What Appliances Can’t Be Used with Solar Panels on Long Island?
All household appliances can be used with solar power, provided that the system (panels, inverter, and battery storage) is correctly sized to handle the load. Once electricity is generated on your rooftop and passed through an inverter, it’s no different to from electricity that comes from the grid.
The only thing to worry about is the practicality of your appliances compared to the solar array. High-draw appliances like central air conditioners, water heaters, and clothes dryers can all run from solar during the day.
Power Solutions, one of the most trusted solar contractors on Long Island, will size your solar array to suit your energy demands.
The Reality of Solar Compatibility with Large Appliances
When people ask what appliances can’t be run with solar, they’re usually thinking about practicality and cost-efficiency, rather than the underlying possibility. To understand why some appliances aren’t “solar-friendly,” we have to consider the output of the solar panels and the demands of the appliances.
- Electric Water Heaters: With an average draw of 4,500 watts, an electric water heater could fully deplete a 10kWh solar battery in just two hours.
- Central Air Conditioning Units: Large 3-ton AC units (used for whole-home cooling) can draw up to 4,500 watts per hour. This is an acceptable load for a standard solar panel array, but it could quickly deplete a solar battery running at night.
- Clothes Dryers: If you have an electric clothes dryer, it is likely the most energy-hungry device in your home. A cycle can use up to 5,000 watts.
The trick to getting the most value from residential solar on Long Island is having a system that offsets your daily demands so that you pay less to PSEG.
It’s not about whether or not your panels and battery could handle an appliance, but rather how much of your usage you can cover with solar. During daylight hours, you could run an air conditioner from solar panels, or occasionally use your dryer or electric water heater without taking any energy from the grid.
Long Island solar provides a net benefit by reducing your monthly utility bill. A solar panel installation can pay for itself within the first 8 – 10 years (savings equal to the cost of installation). After this time, every unit of electricity you generate is money back in your pocket. Solar panels last for an average of 25 years, but most modern panels will produce some electricity for 30 years or more.
How Power Solutions Will Optimize Your Solar Installation
We design solar to maximize savings. Here’s how we do it:
- We look at your historical billing data and consumption to correctly size the solar panel array for your energy needs.
- If you want a solar battery installation on Long Island, we will size the battery so that it can efficiently store energy and deploy as much as you need during peak Time-of-Use billing periods (varies depending on your utility account, but rates are often highest from 4PM – 7PM).
- We evaluate your property using drone technology. We look at the roof design, angle, and orientation to the sun. We predict average production based on sunlight exposure and any nearby shade structures. This helps in sizing and optimizing the system.
- We use microinverters for solar panels. An inverter at each panel is more efficient than a single string inverter. It maximizes production even when parts of your array are shaded at different times of day.
With expert planning, you can use any appliance with solar panels on Long Island. Get your free ballpark solar estimate today or talk to our expert solar consultants at (631) 348-0001.
