How Many Solar Panels Do I Need?

How many solar panels do I need is one of the most frequently asked questions by solar enthusiast.

We suppose that you have already made your home or office more energy efficient and that you know the different types of solar panels available in the market .

The right choice of the solar panel type is very important.

It predetermines the number of solar panels, because every solar panel type shows different efficiency in converting solar energy to DC power.

Having said that, let’s go straight to the point.

First, you should calculate your daily energy target.

You have to decide what percentage of your annual electricity bill you want to offset to your grid tied system.

Let’s say your annual energy usage is 7,000 kWh. You want to offset 40% of it to a grid-tied system.

This means that energy target is:

7,000 kWh x 0.40 = 2,800 kWh

Since there are 365 days in a year, your daily energy target is:

2,800 / 365 = 7.7 kWh

If you know your daily energy target and the average annual PSH (Perfect Sun Hours) value for your area, you can calculate the amount of peak power you need to install on your roof:

Installed ‘peak’ solar power = Daily energy target/(SLF*PSH)

SLF is the System Losses Factor, a.k.a system efficiency ,which takes into account system losses or system inefficiency. For a grid-tied system system efficiency is assessed usually between 70% and 80%. This means that we lose (20-30)% of the energy in the system and our panels must have higher installed peak power so as to compensate for those loses.For an off-grid system the system efficiency is somewhere between (50-65)%.

If your daily energy target is in Wh, then you obtain the peak solar power in Wp (watts-peak). If daily energy target is in kWh, you obtain the peak solar power in kWp (kilowatts-peak).

PSH is abbreviated from ‘Perfect Sun Hours’ and refers to the number of hours per day during which the solar irradiance equals 1,000 W/m2. PSH are measured in kW/m2/day and it can be found by using solar maps.

By NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the United States Department) (http://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

If your daily energy target offset is 7.7 kWh, the area you live has an average annual PSH = 4.5 hours, and you assume system efficiency = 75% 0r SLF= 0.75, then the needed total peak installed power is:



7.7 kWh / (4.5 hours x 0.75) = 2.28 kWp or

This is the installed ‘peak’ solar power needed to generate the required energy target.

At this stage it is important to assess how much area you need to install the solar array. Based on your energy needs, you can determine whether the area of your roof would be enough to fit all the panels (for example: RENOGY 200 WATT ) needed. Here we don’t talk about a specific panel model but rather about solar panel type – monocrystalline, polycrystalline or thin-film.

The area required for installing the solar array, so that your PV system would meet the energy offset target, depends on:
Peak power installed on the roof (in kWp or Wp)
The kind of modules you use (monocrystalline, polycrystalline, thin-film).

To estimate the area you need to install the required peak power, you should use the following table:How to estimate the area you need to install the required solar peak power

The required roof area is calculated by the formula:

Total area needed =

= Installed solar power in kWp x Area needed for 1 kWp

a) If your target peak power is 2.28 kWp, and you decide to use monocrystalline solar modules, the area you need is:

2.28 kWp x 7 m2 = 15.96 m2 or 2.28 kWp x 75 ft2 = 171 ft2

b) In case you prefer to use polycrystalline solar modules, the area you need is:

2.28 kWp x 8 m2 = 18.24 m2 or 2.28 kWp x 86 ft2 = 196.08 ft2

c) Should you decide to buy thin-film solar modules, the area you need is:

2.28 kWp x 15 m2 = 33.87 m2 or 2.28 kWp x 161 ft2 = 367.08 ft2

Finally, to find out how many solar panels you need, you should divide the total installed power by the rated power of a single panel you are going to buy, and round the result up to the nearest integer.

For example, if you have chosen to buy panels of 160 Wp rated power each, the number of panels required is:

2,280 Wp / 160 = 14.25, which should be rounded up to 15.

Please, have in mind that such a number is reasonably exact for budgeting purposes only.

The reason is that solar panel output power changes with temperature and solar (sun) energy deviation. Such power output deviation forms the ‘operating window’ of a solar panel or solar array.

Furthermore depending on the solar power system you use, the next to the solar panel component which can be either a charge controller or an inverter, has its own operating input window as well.

To provide an efficient energy delivery to the loads in your home or office over time, the operating window of the solar array formed by these solar panels should be always within the operating input window of either charge controller or the inverter (depending on the solar system type) and match the capacity of the battery bank (if any needed).

You can estimate the number of solar panels needed for your solar power system by using our free solar panel calculator .

You can find even more money saving solar information and more precise calculators helping to build or buy an affordable yet efficient solar power system in our informational Solar packages. Click Here to learn more about our Solar Packages Now!

The Best Times and Locations to Deploy Trail Cameras

Each season can clue you in to the population, size, and movements of the game in your area. The most successful hunters keep their trail cameras out on the fields and trails all year long.

Batteries are cheap, and even today’s budget game cams (for example:MOULTRIE M-888 ) can go for months without losing power. You have no excuses to not be deploying cameras and monitoring your hunting property over all 4 seasons.
Spring and summer – This is your chance to watch the deer and other animals grow. If you’re deer hunting, this is your prime opportunity to get an early look at the antler development of the bucks.
Fall – This is the obvious one. You should have you trail cameras out in full force during this season, because now you are after the big bucks you saw on your cameras over the spring and summer! Use well placed game cameras to pattern the deer’s movements so you know just when and where your next trophy might be hanging out.
Winter – This is a bonus season for deer hunters. If you didn’t get a buck during the fall hunt, you can use your cameras for shed hunting. Think about it, if you capture pictures of bucks with one antler, chances are very good that both antlers will be on the ground in the vicinity of your camera. Most bucks shed both antlers within a very short time, so pay close attention to the time and date stamps on your photos.
The Best Locations for Trail Cameras

The best locations for trail cameras depends mostly on what you are attempting to get photos and video of. You are looking for the likely locations and to monitor movements of wild game, and your approach needs to change alongside the seasons.
Meadows and Openings

The first type of location is an open area such as a meadow near a stream, where a field meets a tree line, and food plots. Open areas like this draw deer and game because quite often that is where food and water are found.

