Can a House Run on Solar Power Solely?

One of the biggest myths about solar power is that people assume a whole house cannot run on solar power alone. Based on weather and cloud cover, this might be true of homes in some regions, or your house might not be a particularly good fit for solar. But especially in the Tampa Bay area, most homes can run entirely on solar. At Solar Bear Tampa, we assess each home for solar before we install any panels because we want you to feel confident that your home can run on solar power before you make the switch.

So how exactly can solar power an entire home? Let’s go through it together. In short: It’s all about the batteries.

Solar panels are the first thing everyone thinks of when they picture solar power. Of course, the panels themselves are an important part of solar power—they’re what absorbs the energy from the sun which is then converted into the electricity that powers your home. But even in the best circumstances, solar panels can’t function 24/7—when the sun goes down, there is no solar power for them to absorb, meaning that they must lie dormant at night by necessity. But this doesn’t mean that your home can’t run on solar power at night.

So how can you power a house with solar at night? Well, with a solar battery.

Any fully solar-powered home setup will require a solar battery. At Tampa Bear Solar, we can help you decide if your home setup would benefit from a battery (most do) or not. But if you’re hoping to rely entirely on solar to power your home, you’ll need a good solar battery.

A solar battery stores away any excess solar energy that is absorbed by your solar panels during the day. In high-sunshine states like Florida (and depending on your average home energy use every month), odds are good that even if you are fully powering your home with solar, most sunny days will result in excess energy that the solar battery can absorb and use later, when there is no sunshine, or during night time.

Naturally, a home that has more solar panels and more solar batteries will be better equipped to run entirely on solar power, but there are ways to make it work even if this is not necessarily an option for you and your family.

If you are interested in running your home entirely on solar power, our experts at Solar Bear Tampa would be happy to set up a consultation to assess whether your home is a good match for full solar power. Call us today at 813-922-3735!