With energy prices continuously rising, solar energy has become increasingly popular. As people are becoming more aware of climate change, more homeowners are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint, cut their energy bills and lower their reliance on the grid, and that’s why solar panels are becoming a common sight across rooftops in the UK.
But there is a frequently asked question that comes up time and time again: Can solar panels generate enough electricity to power an entire home?
The short answer is yes, potentially. However, whether a solar panel system can meet all of your home’s electricity needs entirely depends on several factors that we’ll take a look at throughout this blog. So, let’s look at what it really means to power a home with solar and how you can work out whether it’s possible for your property.
What Do We Mean by “Power an Entire House?”
To properly understand whether solar can power an entire house, it’s important to think about your home’s electricity use in two different ways: how much energy you consume, and when you consume it.
Every household uses electricity for a range of everyday activities, from lighting and cooking to running appliances, computers, televisions, etc. Some homes also have higher electricity demands because they use technologies such as electric vehicle (EV) chargers, heat pumps or electric heating.
Let’s take a look at an example so we can break it down. A solar PV system may generate 4,000kWh of electricity over the course of a year. If your home also uses around 4,000kWh annually, it could appear that your solar panels are capable of powering your entire home. But that doesn’t mean the two figures perfectly align in real life.
Solar panels generate the most electricity during daylight hours. So, your solar panels might generate plenty of electricity at midday when your household is out at work or school. Then, once everyone is home in the evenings and your electricity demand increases, your solar panels are producing little or nothing because the sun has gone down. The result is that you can still have a relatively large solar system and import electricity from the grid.
If you’d like to rely less on the grid, adding a home battery can help store excess solar energy generated throughout the day that can be used in the evenings, meaning you won’t have to buy electricity from the grid as often.
How Much Electricity Can Solar Panels Generate?
A solar panel system generates electricity by converting daylight into usable energy for your home. The amount of electricity they produce depends on much more than simply how many panels you have installed.
A larger system with more panels will generally generate more electricity, but the available roof space isn’t the only consideration. Several factors can affect the output of your solar system, including the efficiency and power rating of the panels, the number of daylight hours available and your geographic location.
In the UK, we generally consider south-facing roofs to be more favourable for solar generation, though east- and west-facing roofs can also work very well. An east-facing roof may produce more electricity in the morning, while a west-facing roof can typically generate more in the afternoon. Depending on your household’s routine, this may actually be useful.
Shading from trees, chimneys, nearby buildings, or other obstructions can reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the panels and therefore lower their output, especially if they cast shadows across the panels during peak daylight hours.
Then there’s the UK’s unpredictable weather, which should also be factored in, but shouldn’t hold you back from installing solar. While solar panels don’t need direct, bright sunshine to generate electricity, they generally do produce more energy on a clear, sunny day compared to a heavily overcast one.
This also explains why solar generation can change throughout the year. A system may produce a significant amount of electricity during the long, bright days of summer but far less during the shorter, darker days of winter. This seasonal difference is one of the biggest reasons why battery storage is becoming such an important part of the conversation around home solar.
Why Battery Storage Could Be the Missing Piece
If your solar panels are producing enough electricity throughout the day, but your household uses most of its electricity in the evening, what happens to the energy you don’t use?
Without a battery, you may be able to export any surplus electricity to the grid. Depending on your circumstances and tariff, you may also receive payment for the electricity you send back.
But if your goal is to use as much of your own solar energy as possible, a home battery can be extremely useful.
A battery will store any excess electricity generated by your solar panels during the day. Rather than sending all of that unused energy to the grid, you can store some of it and use it later, perhaps in the evening when you’re cooking dinner, watching television or charging your phone.
The basic idea is very simple:
- Solar panels generate electricity.
- Your home uses what it needs.
- Any surplus electricity charges the battery
- The stored energy is used when solar generation falls.
This can significantly increase your self-consumption, meaning the majority of the solar electricity that you generate you use yourself. However, a battery doesn’t make a home completely energy independent. Its capacity is limited, and it can only store the electricity available to it. For example, if several days of poor weather result in your solar panels generating very little, you may still need to import electricity from the grid.
