At Solar Bear Tampa, we know that making the switch to solar power can be a daunting prospect. There is a lot to learn, and the upfront costs can sometimes seem hard to swallow. There’s a lot to learn about solar power for your home, and we are here to help you understand the benefits of using solar panels to power your home. The average house size in Florida can range anywhere from 2,600 to 3,000 square feet.
This is how much solar panels cost to effectively power a 3,000 square foot house.
If you plan to make the switch to full solar power for your home, you’ll need to calculate the number of solar panels you’ll need to install. Different types of solar panels are more effective than others, but these can also be more expensive per panel. For a complete breakdown of the different types of solar panels on the market, check out our blog post about it here. Our experts at Solar Bear Tampa can help you determine which type of panels are best for your home’s needs and budget, but most home solar solutions run on monocrystalline panels that produce around 320kw per panel.
Given that number, for every thousand square feet of your home, you’re going to want to install around 15 panels. That number of panels at an average solar panel power capacity will generate around 4,710kw per year.
Of course, your home energy needs will vary based on your family’s unique level of electricity usage per month, but on average, the amount of power needed to run a 3,000 square foot home is around 14,130kw per year.
The best way to calculate how much you’ll need to spend on solar panels for a 3,000 square foot home is to consult a team of solar panel experts like our friendly team at Solar Bear Tampa. Call us today to set up a home consult and we can figure out when you’re looking at price-wise to install solar panels for your 3,000 square foot home.
One of the main draws to solar battery power is its ability to power electronics off the grid. In other words, if you’re a big fan of the #vanlife movement and getting out of the city and going back to nature, solar powered batteries are probably a must-have for you. But there are things you need to know about powering your entire life off of several solar batteries and an inverter, otherwise you might run out of power during an inconvenient or even dangerous time. Being out in the wilderness and “off-grid” can be very empowering, but only if you have the right power solutions on hand. At Solar Bear Tampa, we want to make sure you know how to properly make use of your solar batteries when going off grid.
Make sure you don’t make this one solar battery mistake when you’re going off-grid.
It’s not about how much power each of your solar batteries has.
Most people who decide to go off-grid tend to underestimate the amount of power they use in any given day. In this day and age, unless you’re Bear Grylls (and even then, he has to power his video crew’s cameras), odds are good that you’re going to want to use your cell phone, a laptop, as well as any number of other electronics, like fans, heaters, electric stove burners, coffee pots, and so forth. The list of electronics we as humans use these days is long, and each thing on it requires power. But don’t worry. If you started out with just one, smaller solar battery to charge everything in your life off of, it’s okay. You can always go out and buy another, as long as you also buy an inverter, which will allow you to create a circuit and increase your battery power.
It’s about how they are wired.
With an inverter, you can wire two or more solar batteries together to create a much more powerful (or effective) energy source for your many electric needs while off-grid. The key, though, is that you wire your batteries and inverters correctly. Of course, this is important so that the circuit itself is functional, but there is also a good way and a bad way to wire your circuits. The good way to wire a battery circuit is to wire it as a parallel circuit. The bad way to wire a battery circuit is to wire it as a series circuit.
Never wire your solar batteries and your inverter as a series circuit.
Use parallel circuits ALWAYS.
The thing about a series circuit is that if you wire your batteries in a consecutive chain, the way that string lights are wired, if one battery goes out, the entire circuit will cease to work, leaving you up a creek without a paddle if you’re off-grid and away from access to traditional electric power.
Instead, if you wire your batteries and inverter as a parallel circuit, each of the individual battery’s functions on a different leg of the circuit, meaning that they can operate independently from one another. If one battery in a parallel circuit blows, you’ll still be able to use the second or third or fourth batteries connected to the inverter.
There is a lot more to learn about using solar power and solar batteries to go off-grid, but as long as you remember to use parallel circuits instead of series circuits, you’ll be much better off. If you need help determining your off-grid solar needs, call Solar Bear Tampa today—we can help you make sure that you’re well-prepared for your great adventure into the wilderness.
Before you install any solar panels on your roof, there is one major consideration—the age and quality of your roof. Unfortunately, there are a lot of solar company’s out there who fail to let homeowners know that their roofs need to be replaced or repaired prior to solar installation, even if they know that those same homeowners will run into roof problems in a couple of years.
Our team at Solar Bear Orlando won’t do you like that! We will help you make sure that your roof is in great condition before installing any solar panels to ensure the longevity of your roof and your solar system.
Is Your Roof Solar Ready?
Before installing solar, consider these aspects of your roof:
The Age of Your Roof
Your roof will be considered “too old” if it is approaching 20 years. Many home insurance companies will not renew your policy if your roof is already 20 years old, even if there is no damage.
