I had a discussion with a friend of mine who is thinking of setting up his own home solar power system. The discussion reached a point where we were talking where to put the solar panels worth over $15,000.

There were many places which were discussed, some of the places were roofs, picnic shelters and carports. As a matter of fact, it is very difficult to locate a place where a bunch of Photovoltaic (PV) panels can be installed.

You need to consider many things like exposure to sun, the condition of roof, vandalism and the space availability on the roof. My suggestion was to build another carport and to me, it seemed to be a good idea. Apart from parking your car, the structure can be used to shield your car from the sun and rain. Now, it can also be used to generate electricity via the solar panels.

In the discussion, my friend mentioned the word “Pergola” which was a new term for me. To me, a Pergola sounds like an Italian opera, where there is lot of water around with a boat and an Italian man singing romantic songs.

To feed my curiosity, I went online and did a search on Pergola. As it turns out, it is a wooden structure usually built on a yard. Initially, I was a bit disappointed that my friend gave the suggestion because we live in a hot and humid area. I could visualize moisture damage on the wood and it needing regular replacement or repainting.

However, I saw some pictures of Pergola which already had solar panels installed on it. It is like something built on heavy timbers and does not have sidings.

If you were to installed PV panels on a Pergola, the following are some of the pros and cons:

• It looks nice, but weather may spoil its looks.
• Providing partial shade for your garden or a quiet place to drink tea in the afternoon.
• Allowing vine maple to creep on it which you have to trim sooner or later.

All in all, a Pergola can be a good place to set up the PV panels. Firstly, you need to custom design the Pergola to fit your yard and it should be directly under the sun for most of the time.

The roof trusses have to be designed so that solar panels can be installed easily. The type of timber used has to be of high quality so it will last a long time.

The solar panel roof is to be made water proof so it can offer shade when it rains. You can use metal roofing and attach the solar panels to the ribs of roof. The general idea is to create a double function of the structure of the Pergola.

However, my main concern is the cost of constructing the Pergola. If the investment is too high, it wouldn’t make any economic sense to go ahead with it.

When people choose to go green with their energy needs, they start thinking about installing solar panels at their home. It doesn’t mean that you can buy the first solar panel that you find in the market.

The solar panel you buy should be capable of producing the amount of power you need at home. If you look at your monthly electricity bill, you can find out how much electricity is consumed at your home during a month. If you divide the electricity consumed in a month by 30, you will get the amount of electricity you need for a day.

Electricity produced by a Photovoltaic (PV) solar panel is directly proportional to the amount of sunlight it gets. The longer it is exposed to sunlight, the more energy it can produce.

To find out the wattage of electricity produced by the solar panel, divide the amount of electricity you need for one day by the number of hours the solar panel is exposed to sunlight. If you think that the solar panel will get sunlight for 6 hours, divide your daily electricity need by 6. The resulting figure is to be then multiplied by 1.15.

The product you get is the wattage of electricity your solar panel can produce in a day with 6 hours of exposure to sunlight. Checking the wattage of the solar panel before you buy it is important to ensure that the panel produces enough electricity for your needs.

Another important thing you should check before buying your solar panel is the size and direction of your roof. If you think that your roof is strong enough to support the weight of the solar panel and other installations, you can contact any solar energy company to install the panel on your roof. If your roof is facing the south, it will still be better.

Remember to engage a company that has a clean track record and experience in installing solar panels. Poorly installed solar panels may not produce the amount of energy you expect. To compare the installation costs charged by different companies, it is better to take quotes from all the companies serving your area.

By comparing the solar panel installation quotes and checking on the business record of all the companies, you can easily find out the right company to install the solar panels at your home. Before the company arrives to install the PV panel, choose the area of your roof suitable for installing the panel.

The area you choose should face the south. If there are any obstacles which might prevent the solar panel from getting sun light, remove them beforehand. While the technicians install the panel, check whether they are following the right procedure.

Once the solar panel is installed, clean it from time to time to remove the dust and debris that may get deposited on it. If the panel is covered with dust, its efficiency to produce power may be affected. A well maintained solar panel is expected to produce electricity for a period of 30 years.

Other than regular cleaning of the solar panel, there are no additional costs once the solar panel is installed. This is the reason why installing solar panel at your home is encouraged. The energy produced by the solar panel is stored in batteries and it can be used whenever you need it.

The greatest advantage of installing solar panel is that the environment is not at all harmed in the power production process. There are no harmful gases produced by a solar panel.

Advancement in solar energy technology has made it possible to light not only the interior but also the exterior of a house. Solar outside lightings serve different purposes; they light the outside areas and add beauty to your surroundings. They help to reduce the amount on your electricity bill.

No wires are required and you don’t have to be afraid of getting electrocuted. Outside solar lightings are available in different styles and designs to suit everybody’s preferences. These solar lamps don’t need any maintenance once they are set up. The batteries are incorporated into the design of the outside solar lamps.

The outside solar lamps can function without any human interference. They have their own solar cells to convert sun light into electricity, batteries to store the electricity produced and LED bulbs to give out light at night. The batteries are expected to last for 3 to 4 years.

A LED bulb is quite different from an incandescent bulb. A LED bulb gives out brighter light than an incandescent bulb. The light from a LED bulb is more dispersed whereas the light produced by an incandescent bulb is confined to the bulb itself.

The life span of a Led bulb is much longer than the life of an incandescent bulb. LED bulbs don’t produce any heat while they burn but incandescent bulbs give out heat when they light.

Solar outside lamps with LED bulbs can be fixed at any place but incandescent bulbs need wires to connect them to power supply. All safety measures must be in place for an incandescent outside bulb but a solar outside lamp doesn’t need any of the safety precautions.

The place you choose to set your solar outside lighting should be clear of any obstructions. The solar panel should get plenty of sunlight to charge the batteries fully. If there are any tree branches, remove them before installing the lamps. Once the lamp is installed, it will take one or two days for the batteries to get fully charged for the first time.

Once the batteries are fully charged and the outside solar lamp is operational, you have nothing more to do. The only things you need to do from time to time are to clean the solar panel of its dust and replace the battery after three or four years.

The outside solar lamp has light sensors which will automatically turn on and off the light. When it is dark, the lamp lights itself and at dawn, the lamp turns off automatically. Solar outside lights are available in a variety of designs and styles. They are used both for lighting purpose and for decoration.

Solar lights which resemble animals when lit will be beautiful additions to your garden. There are also solar lights which turn on whenever a motion is detected in their vicinity. They are very ideal to scare away thieves. Solar outside lamps will be very suitable to decorate your home during Christmas.

With solar lamps to light your home and its surroundings, you don’t have to worry about a heavy electricity bill. Even when the mains electricity fails you, you will have light at your home. You can also be proud of being friendly to the nature.

Solar power as alternative source of energy can greatly reduce the electricity bills and provide great savings over times. But in course of times the dirt and residue accumulates over the solar cells and thus the cells don’t work as efficiently as they used to.

Thus for optimal performance these dirt and grime should be removed periodically and the panel should be properly cleaned. So, every household having a solar system in place must know the appropriate methods to clean his power panels.

The solar cells are quite delicate so the panels need to be cleaned with care. The cells transform solar energy to electricity when they are clear; so cleaning them increases the efficiency but if any scratch occurs in the process, it not only wastes the time involved in cleaning process but also proves costly to replace the damaged cells.

Anybody interested in reducing the maintenance cost by cleaning the solar panel himself, he should follow the proper procedure for the do-it-yourself (DIY) to avoid any unpleasant situation where any such cleaning not only get wasted but also proves a burden on the wallet in replacing damaged solar cells.

The first step of do-it-yourself to clean your solar panel begins with regular inspection of the solar cells. By regularly inspecting them, you will able to find out when they get dirty enough and the accumulated dirt starts affecting the efficiency of the cells.

In some areas like desert, where lots of dusty storms took place, more regular inspection and cleaning are required. While inspecting solar panels you should ensure that solar cells do not have any cracks and all the connections are tight and there is no sparking in any connections.

Cleaning the solar cells is just like cleaning the window as the cells are protected by outer glass layers. You simply need warm water, mild detergent, soft sponge and soft drying cloth. Ready-made cleaning liquids can also be used which are readily available at the stores.

The simply best and cost effective method to clean solar panels are spraying warm mild detergent water on the surface and carefully sponge off the dirt and grime. And then again spray simply warm water and clean with soft drying cloth.

