Why Solar Panels Make Sense for a Home
Check out our 10 Reasons to Go Solar guide for a deep dive into the biggest benefits of going solar in Northern New England.
Though it's still only an estimate, our Solar Calculator calculates the number panels you'll need and the associated costs. Our team regularly monitors and updates the calculations used behind the scenes, and makes sure all the variables going into the calculator are up to date. We use the following to create your custom estimate:
- Your monthly electric bill. Our tool takes your monthly electric bill in dollars, and divides it by the current average price for electricity, to get the number of kilowatt-hours of electricity you need each month.
- The production of a solar panel. In our region, 1 kilowatt of a solar panel array will produce roughly 1,200 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. The average size of a solar panel in 2023 is 400 watts. If you have a $150/month electric bill and live in Southern Maine, where the average rate for electricity is $0.28 per kilowatt-hour. 150/0.28 = 536 * 12 = 6,428 kilowatt-hours needed each year. 6,428 kWh / 1,200kWh/yr = 5.38kw solar array.
- Technical sizing of a solar array. To translate the example above of 5.38kw of solar into an installable solar array, our tool does some rounding based on actual solar systems. We use pricing pulled from average system sizes installed over the last year. Your actual results may vary. For example, if your roof is not ideally oriented, or you have trees in the yard, that will reduce a solar panel’s performance. If not, we can use that number to calculate shares in a community solar farm.)
- Your location. Our calculator is designed to give you customized results based on the specific electricity rates in your state. Incorporating data from past installation projects done in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, we are able to calculate a more accurate number using state specific rates.