How Much Sunlight Does My Roof Get

Let s estimate you get about five hours per day to generate that 30 kwh you use.

How much sunlight does my roof get.

Green roofs on the other hand absorb sunlight and even put it to good use. How to calculate your peak sun hours. Easy to use tools allow you to construct your own scene and automatically plot the shadow results. White ones absorb much less light by reflecting the light without transferring it into heat.

Solar radiation peaks at solar noon when the sun reaches the highest point in the sky. So the kwh divided by the hours of sun equals the kw needed. Our solar technicians will help determine both your summer and winter exposures to figure out if you get enough power from the sun to energize your home. You need a sunny roof to benefit from solar panels but yours may be sunnier than you think.

States like californiaor floridacan expect more clear and sunny days. Understanding how much sunlight falls on a home s roof can help a homeowner make decisions about roofing materials insulation and the placement of solar panels. The us ranges from about 4 hours 6 hours of sunlight per day on average see the below map. Calculating the amount of sunlight.

6 but don t forget every house is different. Multiply 5 hours of sunlight x 290 watts from a solar panel 1 450 watts or roughly 1 5 kilowatt hours per day. Dark roofs absorb light up to 90 of solar energy and convert it to heat emitting it back into the atmosphere. Let s say on a good day you average 5 hours of direct sunlight.

Google s project sunroof gives building by building details and now has data for parts of all 50. 4 how does that compare to your annual energy usage. That s about 500 550 kilowatt hours of energy per year from each panel on your roof. While your panels may receive an average 7 hours of daylight per day the average peak sun hoursmay actually be closer to 3 or 4.

Enter a state county city or zip code to see a solar estimate for the area based on the amount of usable sunlight and roof space. The number of peak sun hours you get per day increases the closer you are to the equator and typically during the summer months. Weather is also a factor. Although your panels may get an average of 7 hours of daylight a day the average peak sun hours are generally around 4 or 5.