Calculating Your Solar Power

Requirements
There are three main things to consider in order to choose a Solar panel or create a Solar system.
1 : How much energy can your battery store?
2 : How much energy will your appliance(s) use over a period of time?
3 : How much energy can a Solar panel generate over a period of time?
Firstly you need to know how much energy your battery can store and then select a Solar panel that can
replenish your stock of energy in the battery in line with your pattern of use.

1 : How much energy can your battery store?

Battery capacity is measured in Amp Hours (e.g. 17AH). You need to convert this to Watt Hours by
multiplying the AH figure by the battery voltage (e.g. 12V). this is just the simple calculation below

X (Battery size in AH) x Y (Battery Voltage) = Z (Power available in watt hours

For a 20AH, 12V battery the Watt Hours figure is 20(X) x 12(Y) = 240 WH (Z)

This means the battery could supply 240W for 1 hour, 120W for 2 hours or even 2w for 120 hours i.e. the
more energy you take, the faster the battery discharges.
However you are never really able to take all the power from a battery as once the voltage drops below your
equipments requirements it will no longer be able to power it. There is a simple rule of thumb for this but
please check your batterys specifications to make sure.

Lead acid batterys will give you around 50% of their rated power. (i.e. a 10Ah battery has 5Ah of
usable power)

Li-ion batterys will give you around 80% of their rated power. (i.e. a 10Ah battery has 8Ah of usable
power)

A common question that people ask regarding the batterys is,

Q. Are car batterys just as good for solar as leisure batterys?
A. The answer to this is no they are not. The reason is because a leisure battery has been designed to
be discharged and recharge, a Car battery is designed to provide a lot of power quickly but its not
able to cope with a low internal charge and recover fully.
We provide a wide range of sealed led acid batteries that are ideal for solar applications here

2 : How much energy will your appliance(s) use over a period of time?
The power consumption of appliances is generally given in Watts (e.g. A small portable TV is around 20W
this information can be found on the data sticker that most electrical items have). To calculate the energy
you will use over time, just multiply the power consumption by the hours of intended use.
The 20W TV in this example, on for 2 hours, will take 20 x 2 = 40WH from the battery.
Repeat this for all the appliances you wish to use, then add the results to establish total consumption
like below.
TV 20w on for 2 hours per day

= 40w per day

Radio 10w on for 5 hours per day

= 50w per day

Water pump (20w) on for 20mins per day

= 6.66w per day

Main Light 30w on for 3h per day

= 90w per day

Spot lights 10w on for 1h per day

= 10w per day

Total

= 196w per day

An easy way to lower your power usage is to swap out halogen lights for LED lights. LED lights generally
use 80% less energy for a similar light level. We have a range of 12V LED lights here

3 : How much energy can a Solar panel generate over a period of time?
The final part to sizing your solar system is the solar panels. The power generation rating of a Solar panel is
also given in Watts (e.g. our part number STP010, is a 10W solar panel). In Theory, to calculate the energy it
can supply to the battery, you multiply Watts (of the solar panel) by the hours exposed to sunshine.
In practice its not a great way to calculate the output from a solar panel so we work to a few simple rules.

We would generally advise that an average UK winters day will only give you 1 hours
sunshine

An average UK summers days will give you 6 hours of sunshine.

So in winter a 10w panel will provide 10w worth of energy back into your battery. (10w x 1 = 10w)
In Summer a 10w panel will provide 60w worth of energy back into your battery. (10w x 6 = 60w)
Using the above calculation takes into consideration any losses in the system from the regulator, cables and
battery you may be using.
We can supply you a range of solar panels form a small 5w unit all the way to 150w units, for more
information on this look at our web site here

4 : Putting it all together to size your system.

Knowing your power requirements and the time of year you want to use the system is vital to this step. We
will use the example above with a power requirement of 196w per day.
If this is the requirements for late spring to early Autumn use we could use this equation
Watts required / time of year sunshine hours = panel size

196 / 6 = 32.6W panel

As we dont make a 32.6w solar panel we would recommend looking at a 30w or 40w solar panel for this
application.
However if this was an all year requirement i.e. also needed in the UKs winter the numbers would change
Watts required / time of year sunshine hours = panel size

196 / 1 = 196W panel

As we dont make a 196w solar panel we would recommend looking at two 100w solar panels for this
application.

The final Piece

The final Piece to complete your solar system is the Charge Controller or Voltage Regulator. Its basically the
same thing just a different name. This essential piece of your solar system controls the Charge put into your
battery, stops overcharging and prevents the solar panel pulling power from the battery at night.

Solar Technology
International, established in 2000, is one of the worlds most innovative solar engineering
companies. We design, prototype, manufacture, market and distribute all of the brands seen on this
site. We are proud to work with and supply 1000s of the best known resellers, distributors,
manufacturers and OEM customers and our products can be found across the globe from deserts
to the poles, the Himalaya to developing countries and back to the UK!
Full details of our brands can be found on this site but the following is a quick overview:

Freeloader highly developed and effective solar portable chargers for phones, iPads and
cameras

CamCaddy a universal cradle for camera battery charging

SolarMate premium garden lights, water pumps and mains quality lighting solutions for
agricultural, domestic and industrial buildings

PV Logic a range of 20yr warranty glass fronted solar panels rigid and folding

Flexi PV and Flexi Premium super thin and flexible solar panels

Solar Power Station a complete off grid power solution

Instant Solar a fully grid connected mini solar system

Solar Models the name says it all a range of cool models using solar to makes things
move.

EcoTable outdoor furniture that charges lap tops, phones and tablets

A growing part of our work is helping companies develop their unique solar application (OEM). We
are happy to accept a basic design concept and work with the client to develop this into a specific
brief from where detailed costings are produced, hand samples and prototypes made, packaging
solutions agreed and final production delivered.
We are a totally customer focused group of individuals with a unique understanding of solar, its
capabilities and its limitations. So whether you are considering stocking our products or require our
involvement to help you bring to market the next big thing in solar innovation, our commitment to
quality, service and to you, our client, is total!
We look forward to hearing from you.
We hope this Guide has helped you understand the sizing of a simple solar panel setup. If you have any other
questions regarding sizing a system for your requirements please give us a call on 0800 7747755 (from inside the
UK) or +44 1684 774000 from any other place.