how solar panels work? Put very simply, solar energy is created when the sun shines on photovoltaic panels that make up your solar panel system. These cells convert the sun’s energy into electricity when sunlight is absorbed by PV cells. This creates electrical charges and causes electricity to flow. The amount of electricity produced depends on a few factors, which we’ll get into in the next section.
Solar panels offer a renewable source of energy, reduction in electric bills, insurance against rising energy costs, environmental benefits and energy independence.
How much energy can a solar panel produce? The amount of energy produced by a solar panel per day, also called “wattage” and measured by kilowatt-hours, depends on many factors, such as peak sunlight hours and panel efficiency. Most solar panels for homes generate around 250 – 400 watts but for larger homes, can produce up to 750 – 850 per kilowatt hour annually.
Solar panel manufacturers determine the solar power output for products based on zero obstructions. But in reality, the amount of solar energy a panel produces varies depending on the power output of the panel and the number of peak sun hours where the solar power system on a home is located. Use the information from the manufacturer as a starting point as a calculation for your home.
How many watts does a solar panel produce? “Watts” refer to a panel’s expected power production amount under perfect sunlight, temperature and other conditions. You can calculate how much a solar panel produces by multiplying the solar panel power output by your local peak sun hours per day:
Kilowatt-hours (kWh) = (Hours of sunlight x Watts)/1,000
In other words, let’s say you get 6 hours of direct sunlight every day. Multiply that by the wattage of a manufacturer’s panel, such as 300 watts.
Kilowatt-hours (kWh) = (6 hours x 300 watts)/1,000
In this case, the number of kilowatt-hours produced would be 1.8 kWh. Next, calculate the following for the number of kWh per year using the following formula:
(1.8 kWh/day) x (365 days/year) = 657 kWh per year
In this case, the solar panel output of this particular panel would generate 657 kWh per year in power output.
As we’ve mentioned, many factors impact solar panel energy production, including solar panel size, peak sunlight hours, solar panel efficiency and physical obstructions: