Build a Home Solar Panel the Easy Way
Did you know that you can build a home solar panel for between one third and one half of the cost of retail solar panels? This question becomes more important when you realize that the solar panels by themselves account for around two-thirds of the cost of a turnkey home solar energy system.
Once you get serious about adding solar energy to your home, your first question is, “Do I hire a solar contractor and buy a turnkey system, or do I want to save money by doing some or all of the work myself”?
Obviously, if you hire a solar contractor on a turnkey basis, you’ll spend more than if you do it yourself. If you want to get the most bang for your buck, the next question is, “Should I buy or build my home solar panels”?
There are a couple of ways to ‘go solar green’ without breaking the bank. One way is to buy ready made photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and install them yourself. That will save you a bunch of money. Or, if you’re even modestly handy, you can make your own solar panels.
But whether you hire someone else or do it yourself, you’ll end up with a money saving energy source that will reward you handsomely over its 25 to 30 year life span.
You don’t need to be a jack-of-all-trades or an electrical engineer to build a solar panel. All you need is proper guidance. However, it’s easy to spin your wheels and waste a lot of time and energy if you don’t start off on the right foot. Your wisest decision depends on your ability and willingness to tackle the project.
If you decide to do it yourself, you’ll find that it’s a fun (and most rewarding) weekend project.
And if you decide to “roll your own”, it’s smart to get some expert guidance. There’s nothing more frustrating that trying to do something for the first time without detailed plans and expert advice.
That’s why it’s important to get your hands on a quality manual that provides the detailed instructions you will need. The best guides should be able to teach even the not-so-mechanically inclined. Just remember that old saw, “you get what you pay for”, and don’t skimp when you’re ready to purchase your guide.
A good solar panel guide will provide you with a list of the tools you’ll need along with a complete list of all the materials and components. It’ll provide you with a resource list where you can buy solar cells at the best prices. It’ll provide you with detailed plans and instructions – not only on how to build your solar panels, but how to tie all of the components together into one trouble free system.
Most importantly, it should include step by step videos. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a high-quality “how to do it” video is worth ten thousand words. You’ll find that it’s much simpler to build a solar panel than most people imagine. And the price is right, too. You can build a home solar panel that will output 80 to 100 watts for less than 0.
Anyway, who has money to blow in today’s economy? If you start building your own solar panels now, it won’t be long before you’ll be saving money every month for many years to come.