As you look into solar, it is important to ensure that your system size and design will meet your electricity needs.
Given that you have lived in your home for at least a year, the first thing we will check is your electricity usage from the last year. We will use this as a baseline for your system size. At OneSun, we always seek to have a comprehensive understanding of your near and far future goals for the property as well, so we can account for any upcoming changes in comparison to your historical usage. For instance, we will need to know if you plan on converting any gas appliances to electric, if you have plans for EV charging, converting your garage to an ADU, etc.
After confirming all the necessary information, we will size your system in kilowatts (kW - measure of power), to generate a specific amount of energy (kWh) annually.
The average residential homeowner usually will need somewhere between 15-35 panels, although the number of panels you need can be a little less or more than this range, just depending on your specific needs.
If you moved into your property more recently and do not have a full year's worth of usage history for us to assess, that is no problem as we will take the square footage of your home into account, as well as your current living situation and overall plans for the home to determine an ideal system size. These cases will be more speculative, as your real life consumption will ultimately determine whether your solar production will cover all of your electricity needs or not. The good news is that it's very easy to add more panels to an existing system if needed in the future, so we normally recommend a slightly more conservative start for new homeowners.
Best case scenario, given that there is enough space on your roof, we will design a system that offsets 100% (or more as needed) of your historical electricity usage. In some cases however, if roof space is limited, or if there is heavy shading, it may not be possible to reach 100% offset. The good news is that you will still save a lot of money on your electricity bills with a partial offset system, and we will maximize those savings for you as much as possible.
Our software uses Lidar 3D technology to determine the sun efficiency measurements of your roof. We use this data to determine the most ideal locations for panels (and to minimize the number of panels you need to reach your offset goal).
Ultimately, every system we design is customized to your property and your specific needs. Contact us today to learn more about what solar can do for you, and we will determine the number of panels you need to wipe out your electricity bills and maximize your ROI!