Similarly, installing an enormous battery isn’t necessarily the answer. The ideal battery size depends on your solar system, your household’s electricity consumption and your typical usage habits and patterns. A professional assessment should consider all three. Book your free solar consultation today to speak to a member of our team.
How Many Solar Panels Does It Take to Power a House?
There’s no universal number of panels that will power every home, because every home is different and energy requirements vary so widely.
A smaller, energy-efficient household might be suited to a system around 4kW. A larger home, or one with a higher electricity consumption, could benefit from a 6kW system or more. Homes with electric vehicles, heat pumps or particularly high electricity demand may need a larger system, provided there is enough available roof space.
The required number of panels depends on the output of the individual panels as well as the overall size of the system. For example, modern solar panels are available in different power ratings, so two systems with the same number of panels may not produce the same amount of electricity. It’s also worth remembering that the right system should be designed around your home’s energy consumption, available roof space and expected solar generation rather than simply choosing a set number of panels or the biggest one you can fit on your roof. Adding battery storage could be much more valuable than simply adding additional panels that generate surplus electricity during the middle of the day.
All of our installations are tailored to your home and your specific energy needs. Using quality panels built to last for decades. Book your free solar consultation today to start your journey towards solar.
What About Heat Pumps and Electric Vehicles?
The evolution towards electric transport and heating is transforming how homeowners are thinking about solar energy.
An electric vehicle can considerably increase a home’s electricity consumption. However, it also creates an opportunity: your car is effectively another large electrical load that could potentially be powered by your solar panels.
If you charge your EV during the day while your panels are generating electricity, you may be able to use a significant amount of the solar you’re generating directly.
A heat pump presents a slightly different challenge. While heat pumps are highly efficient compared with many traditional heating systems, they still require electricity to operate. They do also tend to be used most frequently in the colder months when solar generation in the UK is typically lower. This means a home with a heat pump installed may require a larger solar PV system to generate enough electricity over the year.
The same principle applies to households that have both an EV and a heat pump installed. Solar can help to offset their electricity consumption, but the total energy demand may mean that complete energy independence is difficult to achieve.
The Benefits of Combining Solar Panels and Battery Storage
For many households, solar panels paired with battery storage work best as a team. Solar panels reduce the amount of electricity you need to buy from the grid, while a battery can help you make better use of the electricity your panels generate.
Working together, they can potentially:
- Reduce your reliance on the grid
- Increase your use of self-generated renewable energy
- Help lower your electricity bills
- Make better use of any surplus solar generation that’s been generated during the daytime
- Reduce your home’s reliance on electricity generated from fossil fuels
On top of these benefits, there can also be financial benefits when you have greater control over when you use your electricity. Depending on your energy tariff and battery system, you may be able to change your battery when electricity is cheaper and use that stored energy when prices are higher.
However, this will vary from household to household. The most suitable system isn’t necessarily the one with the most panels or the largest battery. It’s the one that best matches your energy consumption, property and priorities.
So, Can Solar Power an Entire House?
Yes, when it comes to powering a home with solar energy, solar panels can generate enough electricity to power an entire house or largely power a house in many cases, but this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll never need electricity from the grid.
A well-sized solar PV system may generate enough electricity to match your home’s annual consumption. Adding battery storage can then help you use more of that electricity yourself, especially when your panels aren’t generating, such as during the evening.
For some homes, the combination of solar and battery storage could cover a very high proportion of the annual electricity demand. For others, particularly properties with limited roof space or very high energy consumption, the grid will remain an important part of supplying power to the home.
The key behind this is to look beyond the number of panels. Your home’s electricity consumption, lifestyle, future plans, roof space and solar potential, including whether you’re considering an EV or heat pump, all need to be considered.
Book in for a professional solar consultation to help you understand how much electricity your property could realistically generate, whether battery storage makes sense for you, and how close you could get to meeting your home’s electricity needs with solar energy.
