For people looking to reduce their utility bills, installing a solar roof can ensure savings without compromising your comfort. However, many people worry about just how much these savings will work out – after all, a solar roof can require a significant upfront investment, and it’s natural to want reassurance that the investment will pay off in the long term.
If you’re one of these people, you’re in the right place. This article covers everything you need to know about the energy benefits of solar roofs and explains how you can install them so you can get started with the process immediately.
Using Solar Panels in Cloudy Locations
Among the chief concerns people have is to get solar panels installed that they need the sun to be out to work. However, even getting as little as two hours a day of sunlight will make your panels worth the cost. Of course, it should be noted that cloudy areas will get lower energy output from their panels – your panels will produce between 10-20% of the energy you get on a sunny day (at least 5.5 hours of sunlight) on a cloudy day.
However, as mentioned above, this shouldn’t deter you from investing in solar panels.
Energy Savings with Solar Roofs
Solar panels have a number of considerations aside from their energy effects, including how they look. However, these are easily countered – as the solar installing contractors at San Diego County Roofing & Solar point out, modern panels are frequently designed to look low-profile. Similarly, with the right installer, you can protect your panels against the effects of rain to ensure they last as long as possible.
Because of this, the real challenge is the cost. Solar panels will set you back an average of about $20,000 for the entire system for your home, which isn’t a small cost. So, you need to be confident that it will be worth it.
To understand the effectiveness of solar panels, consider that most homes use an average of 29 kWh of energy per day. Each solar panel generates between 250-400 watts of power per hour of sunlight, and residential solar systems generally contain 20-25 panels.
Let’s say you buy a system with panels that offer 300 watts of power. Additionally, consider an area that gets 4 hours of sunlight a day.
In that case, each panel will generate 300 x 4 = 1200 watt-hours of power or 1.2 kWh. You’ll need between 24 and 25 panels to generate the ~29 kWh of power that an average home uses each day – and a residential solar system will provide exactly that. Even if your system is on the lower end of the average number of panels, it will still offset most of your energy needs. A 20-panel system that generates 1.2 kWh of power per panel means that you’ll receive 24 out of your 29 kWh of energy usage from your solar panels.
Saving Money with Solar Panels
If you’re getting all your energy needs taken care of by your solar panel system, is the investment worth it?
Let’s take a look at your financial savings. In the United States, you can expect to pay an average of $2600 in utility bills. Of course, this number depends on several factors. These include where you live, the number of people in your home, and the size of your property.
Based on a $2600 annual utility bill and $20,000 average cost for your solar panels, it will take about 7.5-8 years for the system to pay for itself (assuming it covers all your energy bills in the future. Additionally, solar panel systems will last between 25-30 years, so once the system has paid for itself, you’ll have 17-22 years of savings on utility bills.
Installing Solar Roofs
Given the advantages of solar roofs, you may be wondering how to install them yourself. While it is possible to do the work yourself, it’s highly recommended that you choose to hire a professional instead.
Remember, the panels require a significant upfront investment. If you make a mistake and damage them during installation, it will be a costly replacement. With a professional installation service, you will have peace of mind regarding the safety of your panels while also being confident in the knowledge that your panels will be installed to ensure they last as long as possible.
Solar roofs are great for the environment – but more than that, they’re also great for your pocket. For those who cannot afford to buy them outright, some businesses also rent out solar panel systems for a monthly or annual cost. This will allow you to save on utilities so you can work towards buying your own system in the future.
