Would you like to make solar power at home for under $100?
I did it and so can you.
It was easy, fun and educational.
After
researching and scrutinizing several DIY products on how to build a
solar panel, I purchased two products to review; Green DIY Energy, and
Earth 4 Energy. You can read my review of these two products here.
It is certainly possible, with a little planning and elbow grease, to become free, or nearly free, of the electric company. One advantage of building a solar panel is, you can build several; one by one, until you are free.
Why pay thousands of dollars to have someone else install a solar panel system, when you could do it for much, much less? If you do it yourself, you can cut the cost down to a fraction of the retail cost.
If you like to build things, especially things that could save you money, this ebook is perfect for you. Not only is it fun to build a solar panel, it is also educational. You will learn a lot about amps, volts and watts and how to make them work for you.
To find out which diy solar panel guide is the best value and easiest to follow and understand, read the following review.
If you have your solar panels professionally installed, at $500- $1,000 (and more!) per panel, it would cost upwards of $30-$60,000 to install enough panels to power your entire house. By building your own solar panels, for $100-$200 each, you can see the savings that are possible. You can also take advantage of government incentives and rebates to save money.
Save
Money. Who doesn't want to save money? As the saying goes, a penny
saved is penny earned. Wouldn't it be great to take the money you save
from your electric bill and use it for something else? The more panels
you have, the more you can save.
Make
Money. Is it possible to get money back from the electric company? Yes
it is. If you produce more electricity than you use, the electric
company pays you. You should check with your local electric company
because not all of them are the same, but most will pay you for your
electricity. You could be one of those rare individuals in your
neighborhood who makes money from the electric company.
Help
save the environment. The more we can use the energy of the sun, the
less we have to rely on other non-renewable forms of energy.
Your
kids and grandkids will be proud of you. Do this, and you will be doing
your part in leaving a better planet for your progeny.
Be
independent. Imagine the feeling you will have, knowing you don't have
to rely on someone else for your electricity. It comes in especially
handy when there is a power outage. It just gives a person a good
feeling when they are self-sufficient.
Solar
energy is a renewable resource. The sun is there everyday. Yes, there
are cloudy days, and no sun at night, but, depending on where you live,
most locations have enough sun to make solar panels worthwhile.
Solar
energy does not pollute. Compared to most other forms of energy such as
coal and oil, solar energy, along with wind power, is a very clean form
of energy.
To
find out how you can build your own solar panels for under $100, read
my review of the easiest to follow and most concise solar panel ebooks
on the net.
For more benefits of building
solar panels visit the page Eight Reasons to Build Solar
Panels.
The best and quickest explanation I can give is to show you. Below is a short video, made by the US Department of Energy that explains how solar energy is converted to electricity much better than I can.
You can take a look at this next video that shows how a solar power system works in a home. It takes just over 2 minutes to watch. It shows in a very simple way how the energy from the sun can power your home, and even how to make your meter run backwards!
Get a family member involved who likes to build things. Your father or son, or granddaughter could do the project for you. You probably have a friend who has a wood shop. That is a pretty good sign he likes to build things.
Or you could buy solar panels and install them yourself. This option still takes time, but not as much as building the panels yourself. It also costs more, so it will take longer to get your investment back, but you still get the advantages of having solar power.
The last and most expensive option is to have the solar power system installed professionally. You don't have to mess with it at all, just have someone else do it. As I said, it is the most expensive option, but every so often it seems there are advances made that bring the cost down and make it more affordable than before.
It took me a few hours to build a 65 watt solar panel. I only had to buy one tool that I didn't already have; a multi-meter ($20). If you have even a modest wood shop, you probably have the tools you need already.
After researching and scrutinizing several DIY products on how to build a solar panel, I purchased two products to review; Green DIY Energy, and Earth 4 Energy.
I ordered the solar cells from a seller off of ebay and had them within a few days of when I ordered them. There are several suppliers you can order from. The cells I bought cost me just over $70. It included enough cells to build two solar panels, tab wire, bus wire, 2 diodes and a flux pen.
I would recommend getting the tabbed cells. I tend to do things the hard way, so I ordered the untabbed cells, just to see how hard it was. It wasn't too difficult. It took a couple of hours to solder the tabs on 36 cells.
Be sure to wear a mask! You can see from the picture above that soldering produces smoke; you don't want that stuff in your lungs!
It's a good idea to wear the latex surgical gloves. They are cheap and will help keep fingerprints and dirt off the solar cells.
Here's another tip; If you have never used a flux pen, be sure to not get too much flux on the cell. The first time I used it, it didn't seem to be working right, so I put some pressure on the tip, and a bunch of the flux ran down onto the cell! It made kind of a mess. I was still able to keep the cell. You don't need much flux. It's purpose is to clean the area and nothing more.
Here is the frame. I used regular wood glue. I have plenty of clamps, some of them are old guitar making clamps I made about 8 years ago. If you don't have many clamps, just glue one section at a time.
And here is
the finished, unpainted
frame. It didn't cost anything for the wood, as I had some
unused
lumber. This part was easy and pretty straight forward.
Here I am painting the substrate with primer. I put on two coats of primer and two coats of a dark brown exterior paint, to blend in with the trim on my home.
A picture of the finished frame is at the top of this page.
If you are still not sure if this is a project you should tackle, I will tell you that my experience was a very positive one. I did make some mistakes, but none too serious.
Take a look at the review I made of the two best ebooks on how to build your own solar panels, then check each one out and decide which one is best for you.
