DIY Solar Panels

As yet another increased electricity bill arrives, many of us begin to wonder how we can cut the cost of our electricity. The first way is obviously to use less. Proper insulation of walls and roof spaces, using low energy, long-life light bulbs, running the washing machine at a lower temperature, and hanging our laundry outside instead of using the tumble drier, are all excellent ways to cut the bills.

It is even better, however, if we can reduce the bills either by means of a ground source pump for heating the house, or with a wind turbine or solar panels for producing electricity. These are all methods of reducing the amount of power required from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas, none of which are renewable and all of which have to be paid for. The power of the wind, the energy of the sun and the heat of the earth are, still, free!

Ground source heat pumps are an excellent way of using the heat stored underground both to heat your house and to cool it in the summer months. They do not produce electricity but will mean you have no heating bills in the winter months. Wind turbines, on the other hand, can produce enough electricity for all your domestic needs. The sails of the turbine harness the power of the wind and convert this renewable wind energy into electricity. Likewise, solar panels, if you have enough of them, can provide most of your electricity needs. A large wind turbine or a large number of solar panels will even give you an excess to sell back to the Grid.

The drawback for the householder is the initial capital cost. Many people would very much like to produce their own electricity. It is quite possible, using renewable energy methods, to provide all the electricity for your home and even sell the excess to the Grid. Once you have installed the wind turbine or the solar energy system, you will have no further costs. The problem is that very often the cost of buying the system and having it installed is simply too great. Even though many people know that it would save them money in the long term, they are simply unable to pay the initial cost.

For example, a heat pump for providing all your heating can cost $15000 (US) to $30000 to install, and this does not include the necessary groundworks. This is perhaps worth considering for a new construction, but would be prohibitively expensive for an existing house.

Home wind turbines are even more expensive. A small wind turbine, producing 2Kw of power will not cost less than $12000 and a large one, producing all your electricity, could cost up to $50000. Wind turbines have the additional disadvantage that they need wind! If there are other buildings or tall trees blocking the wind, they will not turn. For this reason they are only really feasible in exposed rural areas.

Advantages Of Solar Power

Solar energy is the most attractive of the three methods of producing home made energy. Solar panels for home energy use can be put on any south facing roof - they can even be free-standing. It is by far the cheapest method of producing your own electricity and the installation involves far less ground work and disruption. Solar panels can be installed on your roof and connected to your electricity supply within a few hours. Another huge advantage of solar energy over wind energy is that the panels do not even require bright sunlight. They can harness the power of the sun even on dull, overcast days. This means that the panels are working throughout the daylight hours, 365 days a year. It's free, it's available, and one wonders why everyone is not using it. The problem, again, is the initial cost. Even a small system of solar panels for homes, producing 2.5 Kw of electricity, comes at an average cost of $11000 for supply and installation.

DIY Solar Panels

However, the principles behind solar energy are simple. The sun's power is trapped in photo voltaic cells. One cell does not produce a great deal of power, so a solar panel normally contains a number of cells joined together. The solar energy trapped in the cells is DC electricity which is then converted to AC electricity through an inverter and stored in a battery. The battery is connected to your electricity supply - and you have electricity using a solar panel. The idea is so simple that it is possible to buy a kit for installing solar panels. A number of companies now produce these. The kits are likely to include a solar panel, the inverter to transform the power to AC, and the battery and instructions on how to install the system. These ready made kits range from around $600 for a simple solar panel kit that will provide electricity for a few light bulbs to more sophisticated ones, costing in the region of $4000 which are designed to provide much of your electricity.

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Home Made Solar Panels - It Is Easy To Make Solar Panels!

All these DIY solar panel kits systems come with the panel already made. The solar panel cost represents a significant part of the total cost. Yet the cost of building your own solar panel is minimal. There are a number of online sites which give guidance on making a solar panel. There are even some instruction manuals, complete with an instructional DVD, which will lead you through the steps of making your own solar panel. Most people are quite capable of building a solar panel, using a simple plywood frame to keep the fragile cells rigid and connecting the cells to each other using some copper wire and a simple soldering iron. It does not require any previous knowledge nor any specialised skills.

How Much Does Making A Solar Panel Cost?

The photovoltaic cells themselves only cost a few dollars and are easily obtained online. A sheet of plywood on which to mount them might cost as much as $2! You will need a soldering iron if you don't have one - again a matter of a few dollars. Copper wire comes in a reel, more than enough for several solar panels, for about $5.

That is all it is going to cost to build the solar panel itself! For setting up this home made energy system, you will also need an inverter and a heavy duty battery, rather like a car battery. These will be the most expensive items. Even if you buy a detailed instruction manual and add that to the cost, the total cost is likely to be under $150! That is for one SOLAR PANEL, but once you have the inverter and battery, you can add as many panels as you like.

The cost of producing electricity at home from renewable energy sources is minimal if you are prepared to do the work yourself. And the dramatic reduction in your electricity bills will soon pay for the cost!