DIY Solar System From Scratch – Homemade Solar Energy Made Easy

Can you really build a DIY solar system from scratch? Nothing is impossible, if you are willing to do the work, you can definitely setup a home solar power system.

How much would a residential solar energy system cost? If you were to engage the service of a profession solar contractor, the investment can be quite high.

A complete solar system capable of supply free energy for your home can cost upwards of $30,000 – $45,000. The Return On Investment (ROI) can take as long as 10 – 15 years! It is fair to say not a lot of home owners can afford this option.

DIY Home Solar System From Scratch

If you are planning to setup the solar system from scratch on your own, the investment cost is definitely lower. A medium size system capable of generating free electricity for your home would cost around $1000 – $1500.

There are only a couple of key components that you’ll need for a homemade solar energy system. The components are:

1) Photovoltaic (PV) panels

The PV panels will be the heart of the system. Solar panels are used to harness the sun’s energy and convert it into electric current. This is possible due to a special semi conductive material known as Photovoltaic cells. The electrons in the PV cells will become excited when exposed to solar energy. The potential energy in the electron are used to create an electric current.

2) Charge controller

The function of the charge controller is to take the electric current from the solar panels and use it to charge a battery bank. The charge controller will also regulate the amount of current going into the battery hence protecting it from overcharging.

3) Voltage meter & amperage meter

The volt and amp meter are measuring devices used to check the state of your home solar power system. The meters will tell you how much voltage and current flow are created by the solar array.

4) Deep cycle batteries

This will be the battery bank used to store the energy generated by the solar panels. The kind of battery most suitable for a residential solar system is the deep cycle type. Deep cycle batteries are commonly used on boats and electric golf carts. They are more durable and can be discharged to a very low stage without damaging itself. The battery also releases its stored power slowly making it most suitable for home use.

5) Power inverter

Since the energy stored in the battery is Direct Current (DC), you will need a device to change the DC to Alternate Current (AC). Most of the electrical devices at home will be running on AC. The function of the power inverter is to change the DC to AC. The final stage is to connect a power extension cable from the inverter throughout your house.

Generally, the components above are what you’ll need to make a DIY solar system from scratch. All these components are available from major hardware stores nationwide.

DIY Solar Panel Guide

If you are working on a shoestring budget, you can actually save some money by making the solar panels on your own. What you have to do is source for used solar cells and solder them together in a solar box. This will save you an additional $150 – $200.

To make your own DIY solar panel, what you’ll need is a good step by step instructional blueprint. One of the best solar panel blueprints that I know of is the GreenDIYEnergy guide. The guide comes with plans in PDF file and step by step High Definition (HD) instructional videos. For more information, check out the GreenDIYEnergy review on this blog.

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Passive Solar Heating – Natural Way to Heat Your Home

Today many buildings around the world are using a very popular and cost effective method of providing heat to these buildings. This method is almost free and does not consume any electricity. This method is known as Passive Solar Heating.

The concept behind passive solar heating is that the actual amount of heat or solar energy which falls on the roof of the specific house is greater than the total energy consumed by that particular house. I know it’s a long description, but all it means is a house or building receives more solar energy from the sun than it uses.

Here’s the good news, passive solar applications when incorporated during initial design of the building, has a very minimal effect on the cost of the building. Now this method is mechanically simpler, more reliable and is certainly a viable asset to a home.

When it comes about the mechanism, it involves heating and cooling equipment which is known as system. The building considered could be a home or apartment or any house and a heating or cooling system using forced air equipment (ventilation fans) with air ducts and radiant floors using hot water which is necessarily designed for its purpose.

How Passive Solar Heating Works

Now this system is actually incorporated into the building elements and materials like the walls, floors, and roof which are used for heat collecting, storing, releasing and distributing system.

Passive solar design is actually not the elimination of standard mechanical systems, but more recently high efficiency machines have been designed which not only reduces the size of the traditional heating systems and also minimizes the amount of non-renewable fuels which were earlier used for maintenance of temperature during very colder climatic conditions.

The above explanations describe that obviously there must be two components present in all passive solar heating design. One must be a transparent material like glass or plastic which will be facing southwards to allow the heat to come in and other one is the material which absorbs and stores this energy for later use. The second component is a system of fans and ducts to distribute the heat around the house.

DIY Passive Solar Heating System

Can you make your own home passive solar heating system? With the right material, tools and instruction, yes it can be done.

The simplest passive solar heating unit is a window solar air heater. It is a simple design that uses aluminum cans to capture the solar energy from the sun and use it to heat up the surrounding air in a room.

If you are keen to learn more about the DIY solar air heater, check out the step by step instructional guide. For more information, click on the link below.

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Solar Panel System – Can You Really Build Your Own Home Solar Panels?

The idea of using solar power to reduce your home electricity bill makes perfect sense. But to a lay person, understanding the science of solar electricity can be very confusing. In other words, without proper skill and knowledge, building your own solar power system can be very challenging.

But rest assured, it is not as hard as you think. Knowing some basic understanding on how electricity works does help, but you don’t need a degree in electrical and electronic engineering to make your own home solar array.

Home Solar Power System Explained

Here’s a quick explanation on how a residential solar power system works. Electricity from the solar system is generated by a semi-conductive material known as Photovoltaic (PV) cells. Electric current is produced when the solar cells are exposed to sun light.

Multiple solar cells have to be connected in series to make a solar array. The solar array is then connected to a charge controller. The function of the charge controller to charge a battery bank made from deep cycle batteries.

The battery bank is to be connected to a power inverter. Since the electricity generated by the PV cell is in DC (Direct Current) form, the power inverter will be used to change the DC to Alternate Current (AC). Since most of our home appliances run on AC, you can now connect your electronic gadgets to the charge controller to use the free energy from the sun.

Building Your Own Solar Power System

When you are building your own residential solar energy system, the only component that you can make on your own is the solar array. The rest of the components such as charge controller, battery bank, power inverter etc are too complicated. It is a better idea to purchase the units off the selves from a hardware store.

To make the solar array, begin by sourcing for cheap PV cells. The best place to do your price comparison is at Ebay. When you have the solar cells, the next step is to solder them together.

The soldered cells are then placed on a specially constructed wooden box to protect the Photovoltaic cells from wind, rain and snow. The entire box is then covered with a UV proof plastic sheet and sealed with a waterproof sealant.

A DIY solar panel should consist from 20 – 36 pieces of solar cells measuring 3” x 6”. When the cells are linked together, the total power output would be around 80 watts on a clear sunny day. To provide sufficient power for a small house, you will need to build 4 – 8 units of solar panels.

DIY Home Solar Power System

Building your own home solar power system is not really difficult. Most of the solar components can be bought from a hardware store. The only component you have to build is the solar panels.

Making the solar panels is not a tough job either. All you have to do is learn how to solder and do some minor wiring work.

If you need some assistance on how to build your own solar array, check out the GreenDIYEnergy guide from www.greendiyenergy.com.

The guide will show you step by step how to make a solar panel with High Definition (HD) instructional videos. To start your solar project, just watch the videos and follow the instructions. For more information on the GreenDIYEnergy guide, click on the link below.