Once all the grime has been removed one should ensure that there is no soap left on the glass surface as any soap leftovers might result in forming of streaks affecting the performance of solar cells. In using ready-made solar panel cleaners, you should be careful in reading the instructions before cleaning with them.

However, if you feel uncomfortable in doing yourself you can always hire a professional to do the job for you in a bit more professional way without any worry of applying wrong product on your solar panels. There are a lot of professional companies that specialize in cleaning household products.

And finally whether you hire any professional or do it yourself, you should spare some time to make sure that the solar panels are thoroughly cleaned and there is nothing hampering the solar cells from converting solar energy to electricity for you.

New solar panels are a bit costly so if you are on a tight budget, you can buy some used solar panels. The price difference between the new solar panel and the used one may be considerably high.

And if you have luck on your side, you can get a working solar panel for just a fraction of what a newer panel would have cost you. Now the question is how much these solar panels will cost normally.

Well that depends upon whether you install these panels yourself or hire a professional to do the job for you and in that case it’s going to cost you more. It also depends upon the capacity you want to install at your residence. For example you can calculate the cost by planning capacity generation or decide how much investment you going to make i.e. $6 to $9 a watt and add the required installation charges which can be considerable.

So it will be good idea to purchase your Photovoltaic (PV) panels from a wholesale store to get it at low prices. Also, keep in mind that the technology is constantly improving and the governments are also encouraging environmentally clean technologies by providing subsidy.

At a wholesale shop you might get attractive offers of newly launched models of solar cells or get special discount if any particular company wants to clear its stock before launching new model. Wholesale store have a lot of verities of products manufactured by different companies that compete and have different price lists. So you can get a solar panel more situated to your budget.

PV panels can also be purchased from any online store and it doesn’t require you to be very expert even when buying used panels, but it is always helpful if you know the basic guidelines. While taking any decision it should always be kept in mind that the technology involved in solar cell manufacturing is constantly improving and comparatively newer solar cells are used these days.

You can find that a few older solar cells are still being used. The first thing you will notice about these older solar panels is that they are rather much larger than the newer ones when compared under same wattage category. So they are going to acquire more space and if you have got enough space, these older used solar panels can be very cost effective options to go green.

So after getting these used solar panels, the first thing you should do is to remove the Photovoltaic cells from the base on which they are mounted to. After dismounting them you should inspect them for loose connector, cracked and damaged solar cells due to moisture or otherwise. These are the very common ailments of solar cells which can be easily repaired by re-soldering and tightening the loosed connections.

Because of these common causes, some house owners think that the entire solar panel is faulty and just replace them. Due to high cost of traditional electricity, many people are now beginning to think to use this technology to save money as well as benefiting the economy.

People are beginning to mount their residence with residential solar cells created particularly for residential use. Many stores have opened up selling brand new as well as used solar panels. Due to tough economy or otherwise some people might prefer used or cheap PV panels.

Homemade Energy Program

If you are thinking of ways to cut down your home solar power system cost even further, why not make your own solar panels. Check out Ben Ford solar guide for step by step instruction on how to get started.

Do you want to know how to build your own Do It Yourself (DIY) home solar water heater and save up to 33% of your monthly electricity bill? If you do, be sure to check out Tom Hayden Simple Heaters home solar water heater building guide.

One of the biggest usages of electricity at home is our home water heater unit. If you are living in a cold climate area, the water heater is very essential to heat the water for our shower, washing dishes and cleaning.

Since an electric water heater uses a heating coil powered by electric current, the power it consumes every time the unit is switched on is quite substantial.

Is there a cheaper solution? Well, you can build a home solar water heater yourself to save money.

DIY Home Solar Water Heater

Tom Hayden Simple Heaters was specially written to help anyone to make their own homemade solar water heating unit. The idea is to help you to set up your own solar water heater with a budget of less than $70!

Tom Hayden is a solar energy enthusiast and he has been studying, building and using solar energy for over 30 years. His guide was written based on his years of experience using simple, easy and affordable components to construct a solar water heater.

What good is a DIY home solar water heater unit if it is too complicated to build or cost too much to construct? Hayden’s guide was made simple to comprehend and without any technical jargon so that any average Joe could understand it.

If you can read and understand his instructions in the guide, you can pretty much build the system on your own.

Hayden also kept his guide selling relatively cheap so anyone could afford it. The Simple Heaters guide is selling for only $29.99. Every purchase of his guide comes with 4 additional bonus e-books on renewable and green energy.

