Power — Solar panels generate a specific amount of power depending on the wattage rating, size, and efficiency. Home solar panels are around 250-400 watts per panel. On a good sunny season, the panel of 300 watts is able to deliver about 300 watts/hour or otherwise known as 300 watt-hours (Wh) During a sunny day, a 300-watt panel is able to produce around 1.5-2 kilowatt hours (kWh) with the performance depending on different factors like location, angle, and shading.
A typical solar set up for a home can range from 20 to 30 panels, together capable of producing between 5kw to 10kw (kilowatts) of power on average — which is all that’s required by a median household on any given day. Power conversion efficiencyMost commercial solar panels have an efficiency between 15% and 22%, meaning that of the sunlight they receive, they can convert up to that percentage into electricity. Put another way, if you have a 22% efficient system it will generate around 7% more electricity than would a comparable system using only 15%-efficient panels over its entire useful life.
Panel arrays in large installations can generate 50 to 100 kilowatts (kW) or more of power output, which is suitable for businesses and industrial facilities. Sunlight hours are calculated at peak, meaning areas getting on average 4 to 6 hours ofpeak sunlight incredibly lucky. Take California, for instance, with its large amounts of average sunlight that translates to some of the largest Solar Farms in the world generating thousands of Megawatts available to their grid.
Solar systems yield a median 8-10% annualized return (cash based payback) and earn homeowners an average of $1,000 to $1,500 per year on their electricity bills meaning costs are recovered to the homeowner within 6–10 years depending on where you live. Solar panel warranties are often good for 25 – 30 years, providing a reliable energy supply over the long-term. While it is true that solar cells degrade over time and the older types of panels which came out in the early 2000s definitely degraded relatively fast — modern panels have a huge longevity advantage, degrading far less (while lasting much longer) – usually keeping over 80 or even 90% efficiency from after say 20 years are off the factory end.
In other words, as Bill Gates famously said “We need innovation, not only in green energy but to bring it to where people can afford to use.” Solar panels are in line with this by making a kind of electricity that is cheap and good to both residential and large-scale use. Homeowners who are interested in reliable power generation options should look no further than environmentally sustainable solar photovoltaics, the ultimate energy source for substantial production.