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.

==> Click here to visit GreenDIYEnergy now!

Solar panel system related articles:

1) Cheap DIY Solar panels – Reviewing the $98 DIY Solar Panel Guide
2) California Solar Energy Industries Association