We live in one of the sunniest places on earth (don’t actually quote us on that, but we think you’ll all agree that the Algarve is pretty sunny!). So if you get to thinking about energy production, it seems like such a waste not to harness as much of that power as we possibly can! One way of doing that? Solar panels! And as we drive through our beloved homeland, we can’t help but swell with pride as we spot more and more of the environmentally friendly plaques glinting away in the sunshine.

But let’s get down to exploring tangible benefits and real numbers.

The benefits

The obvious: generating free energy from the ball of fiery power up there in the sky. And who doesn’t love free stuff?!

But there’s more – in fact, you could end up generating so much power from your new investment that you can start considering other things to use it for. Powering an electric car, bike, or other vehicles, for example. Now picture that – no more electricity bills or petrol outgoings ever again!

Know what else an energy surplus means?

That you can feed energy back into the grid, gaining you good vibes as a clean energy supplier to the wider world, and get this, a bit of cashback! So while it may seem like a hefty investment when you’re looking to get solar power providing equipment installed, there are actually several ways of you making that money back, both in the short and long term.

Let’s look at the numbers

Over here at Core Architects, our new Photovoltaic system currently produces nearly 60 KW per day. Now, it’s not just about how much we produce; it’s also about how much we use, which is where our zero-energy planning comes in. Proud to be as energy-efficient as possible in every single build, we choose the most efficient, locally sourced materials and carefully planned designs, making the most of each house’s surroundings to ensure minimum energy usage, which means…

Only 29% of the energy produced by the solar panels is used,

and 71% is fed back into the grid.

Powering an electric car? You’d have enough extra power to drive 300km for free per day, but that’s not all. If you take a closer look at the graph below, it shows the peaks of power production, something homeowners can certainly use to their advantage. Whether it’s irrigation or putting a clothes wash on, blow-drying hair or setting your water heater timer, this helpful information could help you hone your practices, making you as energy efficient as possible and helping the environment at the same time.

If you look below, you’ll see that the irrigation is set to kick in at 2:00 am, when the most efficient time to set it would be for 9:30 am or 6:pm, so that it is powered by the sun and not the grid. Clever, right?

Then there’s the question of batteries

Many solar panel users add batteries that store any excess power for use later in the day when the sun is no longer shining. However, thanks to our test home’s low usage and high productivity, we’ve decided not to add any as of yet – we simply haven’t needed to! Check out that shiny ray of sunshine across the graph. That yellow arc is how much energy is produced, and it’s actually 3x more than what’s used. If the homeowners can tweak their usage times to make the most of all that production, it’ll mean they’ll always have a surplus and have all their needs met. A win for them and for the planet!

There’s only one way of finding out how planet-friendly your house could become, and while there are countless ways to boost a house’s energy efficiency, nothing quite beats producing your own power on your very own roof! Ready to make a proven, worthwhile investment? Get in touch, there’s nothing we love more than a new project that helps to make the world a better place!