Should You Use Small Solar Panels In Your Home?
In case you are hesitant about purchasing a full grid residential solar power system, small solar panels could be just what you are interested in. Less costly than larger panels. Also, they are much less powerful; as an intro to solar technology, however, they can be ideal for the home owner who isn’t quite prepared to completely solarize his / her home. Below, I will show you the pros and cons of using these smaller types of panels.
Small Solar Panels Don’t Generate A Lot of Power
As you can imagine, smaller solar panels will have fewer watts when compared to the larger ones. A two square foot panel would typically produce about 50 watts, while an eight square foot solar power would generate more in a nearby of 190 watts. Panels are costed per watt, and you ought to be capable of getting a strong idea of the sort and number of household products a particular panel can power from that description.
For comparison, let’s utilize the average California installing 3.500 kilowatts, which is enough to power a whole residence. Next, compared to that example, 200 watts certainly doesn’t appear like it strength much more than a handful of light bulbs. For instance, the Grape Solar 880 watt system, based on the product’s manufacturer, is with the capacity of powering a 15 cubic foot refrigerator and nothing else. As mentioned previously, the price of these smaller sized panels represents a much smaller sized investment than would a big panel array, and are expandable infinitely, as well.
Small Solar Panel Kits
The Grape Solar 880 watt system is one of these modest solar power kits which may be used as sort of “starter” solar system for home owners. More commonly, these kinds of kits are utilized by recreational automobile owners and boating fanatics to power on-board parts and home appliances by keeping the battery bank fully charged. These specific kits contain panels rated from 50 to 440 watts, depending upon how heavily the vehicle or boat is utilized as well as how many appliances are on board. Larger, more robust systems may also need a lot more batteries and also an inverter. The panels in these kits are usually the 12-volt type since most boat and RV elements and accessories use 12 volts of DC power. Inverters become necessary when devices run on home current or AC power.
Smaller Panels are Excellent for Remote Areas
Another common use for them is to power an off-the-grid lodge or cabin. That is a low-cost and zero-maintenance approach to keeping a backup battery lender charged to be able to power several DC home appliances. Free Sun Power displays an 800-watt system that carefully resembles the Grape Solar package, using eight 100-watt panels. For a crisis power backup system, a construction of several 150-watt panels tends to be used, depending upon the energy needed. For outdoor add-ons such as security lights, electrical fences or water fountains, the smaller panels are more practical. They are used to power electrical generations, vent fans, as well as mobile phones and laptop computer chargers. In fact, backpacks, notebook bags, and messenger bags are available with built-in solar power panels with which to charge your cellular devices. The small-scale solar living is gaining momentum every year!
