Determine the Power Output of Solar Panels

When considering a solar panel installation the wattage or solar power output is going to be an important factor when it comes to comparing different solar panels that are on the market. Common terms that solar installers are going to say is, “this is a 350-watt solar panel”, and when reading the quotes solar installers give you, you’ll read the names of the solar panels, and right next to them you will see numbers like 300W or 325W. These are going to be in reference to the capacity, wattage and solar power output of the solar panels.

Solar Energy Production

In sunny states like California, if you’re getting around 5 hours of sunlight per day in states such as California, you are able to calculate the output of the solar panels by doing this: 5 hrs x 290W (most of your top-notch solar panels output) = 1,450 watt-hours (1.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh). Based on this information, the output for the solar panels in a solar-powered system is going to produce just about 500-550 kWh of solar energy each year.

The solar panels will be rated by the amount of the DC (direct current solar power that is being produced under the standard test conditions. The solar panel's output will be expressed in watts (W) and is going to represent the solar panels that, in theory, the solar power production of the solar panels under ideal temperature and sunlight conditions. Most residential solar panels that are on the market today will have an output of solar power ranging from 250 to 400 watts. The solar panels that have higher solar power output ratings are more desirable than the solar panels that have lower ratings. It’s also going to be important to keep in mind that the costs of solar panels will significantly impact the cost of your solar panel installation.

What Use Can You Get Out Of a Single Solar Panel?

In the example above, the solar panel will be producing 1.5 kWh a day, equivalent to 4.5 kWh a month. The will be enough solar power to run small appliances without too many issues. If you’re looking to cover all of your home's energy needs or the larger cooking appliances you will need more solar panels.

Calculating Solar Panels Wattage

The power output of solar panels is going to be a very important metric for residential or commercial solar panel installations. The price that you pay for a solar-powered system, is usually going to be based on solar panels total power output.

The solar panels' wattage is going to represent the production of the panels under the perfect temperature and sunlight conditions. The solar panels wattage can be calculated by multiplying volts x amps where the volts represents the amount of the electricity and amps are going to refer to the combination of the energy that is used. Financial savings you will get from your solar-powered system are going to be a result of the energy that is is being generated over time. 

Size V. Amount

The power output of solar panels won’t be an indicator of the solar panels' performance or quality characteristics. Some solar panels are going to have a higher solar power output rating that is due to their large size as opposed to the efficiency of a solar panel or the solar panels being more technologically advanced.

If there are two different solar panels and both have a 15 percent efficiency of a solar panel has a capacity of 5 kWh may be composed of 20 250-Watt solar panels or 16 300-Watt solar panels. The solar-powered systems are going to generate the same amount of solar power when they are in the same geographic region. A 5 kW solar panel installation may produce 6,000 kWh of solar energy in the Boston area, and the same solar-powered system is going to produce around 8,000 kWh per year in Los Angeles because of the amount of sun that each location gets per year.

The electricity that is being generated by the solar-powered system that is governed by its rated solar power output, but it will also depend on a few more factors like, the efficiency of the solar panels and how sensitive they are to the temperature, as well as the amount of shading the solar-powered system gets and the tilt and the angle of the roof where the solar-powered system is installed. It makes sense to install a solar-powered system with just as much solar power output as you can afford. That will ensure that you will maximize your savings and speed up the payback period of the solar-powered system.

How Many Watts of Solar Energy Do Solar Panels Produce?

The table listed below will show different views of the solar power output from the leading solar companies that supply solar panels to the United States market. The solar companies will often produce more than one line of solar panels, the solar power output of the most solar companies will have a significant range.