Can a solar panel be enough to generate electricity for an entire conventional home?

Question

Can a solar panel be enough to generate electricity for an entire conventional home?

Answer 1

It will take about $44,000 to put enough solar panels to provide the same amount of power that you now have coming from a 220 v 100 amp power line to your house. You should also realize that you need some method of storage for use at night or dark days. This will add another $7,000 to the cost. The only real solution for the energy problem is nuclear power.

Answer 2

It would have to be huge to run everything.

Answer 3

You can definitely generate enough electricity for a conventional home with solar power. But you will need more then one. You can contact a provider that gives free in-home energy analysis' to find out what you need.



I know that Sungate Energy Solutions does this. You can call them at (888) 9-Sungate

Answer 4

If you're serious about going solar go to http://www.globalsolarcenter.com/

They'll provide you with a free solar quote for an installation on your property and give you all the info you need regarding incentives you'll be eligible for, payback period, annual savings etc... They're a great resource to get starter on your solar search and will give you all the info you need to make a smart decision.

The panels will be as productive as your geographic location allows, but look into doing a grid-tied system and see whether or not your state allows "net metering" as your panels can actually start making you money.

Answer 5

No !

First of all, you need a well orientated free surface ( South ) of at least 25m².

Take a standard value of 200Watts per panel, you need +/- 20 panels = 4 kWpeak.

Plus an inverter to convert the DC current of the panels into AC current.

Don't forget that this energy is only available during the day...;-)

Have a nice day.

Answer 6

one solar panel cant .you need to know one panel max output , also need to know invert , track system . get more information to check solar knowledge ,your will get more .

Answer 7

Hey GEo....I just had to stop off here to answer this ...an array of panels that produce a kw or two is not impossible .I have a 3.5kw online and .5kw for control and battery charger requirements..I have a tracking system East to WEst ..Parks in the east...no inclination except for 28 deg start..the system charges no batteries but only delivers a pure sine wave through a grid tie inverter back through my meter. Its elaborate lots of controllers ,regulators inverters wiring and an industrial Omron PlC to make it all run smooth...I only off set the usage and have never broken even..Didn't expect to either.. That other answer where the guy talked of 4 tvs that was my house...He missed the 14tons of cooling inn three zones...I Guess what I'm trying to say is that solar PV installations can be done but are not for the faint of heart..they require more than just a weekend a year to maintain and for some the cost will scare you...Your payback though comes from the Idea your doing something to reduce consumption and you love to tinker...Or you can by a set of gregg norman clubs for 6000 dollars and a 5000 dollar cart and bag and join a club and do other things for about the same money..its what ever makes you happy.. This is the place to get More tips on products and everything else about what you need though if you want to be a sun-pumper..Have a good one..From the E



One last thing if you want to save money do active prevention of temp control...caulk,insulate,,get a gas furnace or a woodburner ..Even putting seal on doors is worth it,,,FYI

Answer 8

a single panel probably not. High efficiency solar arrays such as the ones used in solar racing are also very expensive. The Kansas State University solar car's newest solar array cost a little over $300,000 to build, and was 3.5 meters of cell area with the ability to generate power at 1700 watts, which is enough to get the solar car beyond normal highway speeds, but with no additional power for driver comfort. Keep in mind, 1700 watts would be enough to power a computer (400W), a 10 13W CFL light bulbs (130W) and a microwave (1000W) with very little power to spare. Storage also tends to be an issue. Using the solar car again as an example, there is a 2.9kW lithium ion battery pack, which again was expensive at about $36000, and lithium ion batteries will explode is overheated and the gas released during battery failure is highly toxic. Most commercially available lithium ion batteries are far less efficient, although they are safer. Lead acid batteries, which are far more common are also somewhat expensive, and relatively inefficient. One other drawback of solar cells, and one of the major limitations of most commercially available arrays is a device known as a power tracker. Because every individual cell have a slightly different output, cells are wired in series to increase the voltage to a usable level, with strings wired in parallel to increase current output. The parallel cell sets are then matched with a device called a power tracker, which creates a usable "line voltage" which can be ran to the battery pack and power distribution system.



Hope that cleared up a little about photovoltaic solar cells and their limitations.

Answer 9

Sure- some people put solar panels all over their roof, but stay connected to the power company for dark streaks. On sunny days, the meter will even run backwards sometimes, and then ComEd has to pay you for the extra power! Just one solar panel though? No, it would take- like I said- a whole roof of them. Byebye shingles.

Answer 10

A -conventional- home with heat in the Winter and air conditioning in the Summer? An electric stove, and four TV sets and six computers? 8^)



Maybe a solar panel the size of a football field. A roof full of solar panels might make enough power for a house with no heat, one TV, one computer, etc.

Answer 11

A solar panel produces about 1,000 watts of power (1 kilowatt) during peak sun exposure. Florida has 4 to 4 ½ hours of peak sun exposure on a sunny day. That means a panel will produce 4.5 kilowatt hours a day. The average South Florida houses uses about 45 kilowatt hours per day, so it would take 10 panels to produce enough power for all the electricity use. Most roofs will support only half that many panels.



Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2007/09/30/253529/roof-size-dictates-sun-power.html#ixzz0tj19Dt1C



Very much depends on how efficient the solar panels are and just how efficient is the energy usage of the home. The situation improves all the time.

Answer 12

haha! one solar panel? hell no!