To properly design a power system, we must first account for every electric use that you expect. (This is most important for an off-grid system.) We need to know not only how much power something uses, but also how long it will be on each day. The power multiplied by time is the energy used. So, a circular saw that takes 1000 watts but is on only an hour can take as much energy as a 75 watt light left on overnight.

Energy is measured in Kilowatt-hours (a kWh is 1000 watts x 1 hr). The average American home uses between 10 kWh and 30 kWh each day. The average solar home uses between 1 kWh and 5 kWh each day. Choose your life-style wisely: it's easier, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly to save energy than to add more solar power. Think efficiency!

Filling out a load sheet will show you how much total energy you will need each day. This is a free consultation. It will also show you where your energy is going, so you can adjust your life-style to make solar power more affordable. The Solar Sizer is a general questionnaire to get you some ballpark energy figures. You can also look at your electric bill to see how many kWh you use a month. The Solar Sizer Excel Spreadsheet will give you a more advanced assessment. It is our detailed load sheet, focusing electrical usage needs on one item at a time. This is what we base our free custom design and estimate upon.

If you don't have Excel on your computer, you could print off the Solar Sizer Basic.pdf file, fill it out and mail it to us. This can delay the estimate, because we have to hand enter all your data into the spreadsheet. Please try to use the Solar Sizer Excel Spreadsheet.