The United States has always been reliant on coal since the mid-1700s, and later, on fossil fuel in the 19th Century, for its energy demands. As the world’s fossil resource declines, it is essential to find other renewable energy sources. Solar, wind, and hydro are examples of energy sources that do not contribute to the growing carbon footprint.
People can be interested in hiring a solar new Mexico company to harness the sun’s rays for their home energy needs, but there can be many questions lingering in their minds. Here are frequently asked questions and their answers:
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How Much Can I Save in Electricity with a Solar Panel in New Mexico?
It depends on your consumption. USA Today ran an article on the State’s normal energy use and cost. While New Mexico wasn’t the most moderate in terms of the average price of electricity, their households are one of the lowest consumption among any state. The average monthly bill is $76, you multiply that by 12, and you are still saving $900.
However, in New Mexico, you can sell your excess energy to your utility company so you can even earn while saving money in turn.
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How Many Solar Panels Are Required in My Home?
The number of solar panels depends on the size of your home, budget, and whether you intend to cover the total amount or part of your monthly utility bills. You can assume that each square foot requires 2 watts.
So a 2,000-square-foot home would need the solar panel to produce 4,000 watts. A 4 kW solar panel needs about 300 feet in space to be installed. It is easy to calculate how many solar panels you need because the state has a net metering system.
The solar new Mexico company can compute your monthly total energy usage and the number of solar panels by wattage.
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How Long Does a Solar Panel Last?
It would not be a sound investment when you spend all that money only to see your solar panels degrade in 2 to 3 years. Fortunately, that is not the case. The industry standard is 25 to 30 years. That is why you see solar companies lease their products for up to 20 years. With the right maintenance, you can even extend the lifespan of your solar panels beyond three decades.
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Do Solar Panels Work at Night?
Solar panels harness the power of the sun, which is why they do not work at night in their optimum function. However, they do work on cloudy days with less than 25% efficiency because of the weather condition.
It is the beauty of the net metering system in New Mexico. You can feed to the grid the excess energy you generate during the day to get extra credits. You can then use your credits for your energy usage at night.
In most instances, you produce more than you use because you do not consume much electricity during the day. In the end, you get paid by the utility company for the excess energy.
