The installation of solar panels on terrace roofs is on the rise in India as the mass identifies the economic incentives of switching to free and cleaner energy. If you are determined to install a solar rooftop system but do not know how to calculate the area requirement and number of solar panels needed, do read this informative blog.
Here is a brief calculation that will assist you in determining the rooftop area for installing your residential rooftop solar system and the number of solar panels required.
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How to find out the number of Solar Panels required?
The process to calculate the number of solar panels on your terrace roof, you need to first go through your last 12 months’ electricity bill. Here, you actually need to analyse the electricity units (kWh) consumed for the last 12 months.
Once you have the last 12 months’ electricity bills, you then need to follow the below steps:
The first step is to calculate the total electricity units consumed during the last 12 months and divide by 12. In doing so, you will get the average monthly electricity consumption in units of your house.
The second step is to divide the average monthly electricity units by the total units generated by a 1 kW solar system in a month. By doing so, you will come to know the total size of the solar project in kW.
Here, it is important to note that in India, a 1 kW Solar System generates around 4 units of electricity per day. Hence, by multiplying 30 days with 4 units, you get the total units generated in a month by a 1 kW Solar System, i.e., 120 units.
The third step is to find out the total number of solar panels on your terrace roof. To find it, you need to divide the total size of the solar project by the size of 1 solar panel. Please note that the total size of the solar panel is around 550 Watts or 600 Watts.
Let us understand the above three steps with a real example:
Let us assume that Amit’s electricity units consumed in a month are 5200 units.
450+400+400+400+450+500+550+500+450+400+350+450=5200 units
Step 1: Calculate Amit’s average monthly electricity consumption units by dividing 5200 units by 12. We get 433.33 units per month, which is the average electricity unit consumption.
Step 2: The next step is to determine the Total Size of the Solar Project in kW.
We know that 1 kW of solar power generates 120 Units per month in India
To find the total size of the solar project required in kW, divide the average monthly consumption by 120 units.
To find out the total size of the solar project, we need to divide 433.33 units by 120 units per kW. By doing so we get 3.61 kW.
So, Amit’s house requires a 3.61 kW solar system.
Step 3: The next step is to calculate the required number of solar panels on your terrace roof.
We know that the total size of a solar panel is around 550 Watts to 600 Watts in India.
By converting them into kW, we get 0.55 kW and 0.6 kW.
Now, divide the total required solar system size (3.61 kW) by the power of one 550-watt panel (0.55 kW) and 600-watt (0.6 kW):
For 550 watts, the total number of solar panels required is 6.55 and for 600 Watt is 6.02, which we get by dividing 3.61 kW by 0.55 kH and 0.6 kW.
Amit’s house will need a Solar Plant of 3 kW comprising 6-7 Solar Panels of 550 Watts or 600 Watts each..
How to find out the total Rooftop Area Required to install the Solar Panels?
In India, we know that one solar panel encompasses a standard surface area of approximately 20.86 sq. feet. To determine the total rooftop area to install a residential solar power system, we need to multiply the surface area of 1 solar panel with the total number of panels needed for Amit’s house. It is important to note that this area should receive a minimum of 5 hours of direct sunlight, which means this area needs to be a shadow-free area.
So, Amit’s house will need a total rooftop Area of 125.16 sq. ft. or 146.02 sq. ft. (20.86 sq. ft. X 6 Panels or 20.86 sq. ft. X 7 Panels)
Conclusion
With government incentives and with the best solar energy manufacturing companies in the market, solar panels in houses are now affordable. You just need to contact the best solar companies for your rooftop solar installation.
