How to Cut Your Electric Bill in Half with These Little-Known Solar Panel Hacks

Installing solar panels on your home can significantly reduce your electricity bills. With some smart solar panel hacks, you can cut your electric bill in half or more. Here's how to maximize energy and cost savings with solar.

Determine Your Electricity Usage

The first step is understanding your home's electricity consumption. Review several months of electric bills to see your average monthly kilowatt-hour (kWh) usage. Look for seasonal fluctuations and when you use the most electricity.

Knowing your usage helps properly size a solar system to match your needs. With the right solar panel system size, you can potentially zero out your electric bill entirely. Undersizing leads to leaving savings on the table. Oversizing wastes money on unneeded capacity.

Calculate Required Solar Panel System Size

Once you know your average electricity usage, you can calculate the solar panel system size needed to meet that demand. As a rule of thumb, most homes need 15-25 solar panels to offset their full electric bill.

To size your system:

• Find your location's average daily peak sunlight hours (4-6 for most regions).
• Multiply your average daily kWh usage by 30 to get monthly usage.
• Divide monthly usage by peak sunlight hours to get the solar system size in kW.
• Divide system size by 0.3 kW (the output of a typical panel) to get the number of panels.

This gives an estimate of how many solar panels are needed. Work with installers to finalize system design.

Choose High-Efficiency Solar Panels

Solar panel technology has improved greatly in efficiency over the years. Upgrading from older 250-watt panels to new 360+ watt panels generates a lot more electricity from each panel.

High-efficiency monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon solar panels offer the best performance. Upgrading panel efficiency lets you squeeze more power production out of your available roof space.

Install Solar Panels for Optimal Production

Proper solar panel positioning is key to maximizing electricity generation. Here are some best practices:

• Face panels south for the most direct sunlight in the northern hemisphere. Adjust orientation for your latitude.
• Tilt panels at an angle equal to your latitude for optimal angle to the sun.
• Ensure no shading from trees or structures, especially in morning/afternoon.
• Place panels in multiple arrays for more flexibility in avoiding shade.
• Use panel-level microinverters so shading only affects one panel's output.

Perfect solar panel placement gives you the most bang for your buck from your system.

Take Advantage of Net Metering

Most utilities allow net metering, where your solar panels can spin your meter backwards during the day to offset nighttime electrical draw. This enables your solar system to zero out your electric bill.

With net metering:

• Solar energy used immediately offsets electric usage, reducing bills.
• Excess solar energy feeds back to the grid, earning credits.
• Credits apply to future electric bills, often indefinitely.

Net metering policies vary by state, so verify your utility's rules. But with net metering, solar panels can eliminate electric bills through direct bill offsets.

Stack Savings with Other Electricity Reduction Tips

To maximize solar savings, also reduce your home's overall electricity demand through conservation. Here are some extra ways to cut energy usage:

• Switch to LED light bulbs to lower lighting power draw.
• Install smart thermostats to optimize HVAC runtimes.
• Use energy efficient appliances when replacing old ones.
• Improve home insulation to reduce heating/cooling costs.
• Run large appliances like washers at off-peak times.

Combining solar power with energy efficiency yields the biggest cost savings. With the right solar optimizations, you can radically cut your electric bill or even achieve net zero energy!