- 1). Determine how many watts of energy you use on a daily basis (the average is 24,000). This information is usually found on your energy bill. If you can't access this information on your bill, you can use an online calculator (see the Resource section) to assess your energy use.
- 2). Determine the average amount of sunlight you get on a daily basis (the average is six peak sunlight hours). Use one of the online calculators in the Resource section to make this calculation.
- 3). Divide the number of watts you use daily by the number of sunlight hours you get daily. The result will give you the amount of energy you need to generate every hour.
- 4). Choose the correct size and number of solar panels. Solar panels are rated in watts, and usually come in sizes of 500 watts, 100 watts or 50 watts. If you need to produce 4,000 watts per hour (like the average family) you may select eight 500 watt panels or any other combination of panels that adds up to a total of 4,000.
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