If your roof is nearing that 20-year mark, it will be best to get an inspection and re-roof to ensure that your roof will be covered under your insurance and that it will be able to withstand the weight of a solar system.
Generally, asphalt shingle roofs should be 10 years old or less and in good condition before beginning a solar installation project.
While solar is best suited for well-made, newer roofs, we are always happy to service any solar panel-related roof issues for you after installation!
The size of your roof matters when it comes to installing solar as it needs to meet the minimum requirements of usable surface area.
This minimum usable surface area allows your solar system to be correctly installed on your roof, while also meeting your solar needs and complying with building codes.
Most building codes require pathways of open roof access and areas for ventilation to clear smoke, fumes, or heat during a fire. Your solar consultant from Solar Bear will address these concerns during your solar project.
The Material Your Roof is Made Of
Asphalt roofing is a great roofing surface to support solar panels. But most roofing materials can be modified for solar installation as well.
Other Roofing Considerations
Check the small print of your roof warranty. There may be wordage there voiding the warranty that you have if solar panels are installed on the roof.
Hire a reputable solar company that will agree to repair to replace any part of your roof that is damaged during the installation process.
If you have a lot of land with outbuildings or large sheds, consider installing solar on these buildings or even a ground array. This can save you roof-related solar panel costs, or from voiding your warranty.
A good solar panel contractor like Solar Bear will inspect your roof first, before proceeding with a solar panel sale. We want to ensure that your roof is in optimal condition before moving forward!
If you are ready to go solar but are unsure of the state of your roof, no worries! Call Solar Bear Orlando! We will come out to inspect your roof to ensure that it meets our standards for solar installation. And if it’s not, we do roofing too! We can re-roof your home and install a solar array at the same time!
Ready to get started? Call Solar Bear Orlando for a FREE solar and roofing quote today—407-904-7585!
At Solar Bear Tampa, we know that making the switch to powering your home with solar can be tough. There’s a lot to learn about solar panels, power systems, and battery storage, not to mention all the tax and installation processes involved. That’s why we’ve written about many of these things on this blog. Today, we hope to take some of the mystery out of the difference between types of solar panels, so that you can make the best choice for your home solar power arrangement as a consumer.
Here are the different types of solar panels compared.
Monocrystalline solar panels
The most efficient and long-lasting of the solar panel types is the monocrystalline solar panel. Unfortunately, because these solar panels are made out of a single silicon crystal that has been divided into several different segments, they are often rather expensive and hard to come by. If you can spring for the monocrystalline solar panels, budget-wise, it’s a good idea, since each one of these dark black panels can generate up to 300 watts of power, and since they have an efficiency rate of 20%, high for solar panels in general. However, there is often a lot of silicon crystal wasted in their production (sometimes up to 50%), which makes them somewhat wasteful and costly. While monocrystalline solar panels work less efficiently in heat, they hold up better in hail, thanks to their thicker construction.
Polycrystalline solar panels
Like monocrystalline solar panels, polycrystalline solar panels are made from silicon crystals, only these are built from multiple, smaller crystals instead of a single, large crystal. This makes polycrystalline solar panels much easier to manufacture, although they aren’t as efficient and cannot store as much power as monocrystalline panels can. They also have a lower heat tolerance because the crystals have been melted and poured into square molds to mimic the appearance of full crystals. Since the crystals used in these panels are thick, like the panels used in monocrystalline solar panels, they are also a good choice for environments with high wind and hail.
PERC solar panels
Another type of solar panel is the passivated emitter and rear cell panel, or PERC. PERC panels differ from crystalline solar panels in the method of their construction—an extra layer is added into the solar cells so that the light absorbed by the cell is reflected and then absorbed again. These kinds of solar panels are more efficient even than monocrystalline solar panels for this reason and are considered to be an advance in solar panel technology. The most efficient of the solar panel types, PERC panels can also take up less space thanks to the extra work each cell does. Because of the method of their production, they can be more expensive, but compared to the expense of monocrystalline panels, they are not too much more costly, and often the difference in price pays for itself.
Thin-film solar panels
The last type of solar panels are called “thin-film” panels, because their silicon layers are much thinner than those of typical crystalline panels. Thin film panels can be one of three types: Cadmium telluride, amorphous silicon, copper indium gallium selenide. There is not much difference between the three types of thin film panels, but if you need a more extensive explainer, you can contact the friendly solar experts at Solar Bear Tampa today.
The thinness of these panels cost them a lot in terms of efficiency, but it does make them more heat resistant in drier climates. Also, because of the smaller amount of materials used, these kinds of panels are typically the cheapest on the market.
For a more thorough discussion of the differences in types of solar panels, or for a consultation about which type of solar panels are best for your home, call Solar Bear Tampa today.
