We’ve a First Communion this weekend, so the window cleaner was out this morning getting the house looking respectable.
I remembered him telling me last year that he’d installed ten solar panels and that they were “the best thing he’d ever bought - better than any car, van or tools!”
I asked him how they were performing and he laughed, “Good enough that I added another six.”
That probably says more about how attitudes towards solar have changed in Ireland than any statistics ever could.
A few years ago, most conversations around solar panels were still centred around whether they worked properly in Irish weather, or how long it would take to “pay them back.”
Now, more and more people simply seem to know somebody who has them - and are glad they made the move.
But once people start seriously considering solar, the same question usually follows fairly quickly - How many solar panels do I actually need?
The answer is rarely as straightforward as people expect.
Two houses sitting side-by-side can need completely different solar systems.
One might have two retired people at home most of the day. The other could have two adults working remotely, an EV charger outside and a heat pump running in the background.
The size of the house matters to a point, but electricity usage matters far more.
That’s one of the biggest misconceptions around solar in Ireland. People often assume there’s a “standard” setup for a three-bed semi-detached house or a bungalow, when in reality the right system depends much more on how electricity is actually used inside the home.
In most cases, the starting point for sizing a solar system is your electricity usage.
That’s why installers usually look at previous electricity bills first rather than simply counting bedrooms or measuring roof size.
A household with high daytime usage will often benefit more from solar than a household that uses most of its electricity late at night.
Likewise, somebody charging an electric car several times a week is naturally going to need a larger system than somebody with relatively modest usage.
The way homes use electricity has changed significantly in recent years as well.
Remote working, electric vehicles, heat pumps, home offices and rising electricity costs have all shifted the conversation around solar system sizing.
Electric vehicles are probably one of the biggest reasons homeowners are now installing larger systems than they might have considered a few years ago.
Once people begin charging a car at home, electricity usage can increase quite dramatically.
And because of that, many homeowners are now planning solar systems not just around current usage, but around future usage too, which is an important distinction.
Someone who doesn’t currently own an EV may still decide to install a slightly larger system today because they know there’s a good chance they’ll buy one within the next few years.
At that point, adding a few extra panels during the initial installation can often make far more sense than expanding the system later.
Many homeowners worry that their roof may simply be too small for solar. In reality, modern solar panels are far more efficient than they used to be.
That means even relatively modest roof areas can often generate meaningful amounts of electricity.
Of course, roof orientation, pitch and shading still matter. South-facing roofs generally perform best, but east and west-facing roofs can still work very well in Irish conditions.
And even homes with some shade are not automatically ruled out anymore either, particularly as panel and inverter technology continues to improve.
One of the more interesting shifts in the solar market is that homeowners are becoming much more informed than they used to be.
A few years ago, there was often an assumption that the biggest possible system was automatically the best option.
Now, people are thinking more carefully about balancing installation cost, electricity usage, battery storage and long-term value.
Installing too small a system can leave homeowners disappointed with the savings.
But oversizing a system significantly beyond what a household realistically uses can also lengthen the financial payback period unnecessarily.
The best systems are usually the ones designed around how the household actually lives.
Battery storage has become much more common in Irish solar installations.
Previously, homeowners mainly focused on generating as much electricity as possible during daylight hours and using what they could immediately.
Now, many households are storing excess electricity for use later in the evening when electricity demand is often higher.
That means batteries can sometimes allow homeowners to make better use of the electricity already being generated, rather than simply increasing the number of panels on the roof.
For many households, the conversation is no longer just “How many panels do I need?” But also “How much of my own electricity do I want to store and use later?”
This is another major change compared to just a few years ago.
People are no longer thinking about solar purely in terms of today’s electricity bill. They’re also thinking ahead.
Will electricity prices continue rising? Will they buy an EV? Could they add a heat pump later? Will battery storage become even more important over time?
Those questions are increasingly shaping how systems are designed.
And in many cases, homeowners are choosing systems that give them flexibility for the future rather than simply covering current usage alone.
Government grants continue to make solar more accessible for Irish homeowners.
SEAI supports reduce the upfront installation cost and can significantly improve overall value compared to where the market was a few years ago.
That doesn’t mean every household should simply install the maximum number of panels possible because grants are available.
But grants do make it easier for homeowners to consider slightly larger or more future-focused systems than they might previously have considered financially viable.
There’s no perfect universal answer.
Some homes may benefit from relatively small systems designed mainly to offset daytime electricity usage.
Others may need larger systems because of electric vehicles, heat pumps, higher occupancy or future plans.
For many standard Irish family homes, systems often fall somewhere in the middle - large enough to make a meaningful dent in electricity bills without massively overshooting actual usage.
And that’s usually the key.
The best solar systems are rarely the ones with the highest number of panels. They’re the ones designed properly around the household itself.
It depends more on electricity usage than house size. Factors such as EV charging, heat pumps, remote working and battery storage can all affect the ideal system size.
Yes. Oversizing a system well beyond what a household realistically uses can reduce overall financial efficiency and lengthen payback periods.
Not necessarily. Two similar-sized homes can have very different electricity usage depending on occupancy, heating systems and lifestyle.
Yes. Modern panels are more efficient than older systems, meaning even smaller roof areas can often support worthwhile solar generation.
If you’re trying to work out what size solar system might actually suit your house, it usually makes more sense to look at how your household uses electricity rather than searching for a “standard” number of panels online.
With over 20 years’ experience and more than 25,000 installations across Ireland, Activ8 Solar Energies designs systems around real homes, real electricity usage and long-term energy goals - helping homeowners understand what makes sense for their own situation clearly and without pressure.
If you’d like a clearer idea of what could work for your own home, including potential savings, battery options, EV charging and SEAI supports, you can get in touch with the Activ8 team here.
Click the button to return to our blog