Hayden’s manual also comes with a 60 days money back guarantee. If you are not happy with your purchase, you can ask for a full refund within 60 days from your purchase date. For more information, click on the link below.

==> Click here to visit Simple Heaters now!

What you need to do is slip in the BX cable from the solar panel to the charge controller. It is a good idea to insulate the tip so you don’t create a spark on the device.

Feed the wire through a strainer lead and tighten it up. This is to prevent the BX cable from being accidentally yanked off the charge controller.

With the Direct Current (DC) coming from the solar panel, you should use some kind of fusing system. Just in case something goes wrong, the fuse will burn off rather than your solar component.

For the fusing mechanism, you can use a standard car fuse rated 40 amps at 32 volts. What you really need is about 15 amp and the car fuse is more than enough to give your system some measure of protection.

Now, attach the fuse to the positive wire on the BX cable and the protection system is done.

If you are building a large residential solar power system, the fuse protection mechanism will have to be done in a separate box. For a small DIY system, a simple connection on the live wire should be fine.

Next, use a small jumper wire on the fuse mechanism to connect it to the charge controller. Look at the charge controller circuitry and locate the positive terminal. That is where the wire should be attached to.

Next to the positive terminal should be the negative terminal. Connect the negative wire from the BX cable to this terminal.

Finally, connect the ground terminal to the ground wire from the BX cable. Usually, the ground wire is green in color.

When you’ve finished connecting the cable from the solar panel to the charge controller, the next step is to do the battery connection.

DIY Home Solar System Guide

Are you planning to make your own home solar power system? If you are, check out Michael Harvey’s Earth 4 Energy e-book.

The manual comes with step by step instruction showing you how to make a solar panel with minimal cost. Check out the Earth 4 Energy review post on this blog for more information.

==> Click here to visit Earth 4 Energy now!

First Impression

When I first landed on its web site, the thing that caught my attention is its big bold red headline. Ambigrid is revealing the “secret” for generating free electricity.

It’s not really a secret though. We can easily create free energy either by using solar power or wind generator at home. The challenge is to build a working model with minimum cost.

Inexpensive Renewable Energy System

One thing that I do agree, you do not have to spend thousands of dollar to have your own residential renewable energy system. You can build the system on your own via Do It Yourself (DIY) approach.

However, there is a catch. It involves a lot of tedious work and time investment. Nonetheless, it can be done with the proper step-by-step guide.

In the Ambigrid e-book, it offers 4 residential green power systems.

The solar panel and wind generator are power production system while the solar water and air heaters are mainly to reduce your existing home energy bill.

During winter time, close to 50 percent of our home power bill is spent on heating the internal area of our house. By using the solar air and water heater, it is a practical way to bring down our home energy consumption.

Product Guarantee and Cost

What if the suggestion in Ambigrid does not work? Well, there’s a 60 days money back guarantee on the manual.

That’s one of the benefits of buying information product on the internet. If you don’t like it, you can return it for a full refund within 60 days from your purchase date.

So how much does Ambigrid costs?

The regular price is listed as $197, but the actual price is $49.00. The cost of the manual is relatively similar to other renewable energy kits on the web.

Ambigrid Review Conclusion

If you are tired of paying ridiculously high electricity rates to the power utility companies, it’s time for you to look for alternative energy sources to supplement your home energy needs.

The best solution right now is green energy in the form of solar or wind power.

Engaging a professional contractor to setup the system can be expensive. You’ll need at least $30,000 capital investment to get started.

A cheaper alternative is to build the renewable energy system on your own. If you are a DIYer, the Ambigrid e-book will give you a good step-by-step instruction to build a solar panel, wind generator, solar water and solar air heater.

All you have to do is read the blueprint and spend some time working in your garage.

==> Click here to visit mbigrid now!

Related web pages:
1) Homemade Energy Review – Is Homemade Energy E-book a Scam?

2) Green DIY Energy Reviews – Reviewing The GreenDIYEnergy Manual

3) Energy 2 Green Review – Does Energy2Green Delivers?

Couple of week ago, I did a write up on Green DIY Energy review. Today, I have been relooking into the Green DIY Energy manual from www.greendiyenergy.com again. There is some very interesting figures that I found. This renewable energy guide has been getting a lot of attention and it is selling like hot cakes on the internet.

