Tips to Calculate Energy Per Acre for Solar Panels

The sun provides a huge amount of energy as its rays touch the Earth’s surface. But the quantity of energy that you can harness is another matter. The efficiency of solar cells, their arrangement, and the amount of sunlight they receive all affect their output. Before deciding whether solar panels are a good choice to save you money, determine if you can fully power your home with solar panel electricity.

Instructions

1. • 1

     Determine your solar panels’ efficiency rate. The amount of energy that can be taken in and converted into electrical energy per solar panel is its efficiency. For photovoltaic solar cells, efficiency can reach about 19 percent. But for concentrated photovoltaic cell panels, or CPV panels, the efficiency can exceed 40 percent. Whether you are creating your own panels or purchasing pre-made panels, determine the efficiency per cell of the panels you plan to install. Keep in mind when choosing what type of panels to use that CPV panels usually require more work to set up, and more land, as they are designed to concentrate sunlight on a specific panel.

   • 2

     Size the area for your solar panels. Determine how many panels can fit on your designated area while taking into account the terrain, local construction laws and other spacing issues. Solar panels come in several types and dimensions but, as an example, 100-200W solar panels usually measure 1 square meter in size.

   • 3

     Calculate the energy per acre. On average, 1 square meter of solar panels directly exposed to sunlight will receive about 1 kilowatt hour (kW/h) of energy per hour for the six hours it is exposed to effective sunlight, or 6 kilowatt hours of solar energy a day. One acre is approximately 4,046 square meters, so if you have an acre’s worth of solar cells, then you will receive about 4,046 kilowatt hours of electricity each hour, or 24,276 kilowatt hours a day.

   • 4

     Multiply the energy you receive by the efficiency of your solar panels to discover how much usable electricity you can yield. If your solar panels are 19 percent efficient and you receive 24,276 kilowatt hours a day of solar energy, then you will receive about 4,612 kilowatt hours of usable electricity through solar energy.

   • 5

     Subtract your maximum potential energy needs from the amount of energy being produced. You can find out how much energy you use by looking at a past electric bill or calling up the company that services your electricity directly. But for a general idea, the average American family uses about 920 kilowatt hours of electricity per month. So if you produced approximately 4,612 kilowatt hours of usable electricity per day, you would produce enough energy in a day to run four average households for a month.

 

Tips to Set Up an Electric Fence to Run on Solar

Many horse owners and ranchers use solar-powered fence energizers to electrify their pasture fences. The units are particularly useful if the pasture is isolated or located a great distance from grid-supplied electrical power. A solar panel mounted on the unit converts sunlight into electricity and charges a battery housed within the unit. Once your fence wire has been strung, installing the energizer is a fairly straightforward task.

Instructions

1. • 1

     Select a fence post where you will install the solar energizer. It should be in a sunny area with no shade. In most cases, a southern exposure provides the solar panel with the maximum amount of daylight.

   • 2

     Drive screws or hammer nails into the fence post. Hang the fence energizer on the screws or nails.

   • 3

     Drive the grounding rod into the soil with the sledgehammer. Drive it until only 3 to 4 inches remain above the soil surface.

   • 4

     Attach the power wire to the power terminal of the solar energizer. The color of the power terminal may vary, depending on the manufacturer, but it is usually red. Follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions in this regard. Wrap the other end of the power wire around the fence wire. Secure it with a generous amount of electrical tape.

   • 5

     Attach the grounding wire to the ground terminal of the solar energizer. Wrap the other end of the grounding wire tightly around the top portion of the grounding rod; it is not necessary to secure it with electrical tape.

   • 6

     Turn on the solar energizer. If the batteries are already charged, the pulse light will begin blinking as electricity is sent down the fence wire. If the pulse light does not come on, or if the integrated voltage meter reads very low, turn the energizer off for several days to give the solar panel time to recharge the battery. Once this interval has passed, turn on the energizer.

      

      

How to Connect Solar Panel Kits

Install solar panel kits, and this can help you save up to 90 percent on your electrical bills. Connecting a solar panel kit is a source of “green” energy. Investing in a solar panel kit protects families from blackouts and other power shortages that natural disasters can cause. Solar panel kits are widely applied in areas of tropical weather. And in fact, solar panel kits can be used in any area all over the world.

Instructions

Installation of a Solar Panel Kit

1

Attach one end of the electrical cable to the positive outlet of the solar panel. The positive sides are marked on the cable and the solar panel.

2

Attach one end of the electrical cable to the negative outlet of the solar panel. The negative sides are marked on the cable and the solar panel.

3

Attach the opposite end of the electrical cable to the positive outlet of the charge controller. The positive sides are marked on the cable and the charge controller. The charge controller prevents overcharging your power source.

4

Attach the opposite end of the electrical cable to the negative outlet of the charge controller. The positive sides are marked on the cable and the charge controller.

5

Plug the charge controller cable to a power transformer. There are no positive or negative sides to the charge controller cable. The power transformer sends electricity to your electrical items.

6

Screw the solar panel to the mount using a screwdriver. There are pre-drilled holes on the solar panel and mount.

Tips & Warnings

Do not step or put large weight directly on top of the solar panel. Solar panels actually are fragile.