Posts Tagged ‘diy solar panel’

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Solar Power Your Home With DIY Solar Kits

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

DIY solar kits are a cheap solution to buying expensive commercial solar panels and having them installed. Having your own solar power appeals to people because it makes them energy self sufficient and is better for the environment. However when people realise that it can cost thousands of dollars and that it would likely take at least 10 years to recoup that investment they will often lose interest in switching to solar power. But there is good news as you don’t need to spend anywhere near this amount of money to solar power your home. You can buy DIY solar kits that contain all the materials and instructions you need to build and install solar panels in your home.

The first of two possible DIY solutions is to purchase a solar panel kit that has all of the components and instructions that you need. The cheapest option however is to actually build your own solar panels from scratch rather than buying them ready made as part of a kit. All of the materials are available from local hardware stores and you can expect to be able to build solar panels for less than a couple of hundred dollars each.

Making your own DIY solar panels is the perfect solution. You can expect to make huge savings from solar electricity whatever country or region you are living in. Although if you live in a sunny climate you are likely to generate a higher percentage of your electricity needs than a household in a colder geographic area. In order to operate at night and during overcast weather a solar power system will charge batteries up to save the energy for when it is needed. In some countries the power companies will actual buy your surplus solar generated electricity.Imagine how great it would be to receive money from your utility company instead of them demanding it from you!

One of the good things about DIY solar kits is that you can start off small with just a couple of solar panels with the aim of powering one or two appliances. Adding additional solar panels over time will lead to more savings and you will be able to power additional appliances.

Making your own solar panels doesn’t require you to be great at DIY. The kit will come with clear and easy to follow instructions. You won’t have to buy any expensive tools. For those who enjoy DIY this could prove to be an interesting and highly enjoyable project.

For more information on DIY Solar Kits please visit www.greencheapenergy.com. Please also read our Earth4Energy review to learn more about making your own solar panels.

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Free Energy - Homemade Solar Hot Water Kits

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

DIY hot water systems are not new, people in the United States have been using homemade water heating kits for over 100 years. Thirty percent of all hot water needs of the residents of pasadena in 1897 was produced by using homemade solar water heaters! If our ancestors could harness the power of the sun over a hundred years ago, then we should be now!

However the discovery of massive supplies of gas and oil in the United States meant that creating energy from the sun was sidelined in favor of fossil fuel heating methods. The trend in the use of homemade solar hot water kits has increased as the world looks to lower carbon emissions.

Latest statistics show that there are over 500,000 such water heating devices used in California. Many of these are used in houses and swimming pools. Using a DIY Solar Panels for swimming pools and showers is a great way to lower pollution caused by fossil fuels and also to lower your electricity bill. A bonus is that your carbon footprint is less.

Homemade solar panels used to heat hot water will typically contain pipework, a insulation box and covering panel. The sun’s heat is transferred through the glass which magnifies its intensity and makes the water in the pipes hot. Just imagine the sun as the power source for your hot water tank. However unlike when you flip the electricity switch, the sun heats up your hot water for free!

Most of the equipment that you will require can be bought at your local DIY shop. I use Radioshack for example. I can now build my own panels and cells for under $200. But remember energy from the sun is free so you will recoup these costs over time. More importantly you will not be paying thousands of dollars to a professional when you can build your own for a fraction of the price! The cost of the components is far outweighed by what you will be saving long term in electricity and heating costs around your home.

So what are you waiting for? You could be using these simple DIY solar panel systems to heat your home or swimming pool. Making a do it yourself solar hot water panel is actually easier than you would think. There are stacks of guides and plans available on the internet.

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Solar Panel Building Made Easy

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

I must say that I was a little apprehensive when I undertook my first homemade solar panel project. I was a novice at DIY and thought that building my renewable energy source would be very difficult indeed.

Luckily I cam across some very good step by step guides on the internet and set about building my first solar cell.

At the back of my mind I kept thinking that I could succeed with the project with the right tools and instruction. The main reasons for me investing in homemade energy is to reduce pollution caused by myself and I also want to save cash on electricity costs!

I was amazed at how cost effective building my homemade solar panels was. By utilising a clear set of instructions you will grow in confidence and start to realise that your panel will work when completed. So much so that it was not long before I had my first panel made

You have to remember that a solar panel is simply a big box filled with some wiring and solar cells. Putting it all together is remarkably easy once you get started.

Once constructed, you will need to find a spot that allows your homemade solar panels to face the sun. An ideal position for locating your solar cells is your roof, particularly your south facing roof. Take care when climbing at height and I would advise wearing a hard hat and harness. Make sure you treat your homemade solar energy panel with respect, it contains glass which can be damaged if care is not taken whilst installing.

Most of the equipment that you will require can be bought at your local DIY shop. I use Radioshack for example. The costs of building my DIY solar panels has dropped to under two hundred dollars. Costs will be clawed back over time as you are creating a free energy resource. More importantly you will not be paying thousands of dollars to a professional when you can build your own for a fraction of the price! The cost of the components is far outweighed by what you will be saving long term in electricity and heating costs around your home.