I have a software call Affiliate Elite that can be programed to track all the information product from Clickbank. If you are new to the realm of web marketing, Clickbank is the largest portal on the internet that sells all variety of e-books. They are not the publisher of e-books, but more like an intermediate party between the actual author and the buyer.

In the offline world, Clickbank is like the Borders or Barnes and Nobles bookstores. Their key role is to handle online payment processing, complains and guarantees and also set a certain standards for the publishers to follow.

The Rise Of GreenDIYenergy Manual

Coming back to GreenDIYenergy manual, my Affiliate Elite software has been tracking its sales performance for the last 90 Days (April 2009 to end June 2009). The figures are pretty impressive.

As you can see from the chart above, Green DIY Energy guide has a steady increase based on their Product Gravity. Product Gravity is a complex formula used by Clickbank to calculate and to show the average product performance on a daily basis taking into factor multiple variables.

What does the graph shows? It is showing GreenDIYenergy having a very good sales performance trend for the last 90 days. As an analogy, the graph is like Amazon.com telling you how a book on their inventory is performing for the last 90 days. It gives an estimate figure of how many people are buying the book and how many people are returning it.

A Good Product To Invest In

If you are planning to buy a home renewable energy guide, Green DIY Energy manual is a very good bet. Not a lot of information product on the web has such a good performance record. One thing that I am certain, many people are buying the e-book and at the same time they are loving it because there is a very low return rate.

If you are wondering how to use solar or wind energy for your home to reduce your electricity consumption, be sure to check out Green DIY Energy manual.

==> Click here to visit Green DIY Energy now!

In this blog post, I wanted to do a review on another Do It Yourself (DIY) home renewable energy guide on the web. The e-book is called Green DIY Energy from GreenDIYenergy.com. After going through the main sales page, I could not find the name of the author. I find that a bit odd.

The last couple of days, I have been to a couple of forums and discussions about home renewable energy such as solar and wind system. Are they really practical and can someone build one with a step-by-step instructional book.

Apparently, a lot of people feel skeptical about it. I don’t blame them because I was one of the skeptic. Hence, that is the purpose for this Green DIY Energy review.

What To Expect From Green DIY Energy

Before you finish reading this Green DIY Energy review, you must understand this. The manual will not completely reduce your home energy bill overnight. Neither will it reduce it by half. 5 or 10 percent is plausible.

Therefore, I have to advise you on having right expectation on the results that you will get out of the e-book.

Inside The Step-by-step Guide

Like many other renewable energy guides on the internet, Green DIY Energy will show you the two types of free energy source which are solar and wind.

The guide begins by asking you to do a home energy audit. This is to figure out how much energy your home electrical appliances are using and how much power the system would have to generate.

For starter, you may not be able to wire all the appliances to the system. One or two equipment such as a computer, TV, radio, lamp etc is possible.

Next, Green DIY Energy will show you how to choose the right green energy system for your home.

Do you live in an area with good sun coverage?

If you are, then a roof solar panel will be right for your. If you are living in a hilly area with strong wind, then a domestic wind turbine will do the job.

The manual will list down all the advantages and disadvantages of both systems.

Green DIY Energy Guarantees

Since Green DIY Energy is offered under Clickbank, you are covered under their 60 Days Money Back Guarantee policy.

If you do not see any value in the e-book, you are entitled to ask for your money back within 60 days from the purchase date. This is an added value because it lifts all the risks from the buyer.

It also make sure GreenDIYenergy.com must create good value or they will have a high return rate.

But after checking on the statistics from Clickbank, Green DIY Energy e-book has a very minimal return rate. That is a good sign!

Green DIY Energy Review Conclusion

Here’s my final thought. Most people want to reduce their home energy bill, but many people would not have the skill nor the time to build their own solar array or wind turbine.

In this case, it will be a better idea to outsource the work to a professional contractor.

As a home owner, you should be prudent. You should know some basic information on the science of renewable energy. At least you will know when you are being charged for unnecessary parts of work done on your home.

If you are looking of a good e-book on home solar or wind energy system, then Green DIY Energy will do just fine.

==> Click here to visit Green DIY Energy now!

Green DIY Energy related web sites:

1) Power 4 Home Review – A Complete Review of John Russel Power4Home

2) Power 4 Home Scam – Is Power4Home Just Another Scam?