Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Maltby
"In 2009, the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 10,896 kWh, an average of 908 kilowatthours (kWh) per month. Louisiana had the highest annual consumption at 15,276 kWh and Maine the lowest at 6,252 kWh"
908/30=30kwh per day
So lets be generous and say the most efficient panels averaged 60 watts per square meter, for a days output. Then every square meter of the most efficient PV panels could provide 60 watts of the 30,000 watt hours used per day.
2142 square meters = 0.529 acre. So if you live on a half acre lot and like the shade...
If you live in a house with 2142 square meters of roof space and you have the money to cover that much space with "the most efficient" PV panels, then have at it.
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I'm not quite sure where your numbers are off, but I have 28 225W panels from a well-known Japanese manufacturer (cells made in the USA!) that take up 380 square feet (35.28 sq meters) of roof space on my little (1172 sq ft) house and they generate
on average 30 kWh/day, which is more than 850W/sq meter/day.
Having spent quite a bit of time studying the available solar panels before buying, I don't know of
any that only generate 60W/sq meter/day ... that would be a 30W panel!!! I suspect you forgot to multiply the panel output by the number of hours it is actively generating power. Here in Hawaii we see an average of 5.8 hrs generating per day, but your output will
definitely vary. Any solar panel salesman should be able to tell you what sun zone you are in.
And yes, it's easier to justify solar in Hawaii!