So what are you waiting for? I now save up to 80% of my heating and electricity costs by harnessing the power of the sun for free!

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Which Solar Panel Is Proper For Me?

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

A long as your home has adequate roof space and the correct orientation to the sun, a solar power system could provide all of the electricity for your home. Some homeowners who might have been interested in solar power have been discouraged because they did not meet one or the other of these requirements. The result would have been solar panels that didn’t generate enough power to justify installation costs. The increasing efficiency and tolerance of sunlight angles of more recent solar panels has given some hope to these homeowners.  Combining the solar panel with a 12 volt battery and charge controller is the most common application, making a 12 volt solar charger.

These newer solar panels are based on improved solar cell technology and better manufacturing techniques that provide a better solution for all solar power installations. Because of several different improvements, the solar cells in these newer solar panels offer homeowners better power production than ones that were available just a few years ago. Their main advantage is that they can produce more electricity from less sunlight than older cells. This is good for homeowners since it means that they are more effective for longer portions of the day. Older solar panels required the sun to hit them more directly and so had a limited range of operation. During the early morning and and late afternoon these older panels would produce little to no electricity. They were also intermittent on cloudy or rainy days since even though the sun was shining, it may not have been bright enough for the panels to produce electricity. In all levels of sunlight these newer panels will produce more power and so can help many homeowners justify the cost of installing a solar power system. This can also be good news for people who have homes with less than perfect alignment with the sun.

Another benefit of these newer solar panels is that the average home will need fewer of them to generate enough electricity to eliminate their electric bill. The cost for the system will also be less because fewer panels will be used. This can make a significant different for people with limited roof space.  To figure out how many solar panels you will need for your house, take a look at this Solar Panel Calculator.

The newer solar panels also will also last significantly longer. Older panels would last 10 to 15 years in a moderate climate before they needed to be replaced. The panels would generate peak output for about ten years and then degrade over time. This was due to the gradual failure of the solar cells since as these older solar cells aged, they would start to fail. The collection of solar cells would produce less and less power as more and more of its cells failed. Because these newer solar cells are far more durable, they will last longer than the older versions and also generate more electricity for longer as well. The homeowner will get to enjoy the benefits of solar electricity for many more years to come and this makes it an even better choice.  A great way to save on the cost of solar panels is by building your own home build solar panel.

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New Breakthroughs in Home Solar Panels

Saturday, September 26th, 2009

The average homeowner can reduce or eliminate their annual electricity bill by installing a solar power system. With a properly sized solar panel array, all of their power can be easily generated from sunlight and they will never again have to worry about another electric bill. Some homeowners, though, encounter problems that prevent them from getting the return on investment that they had hoped for. However, many of these issues can be overcome with recent innovations and improvements in solar technology.  You can make use of these improvements whether you’re purchasing solar panels or making a DIY solar panel.

The biggest concern for most homeowners that are considering installing a solar panel system is does their home have the proper orientation to the sun to be able to take advantage of solar power. For solar power systems to operate at peak efficiencies, a home has to have a roof that faced south if they were located in the northern hemisphere. As the sun travels across the sky, a southern exposure ensures that the solar panels get a good amount of sun through the day. Older panels had a very specific need to constant sun exposure for most of the day. If their positioning was even a little bit off, it could have a major impact on the amount of power they could generate

More efficient solar cells in modern panels solves this problem. Besides producing more electricity with similar amount of sunlight, these newer solar cells can also tolerate a more severe angle relative to the sun. Because of this, they have a wider tolerance for locations that would not have been good choices for older systems. This makes them a perfect fit for installations that have a lees than perfect alignment for maximum solar power generation. These modern solar panels will produce more electricity when there is dimished sunlight, like on cloudy days, and also in these situations that are out of standard alignment with the sun.  These newer panels don’t have to be rotated during the data to point directly at the sun.  This makes it much easier to do a homebuild solar panel installation.

This is a vast improvement over older cells that required a strong consistent amount of sunlight to produce power. Older panels were inactive early in the morning and late in the afternoon because of this. The amount of sun at these times doesn’t cross the electricity production threshold required by these older panels. Newer panels will produce power proportional to the amount of sun even during these periods of lower amounts of sunlight. This means they will produce their maximum output during the day when the sun is brightest and will still produce power in lesser amounts when less sunlight is present. So, these more modern solar panels can produce more average power per day and therefore more total power through the year. This additional power can have a big impact on savings and can make all the difference to homeowners that are trying to justify a solar power system for their home.

Among the many ways to increase the resale value of your home, a solar power system is one of the best.  No matter whether you supplement the electricity provided by the power company or supply all of the electricity needs of your house, a solar power system will definitely increase the value of your home.  A simple diy solar charger can be a great first solar project.

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