Whether you are keen to go green or simply want to save money on your energy bills, installing solar panels on your roof is a great investment for your home. However, many people dream of becoming completely energy independent, able to run their entire house on nothing but solar power, but is this possible?

With some careful planning, many homeowners may be able to ditch the grid and go fully solar by taking the right steps.

Calculating your power usage

To work out whether you can run your whole home on solar power, you first need to have an idea of how much energy you are using. The average home uses around 3,000kWh of electricity a year, but yours may be higher or lower depending on a number of factors. You can work this out from your energy bills or get an estimate from an independent energy surveyor.

When you know how much energy you are likely to use, you can work out how many solar panels you need to cover you for the entire year. The exactly efficiency of different solar panel systems varies, but generally speaking you can expect a 1kW installation to produce around 850kWh over a year, while 2kW will give you 1,700kWh, 3kW equals 2,550 and 4kW approximately 3,400kWh.

This means the average home would need a 4kW solar panel installation to comfortably produce its entire energy requirements for the year.

Save the sunshine for later

Just because you are generating all that power, doesn’t mean you will be able to use it. Solar panels produce most of their power during the day when many of us are at work, then little or none in the evening when our power usage tends to be heaviest. This means the power you generate will usually be exported to the grid and you will need to take energy back from the grid later to run your home.

Battery storage, such as the Tesla Powerwall, means you can generate energy when the sun is shining and save it to use later after the sun has gone to bed. This means you are using the power you produce which can be more cost-effective as well as allowing you to be independent of the grid.

Cut your electricity needs

If you want to rely entirely on solar panels for your power then it makes sense to reduce the amount of power you need so you can get away with generating less. Energy efficient measures, such as adding extra insulation, making good use of natural light and choosing eco-friendly appliances will allow you to cut your energy consumption and make it much easier to become energy independent.

Get a house that runs on the sun with Metrotile

Metrotile’s range of lightweight photovoltaic roof tiles allow you to generate power from your roof without creating an eyesore. Our photovoltaics are integrated into your roof, giving them a much more subtle and aesthetically pleasing profile, meaning you can add more generating capacity without ruining the look of your home.

All of our photovoltaics come with the standard Metrotile 40 year weatherproof guarantee making them a long-term investment that should keep powering your home for decades to come.

To find out more or to ask for a quote, call Metrotile today on 01249 658 514 or use our contact form for a swift response.