Solar Panels – What size and how many Panels

The size and amount of solar panels you need is something that should be determined very early in your research.

First you need to figure out your electricity usage, if your power bill doesn’t have this then ring your power provider and find out your daily and quarterly usage. The average Australian daily usage is about 15kw per day, but this can easily double or triple if you have a large house or more than 5 people living within.

You now know your daily energy usage and can now decide what you want to happen to that bill, do you want to reduce it, or do you want to remove it completely. Generally the standard 1.5kw system has 8/9 panels which produces around about 7kw of energy per day so would reduce your energy bill by half (approximate figures used here) but if you’re willing to invest more you can step up to a 3kw system which pumps out closer to 14kw per day which could bring your bill closer to neutral.

You’ve then got the option of a 5kw system or larger and this would not only eradicate the average Australia bill it, like many of our customers, would provide you a credit bill every quarter where your power company either provides you credit or a cheque every quarter, image that, money not bills! Obviously the 5kw option is a larger investment, but the hard facts suggest the return on investment is years earlier than some of the smaller solutions available.

It’s all good and well wanting a large solar panel system on your roof, but not every roof has the correct room available, a 5kw system has anything from 20-30 panels (Sun Connect has 26) and they are up to 1.8metres high and 1.5metres wide.

There are a vast array of other circumstances that can impact what size you need including the direction your house is facing, where in Australia you are, are you rebate eligible etc.

There are also online calculators available but they are a very soft touch and only to be used as a basic guide, there are dozens of other variables and circumstances, as mentioned above, that can impact what solar panel system you need, so it’s best that you speak with a solar expert (and preferably one of ours!) who can match you with the best solar panel solution for your energy needs.