In these types of areas, you will expect the animals to be staying in your camera’s field of view for a period of time, and for this reason, we recommend using the photo mode on your camera instead of taking videos. If you use a longer time period between photographs, such as 4-5 minutes, your battery life will improve tremendously, and you won’t waste shots of deer with their heads down eating.
Trails and Game Paths

Who would have guessed a trail camera would work well on a game trail? As their name would imply, trails are fantastic locations to deploy your trail camera. Every hunter knows that deer, and other wild game, use trails to move through the woods to feeding and bedding locations. This makes it a great opportunity to get a picture of what is moving through your land.

Due to the fact the animals are on the move, you want to use a much shorter time interval between recording images. We suggest 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending upon how rough the geography is in your area. The thicker the terrain, the slower the animals will move through it.

While photographs of a big buck on the trail are great, a video of that big rack stepping through the woods is even better. If you know for a fact that animals are using that particular trail, then you have a golden opportunity to use the video setting on the camera if it has one.

Video mode is also a great way to capture footage of active rubs and scrapes. When you find a tree with a fresh scrape on it, which is a great location to point your camera.
Mineral Licks

A mineral lick is a great late summer spot to set up a trail camera. Once you have learned where the deer are traveling through your land, you can establish a lick.

To make the lick, I dig up a circle of soil and dump half a gallon of deer minerals into the freshly tilled soil. The rest can be dumped on top and spread over the site. I like to put two licks out per 100 acres.

Place your camera at least 10 feet from the lick, and preferably 20 to 30 feet away so not to spook the animals. Try to angle the camera downward towards the lick to get the best vantage point.
Mock Scrapes

This is one of my favorite early season tactics to find bucks just after they’ve shed their velvet. Mock scrapes are magnets for drawing in bucks.

To do this, grab a rake and a shovel, and go find a good scrape tree. A scrape tree will have green branches hanging approximately 5 to 6 feet from the forest floor. Rake and dig up the brush and forest floor at least 4 to 5 feet from the scrape tree. Now you need to spray deer urine over the dug up debris to activate the spot.

Repeat this a few more times in your area and put a camera on each site. Once you find out which one is most active, you can focus your efforts there. For more information read our 25 Trail Camera Tips post

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Consider Going Wireless

Cellular trail cameras are more affordable than in the past. They allow you to set up your camera in an ideal location, and receive pictures on your smartphone via text or email. You will need a few dozen Lithium AA batteries and a data plan for each camera. Imagine how fun it will be to get deer pictures on your phone while you watch the evening news. It is a blast, and if you can afford it, I highly recommend trying one.

5 Tips to Reduce Travel Expense in Small Business

Travel is one of the highest discretionary spend for many small business owners. It is also one of the spend items that you cannot skimp on either. You have to let employees travel to meet with customers, attend conferences and find prospects. There is only so much you can accomplish via phone or video conference. While there is no way to avoid travel there are ways in which you can reduce the travel expense without sacrificing your business. Below we share 5 tips to help you achieve that goal.

1. Book in Advance

Whether employees do their own booking or you plan trips for them as a business, booking in advance reduces hotel and flight costs. The closer you get to any trip, the higher the prices tend to get. Plus, when you book in advance, you have time to wait for the best days of the week to book your travel plans. You’ll also have more flight and hotel options to consider. If sending employees on the red-eye is the cheapest option, you’ll be able to book that flight before it fills up.

4 Reasons Why Small Business Owners Must Monitor Online Reviews

“Writers … fall into two groups: those who bleed copiously and visibly at any bad review, and those who bleed copiously and secretly at any bad review.” Isaac Asimov specified writers in this famous quote, but his words could apply to business owners as well. You might be too emotionally attached to read what Yelpers are saying about your brainchild, but someone in your business needs to keep an eye on review sites. Explore four reasons why you shouldn’t ignore those online reviewers.

1. You Get a Second Chance

Of course, you wish your customers would talk to you directly when they have an issue and spread the word to others when they’re happy. Customers don’t always follow that model. Instead, they often choose to leave your business by fuming and venting on a review site.

All is not lost, however. Occasionally, you can reach out to that reviewer, briefly explain why the experience isn’t typical of your business, and entice the person to give you a second chance by offering a free product or service.

Small Business Owners: Are You Looking After Your Money Carefully?

Money in the bank is everything to small businesses. If you don’t have enough cash, you will experience cash flow problems which could hold up some of your operations. You also need plenty of money to help the business grow and develop. Not only that, though, but it is also useful to have plenty in the bank if you ever hit a rocky patch.

But even though money it acutely important to small businesses, there are still some who aren’t looking after theirs as well as they should. Here are some of the ways various small businesses regularly put their money at risk.

Not Using an Accountant

Many business owners try and track their finances and file their own taxes on their own. This is especially the case for businesses that are only a couple of years’ old. However, if you don’t have any financial experience, this can very quickly go wrong. It is always best to have an accountant from the outset. That way, they can keep you on track, and you can be confident that you aren’t going to be fined for getting your taxes wrong!