Can you was solar energy to power an entire house and all the appliances..and how many panels would that take?

Question

i have the idea of building a complete self contained house and solar power seems to be the best way to go

Answer 1

Yes you can.

How many solar panels will depend on the amount of energy you need to do all of that... 2,000 square foot house uses more energy to heat and cool than a 1,000 square foot house.... a better insulated house uses less energy to heat and cool than a poorly insulated house... not all appliances use the same amount of energy to do the same task.... and not all solar panels put out the same amount of energy.

So First you have to do an energy Audit and identify how much energy you need and what are the sources of that energy.

A common saying is $1 put to energy efficiency is worth $2 in Renewable energy power generation... what that means is that spending money to make the house more efficient is usually the cheapest way to reduce the energy use... this includes windows, insulation, appliance choices, house orientation , etc.... after that stuff is already done then the next step is to move toward your own Renewable energy power generation.

Then not all tasks are equal...  It is more efficient to use solar thermal systems to heat the air and water in the home than electricity from a Photo-voltaic panel... you get more solar heat for the water and air per dollar $ you spend and per square foot of solar surface area used.

The Magazine "Solar Today" and "Home Power" often print examples of people who have gone through the process. These would be good things for you to read up on before investing allot of money.

Not all but many solar installation companies also do home audits to give you a better idea of what will be involved.

Answer 2

It is complex, high maintenance, and not economical.  For starters.  See:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/solar-c...

A SunWize 10 Watt Solar Panel costs $189.  Ten watts will power a clock radio.

A 3.6-kW system (that is 3,600 watts when the sun is shining) costs $32,000.  That is only half of what a small house needs.

A dishwasher uses 1200 watts.  Forget about air conditioning.  For typical appliance wattage, see:

http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your...

And we haven't touched upon nightime and bad weather, deep cycle batteries, DC circuits, etc.

The only way this could make sense is to live in a trailer up north where no A/C is needed.    Use gas or propane for heating and cooking.  Pare down your energy needs to 1,000 watts or less, have a backup portable generator.  Use LED lighting, notebook PC, dorm-size fridge.  Deep-cycle batteries for nighttime.

Answer 3

I'm in the middle of putting in solar panels adn wind generators in the condo porject I manage.

So, first, as others said, figure out how much power you need.....an electric stove, electric heat and A/C is relaly going to drive your demand WAY WAY up.

Second: a lot of people here, a lot of on line resources and my own experience is this. a solar panel system costs 5 dollars a watt for the panels and another 2 a watt for either battery storage and inverters or an inverter where you sell the electric back to the power company and it gets knocked off your bill.

Realistically most people need a 5 kilowatt system to make enough power during the 5 or 6 hours of usable sunlight to see them thru cloudy days and nights.

The number keeps coming out that, to go off the grid you need to invest 10,000 minimum to 25,000 realistically.

Hope that helps.

Answer 4

We are thinking about building a house in the next few years using as many alternative energy sources as possible.  From the reading I've done, whether or not you can power the entire house feasibly on solar depends on a few things... first, how energy efficient is the house and the appliances, and secondly, where you live.  Because the more sunlight that's available, the more likely you are to be able to power the house entirely with it.  

Answer 5

There are several new types of solar panels. Whether they are on the market or in procution I am not sure. One works by using all of the light spectrum uva uvb etc. and is very efficent. One can be painted on, in layers. One uses less panel but a magnifier to magnify the light much like a kid does with a magnifing glass to light a fire - concentrated energy. youtube has a few videos of how to make your own solar panels

Answer 6

Yes! My husband and I are just about finished building our Eco-haven.



Our entire home is solar powered, with the exception of 1 wind turbine which actually only powers our green house generators. How many panels you need varies by how large your home is, what climate you live in (how much heating/cooling, lighting you need based on climate conditions) and your usually energy usage. It is best to consult a professional to audit your energy needs and design a plan that works best for you. While it can cost a bit more to do it this way, doing it right the first time will save more money in the end. Supplying a whole home's energy use is quite complex so leave it to a contractor specializing in this.  

Answer 7

This site will give some ideas, and also the most efficient appliances for a solar powered home.

http://www.solarhome.org/index.asp?PageA...

This is a link to other solar options.

http://www.google.com/products?q=solar+p...