After looking through my blog traffic log, I notice a lot of people are looking for answer about Michael Harvey’s Earth 4 Energy e-book. A lot of people wanted to know whether Earth 4 Energy is a scam.
Since so many people wanted to know if it’s a fraud, I thought of writing a post about it.
The Promise Made By Earth4Energy
When you first visit Michael’s main web site at www.earth4energy.com, you are greeted with a large red headline, “How to make your own solar panels for less than $200“. That is the main benefit that they promised you will get out of the manual.
Is it possible? Can you build a DIY solar panel with such a low budget?
It is fair to say, if an everyday Joe can’t construct the solar module within the suggested budget, wouldn’t that proves Earth 4 Energy is a scam?
Then again, if a person follows the instructions laid out in the guide and managed to complete the project within the said budget, it is a good chance the e-book is legit.
I wanted to test my theory therefore I decided to do some research.
Building An Inexpensive Solar Panel
As you can see from the diagram above, it shows the costing of a typical DIY solar panel. As it turns out, the total cost for the panel is only $98.20.
I have some doubt about the figure…so let’s do some digging.
From the costing, the most expensive item is the solar cells. It is $67.50 or about 68% of the overall budget.
I wanted to find out if the Photovoltaic (PV) costing is accurate.
Cheap Solar Cells at Ebay
According to Earth4Energy, the place to find cheap solar cells is at Ebay. The homemade solar panel suggested in the manual requires 36 pieces of 3” x 6” cells. The total power output of the panel is about 18 volt and approximately 75 watts of electricity.
It took me about 10 minutes to find the right kind of solar cells I am looking for. The closest listing that I could find in Ebay is 36 pieces of 3” x 5” PV cells with an offer price of $56.50.
The end figure is quite close to the budget suggested in the Earth 4 Energy guide.
The Conclusion
So, is Earth 4 Energy a fraudulent scam?
As it turns out, the DIY solar module costing is quite accurate.
Michael Harvey is assuming most of us have some of the building material such as paint, Plexiglas, copper wire etc available in our garage therefore he did not account for that.
Well, the fact it, we may not have these items with us.
The material has to be bought from a hardware store. However, I don’t think it is going to be very expensive. An additional $20 would have been enough to cover the cost. The most expensive item is still the solar cells.
After my research, it IS possible to build a home solar panel for less than $150. Earth 4 Energy promised you’ll learn how to get is done for less than $200.
Personally, I think Michael Harvey’s claim is legit.
I understand some readers may be skeptical and I respect their opinion. If you would like to put in your thoughts, feel free to write in the comment box below.