Comments on: Calculating Basic Solar Panel Watt Requirements and Costs

By: Topics about Energy » Archive » Solar Panel Watt Calculations and Costs

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:10:09 +0000

[...] sustaiNYC placed an observative post today on Solar Panel Watt Calculations and CostsHere’s a quick excerptSolar Panel Watt Calculations and Costs : Many people want to install home solar power. [...]

By: Tara

Tara — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 04:12:08 +0000

So has anyone REALLY made their own homemade solar panels? Honestly, I am scared of getting scammed with all the DIY manuals and DVDs and such. I just want to know if some one really can . I really want to try it if it is possible.

By: Tim and Trudy

Tim and Trudy — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:55:26 +0000

Yes,

We agree that solar thermal technology is also very important.

You can read an article on passive solar design here.

By: mridkash

mridkash — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:27:11 +0000

This shows how costly Solar PV can be without tax benefits. Thats why I think more emphasis should be given to solar thermal technology.

mridkash solar

By: Tim and Trudy

Tim and Trudy — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 21:15:10 +0000

Hi Sam,

You seem to be confused.

Okay – When we said you need solar panels that can produce 2390 watts in total, their inefficiencies are already taken into account when calculating the cost.

Put another way, if a solar panel is rated at producing 60watts, then that is its peak output, with inefficiencies of the panel already taken into account.

Hope that answers your question

By: Sam

Sam — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:49:20 +0000

Thanks very much for the explanation. I had a doubt though that I was hoping you could clarify. Where does the efficiency of the panel come into this? I don’t think it’s included in the 1.25 multiplication factor since those are the wiring/inverter/battery etc losses.

So if 2390 is the output power after the losses, the input power must be 2390/0.15 (for a 15% efficient panel). This equals 15933W. Let’s say 16kW. Am I correct so far? Now how do I tie this 16kW to the panel rating?

Sorry if the question doesn’t make much sense.

By: Tim and Trudy

Tim and Trudy — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:38:34 +0000

Really! No solar? How deep south are you, Gary?

Anyway, we’re glad to hear you’re doing your part for the environment by being part of your Green Building Committee. Keep it up!

By: Gary Smith

Gary Smith — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:00:53 +0000

No solar anything down here in the deep south. Send a group this way! I/we need a source/contact. I am getting my HERS Rater Cert soon and am the co-chair of our local Home Builders Committee on Green Building.

By: Tim and Trudy

Tim and Trudy — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:56:09 +0000

Pleasure Gary.

Glad you got some value out of it. We were going to add a full-on solar power calculator for our readers to try out, but for now we think people can get a general idea of how much professionally installed solar power can cost them.

Perhaps we’ll add the calculator in the future…

By: Gary Smith

Gary Smith — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:13:22 +0000

Nice…simple and easy to understand. Thanks!