There are multiple aspects that must be considered to know the exact number of small solar panels that your house needs. As we mentioned, the main factor in the high cost of electricity is the consumption habits of the people who live in the house.
Each solar panel generates around 35 kWh per month, a solar specialist can help you find out how much you need according to your average annual consumption.
For this, you will need to share a copy of your last electricity bill, with which the company will be able to evaluate your energy consumption for the last year, detect irregularities, verify the feasibility of installing it on your roof and offer you a tailored solution.
In a house, you can make the decision to cover 100% of your energy consumption, although many clients choose an option that allows them to generate enough solar energy to return to the subsidized rate, with the fewest number of solar panels necessary.
An important recommendation is to always be covered since it is very common that when installing solar panels, a house increases its consumption.
When you buy solar panels, consumption can increase not necessarily because of installing new devices and appliances, but because people relax a little in the use of electricity.
After all, they are people who were spending a lot of money on their electricity bill and wanted to take care of it.
How many times did you not tell your children to turn off the light in the room if they left it? Sometimes, with solar panels, you stop chasing everyone at home to take care of electricity and your consumption can increase a little.
Let a specialist solar consultant help you find out how many solar panels you need, the evaluation is free. Of course, you can also use solar power calculators to estimate how many watts of solar panels you need to install.
Ways to save and consume electricity
Surely you are wondering: what can you do to save on energy consumption and savings at home?
Here are some tips so you can do it:
- Invest in solar panel systems. It represents considerable savings since you use the sun’s energy to convert it into electricity and reduce the payment of your electricity bill.
- Replace incandescent bulbs with savers or LEDs: they use 80% less energy and last much longer.
- It uses lighting sensors which will allow the lights to only turn on when necessary.
- Install solar outdoor lighting. It has no cables and during the day it captures the sun’s rays to illuminate at night.
- Unplug electrical appliances that are not being used. This will help reduce your energy consumption.
- Sets computers that cannot be turned off to energy-saving mode.
What should I know before buying a solar panel?
Analyze if the conditions of your house are optimal
An extremely important point for the installation of solar panels is that your house has the optimal conditions to carry out the installation.
Almost all houses in Mexico have the necessary conditions to install solar panels, but you must take into account the following points:
- Have your own roof. It sounds obvious, but perhaps it is so obvious that many people overlook it. If you live in an apartment, it is very likely that you will not be able to install solar panels, since the roof is generally a common area and there is no way to connect your solar panels to your electricity meter due to the great distance that exists.
- Let the roof receive sun. On very rare occasions, there are unfavorable conditions that limit the use of solar panels. For example, if a building shades your house all day. If your rooftop or roof has enough sunlight for most of the day, you should have no problem installing solar panels.
- Roof space. You should not worry too much, generally, the higher the electricity consumption, the bigger the house, although this is not always the case. You do not need to take exact measurements, the solar company will be in charge of telling you the feasibility of installing solar panels. Even if you don’t make the decision to install solar panels right away, try to take care of the space on your roof from shadows that you may generate in the future, such as installing air conditioners, water tanks, and railings, since in the future they could create shadows that affect your possibility to generate your own energy with the sun.
- Ideally, it should be your own home. While you can install solar panels on a rented home, keep in mind that it’s a solution with short- and long-term benefits.
If you are not the owner of the house, the owner will have to give the authorization to install them, since it will require an installation on his property and some minor changes such as new pipes and wiring.
The most important thing is that when carrying out the interconnection procedure with the CFE, it will be the owner of the property who will have to sign the necessary documents.
Find out what your main reasons are for installing solar panels. Most people who install solar panels do so because of the savings this means on their electricity bill.
We can all feel much better by using renewable energy and contributing our grain of sand to the environment, but a person who has a subsidy will not have economic savings.
Economically, the people who would benefit from installing solar generators are those who have already lost their electricity subsidy or are about to lose it, typically those who pay more than $2,500 MXN per two months on their electricity bill.
These people will recover their investment very quickly and will see a very large benefit by starting to generate their own energy.
Ecologically, anyone with their own roof can install solar panels, even if they pay less than $1,000 MXN per two months.
If this is your situation, you should consider that the savings will not be so great and it will take several years to recover your investment, but nothing prevents you from helping the planet and having control over your energy.
Analyze your purchase options and choose the best option on the market
Although it seems a bit obvious, this step is essential, since the installation of solar panels represents an important investment, so deciding which company is best for you is a decision that you should not take lightly.
The idea is to contemplate the option that offers you from the design of the ideal solar panel system for your home to the sale, installation, and monitoring of them.
Given that solar panels have a useful life of more than 30 years, you must take into account in an important way, the seriousness and solidity of the company that does the installation for you.
In case of any doubt or setback, it is important to have peace of mind that someone will be there with you for the next 20 or 30 years to help you and solve any problem.
In solar panels, cheap is generally expensive. Of course, you should take care of your money, but saving a few pesos today can cause problems of many thousands of pesos in the future.
Check the guarantees that the installer grants you about his work, the energy generation of your panels, the factory guarantees of the components, and his service.
Make sure that the solar company has a service that is not only sales and installation, but also has the infrastructure to assist you after turning on your solar panels.
An important added value is the monitoring platform. Surely you want to know how much energy you are generating with the solar panels and your savings. People usually use a 12v lithium battery to store power and use it in the event of a sudden power outage.
In conclusion, we have seen that solar energy has been on the rise and has become a quality alternative. Now the use of solar panels in homes represents a challenge to reach the levels that the use of coal or gas currently has as primary energy sources in many countries. Renewable and clean energies are the way forward for the future, obtaining benefits at all levels.