Imagine
this: You open your
electric bill, and instead of owing them, they
owe you!
It is certainly possible, with a little planning and elbow grease, to become free, or nearly free, of the electric company. One advantage of building a solar panel is, you can build several; one by one, until you are free.
Why pay thousands of dollars to have someone else install a solar panel system, when you could do it for much, much less? If you do it yourself, you can cut the cost down to a fraction of the retail cost.
If you like to build things, especially things that could save you money, this ebook is perfect for you. Not only is it fun to build a solar panel, it is also educational. You will learn a lot about amps, volts and watts and how to make them work for you.
To find out which diy solar panel guide is the best value and easiest to follow and understand, read the following review.
How much money can you save if you make solar panels on your own?
If you have your solar panels professionally installed, at $500- $1,000 (and more!) per panel, it would cost upwards of $30-$60,000 to install enough panels to power your entire house. By building your own solar panels, for $100-$200 each, you can see the savings that are possible. You can also take advantage of government incentives and rebates to save money.
What are the benefits of solar panels?
Save
Money. Who doesn't want to save money? As the saying goes, a penny
saved is penny earned. Wouldn't it be great to take the money you save
from your electric bill and use it for something else? The more panels
you have, the more you can save.Make
Money. Is it possible to get money back from the electric company? Yes
it is. If you produce more electricity than you use, the electric
company pays you. You should check with your local electric company
because not all of them are the same, but most will pay you for your
electricity. You could be one of those rare individuals in your
neighborhood who makes money from the electric company.Help
save the environment. The more we can use the energy of the sun, the
less we have to rely on other non-renewable forms of energy. Your
kids and grandkids will be proud of you. Do this, and you will be doing
your part in leaving a better planet for your progeny.Be
independent. Imagine the feeling you will have, knowing you don't have
to rely on someone else for your electricity. It comes in especially
handy when there is a power outage. It just gives a person a good
feeling when they are self-sufficient.Solar
energy is a renewable resource. The sun is there everyday. Yes, there
are cloudy days, and no sun at night, but, depending on where you live,
most locations have enough sun to make solar panels worthwhile.Solar
energy does not pollute. Compared to most other forms of energy such as
coal and oil, solar energy, along with wind power, is a very clean form
of energy.To
find out how you can build your own solar panels for under $100, read
my review of the easiest to follow and most concise solar panel ebooks
on the net.For more benefits of building
solar panels visit the page Eight Reasons to Build Solar
Panels.How Do Solar Panels Work?
The best and quickest explanation I can give is to show you. Below is a short video, made by the US Department of Energy that explains how solar energy is converted to electricity much better than I can.
You can take a look at this next video that shows how a solar power system works in a home. It takes just over 2 minutes to watch. It shows in a very simple way how the energy from the sun can power your home, and even how to make your meter run backwards!
But I Don't Have Time to Build Solar Panels.
Get a family member involved who likes to build things. Your father or son, or granddaughter could do the project for you. You probably have a friend who has a wood shop. That is a pretty good sign he likes to build things.
Or you could buy solar panels and install them yourself. This option still takes time, but not as much as building the panels yourself. It also costs more, so it will take longer to get your investment back, but you still get the advantages of having solar power.
The last and most expensive option is to have the solar power system installed professionally. You don't have to mess with it at all, just have someone else do it. As I said, it is the most expensive option, but every so often it seems there are advances made that bring the cost down and make it more affordable than before.
Read Below to See My Solar Panel Project.
It took me a few hours to build a 65 watt solar panel. I only had to buy one tool that I didn't already have; a multi-meter ($20). If you have even a modest wood shop, you probably have the tools you need already.
After researching and scrutinizing several DIY products on how to build a solar panel, I purchased two products to review; Green DIY Energy, and Earth 4 Energy.
I ordered the solar cells from a seller off of ebay and had them within a few days of when I ordered them. There are several suppliers you can order from. The cells I bought cost me just over $70. It included enough cells to build two solar panels, tab wire, bus wire, 2 diodes and a flux pen.
I would recommend getting the tabbed cells. I tend to do things the hard way, so I ordered the untabbed cells, just to see how hard it was. It wasn't too difficult. It took a couple of hours to solder the tabs on 36 cells.
Be sure to wear a mask! You can see from the picture above that soldering produces smoke; you don't want that stuff in your lungs!
It's a good idea to wear the latex surgical gloves. They are cheap and will help keep fingerprints and dirt off the solar cells.
Here's another tip; If you have never used a flux pen, be sure to not get too much flux on the cell. The first time I used it, it didn't seem to be working right, so I put some pressure on the tip, and a bunch of the flux ran down onto the cell! It made kind of a mess. I was still able to keep the cell. You don't need much flux. It's purpose is to clean the area and nothing more.
Here is the frame. I used regular wood glue. I have plenty of clamps, some of them are old guitar making clamps I made about 8 years ago. If you don't have many clamps, just glue one section at a time.
Here I am painting the substrate with primer. I put on two coats of primer and two coats of a dark brown exterior paint, to blend in with the trim on my home.
A picture of the finished frame is at the top of this page.
If you are still not sure if this is a project you should tackle, I will tell you that my experience was a very positive one. I did make some mistakes, but none too serious.
Take a look at the review I made of the two best ebooks on how to build your own solar panels, then check each one out and decide which one is best for you.
Copyright 2010 Roger Turner- All Rights Reserved
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