Sunsei CC 25000 Charge Controller Review

If you are making your own DIY home solar power system, one of the key component is the charge controller.

What does a charge controller do?

In essence it is a regulator of the energy coming from the solar panel. It is a customizable unit that regulates the flow of energy to the battery and determines how much energy is being pulled from the batteries at nighttime or in cloudy weather.

Connecting To The Solar Module

Last month, I did a blog post on how to build a DIY solar panel for under $100. As you can see from the post, constructing an inexpensive solar panel is possible if you are willing to spend the time to source for inexpensive Photovoltaic (PV) cell.

Now that you have to solar panel, what’s next?

The next step is to hook it up to the charge controller.

If you are planning to keep your budget down, check out the versatile and yet inexpensive charge controller from Sunsei, the CC 25000.

Sunsei CC-25000 Charge Controller Review

Firstly, the CC-25000 is designed for 12 volts to 24 volts battery bank. It is perfect for a conventional DIY solar panel which produces 18 volts of electricity under a clear sunny day.

The unit functional temperature ranges between -40 to 50” Celsius. (-40 to 122 degree Fahrenheit). It is pretty durable which means the unit will function properly either in winter or summer time.

Size wise, Sunsei CC-25000 is relatively small. Its dimension is 3.1” x 3.9” x 1.3” and the entire unit weights only 0.4 lbs. You can mount it on a panel or on a dry wall.

Best of all, the CC-25000 charge controller comes with 2 years manufacturer warranty.

One of the ways to reduce your home solar system Return On Investment (ROI) time is to have a good manufacturer warranty on all the components. In case the parts are faulty, you do not incur additional cost.

How much does the Sunsei CC-25000 charge controller cost? If you were to buy it from Amazon.com, you can get it for only $79.99 inclusive of shipping.

If you are looking for a reliable and inexpensive charge controller for your DIY solar panel, get the CC 25000 from Sunsei. It will worth your investment.

Click on read more about Sunsei CC-25000 on Amazon.com

Easy Wind Power For Homes Tips – Choosing The DC Motor


If you are searching for easy wind power for homes system that works, one of the best solution is to build it yourself. Building a residential wind turbine is not that difficult. In actual fact, you can get it done with a budget as small as $150.

There are many components that make up the home wind generator system. One of the key parts is the DC motor. In this blog post, I am going to share some information on choosing the right DC motor.

Where To Find Cheap DC Motor

Some people may be wandering where they can get their hands on some cheap DC motor. The first place that I will normally do my research is at Ebay.

There are literally thousands of motor listed in Ebay. What type of motor you should keep an eye on?

Here are a few criteria. Look for a DC motor with:

1) High Direct Current (DC) voltage.

2) High current output.

3) Low Revolution Per Minute (RPM) rating.

Here’s a tip. Look for permanent magnet alternators. Usually, these motors are more expensive, but they are designed for wind turbine use.

Choosing The DC Motor

Here’s a rule of thumb on DC motor you can use when searching on Ebay.

1) Look for a motor that can generate at least 12V at low RPM.

2) If a motor is rated 325 RPM at 30 Volts, when used as a generator, you can expect it to produce 12 volts or more at some reasonably low rev.

If possible, find a DC motor with RPM rating of under 400.

3) The shaft size of the motor should be over 5/8”. The DC motor on a home wind generator goes through a lot of wear and tear throughout its life time.

Therefore, the motor needs adequate bearings or bushings to accommodate the constant spinning and harsh outdoor treatment it will receive.

It took me a couple of minutes of searching in Ebay and I managed to locate 2 offers that meet the criteria.

Easy Wind Generator Plans

If you are looking for a complete DIY home wind generator plans, check out the Power 4 Home manual. The guide can be found on its main web site at www.power4home.com.

Power 4 Home was written by John Russel who is a Home Energy Expert and an electrician. The manual covers both DIY solar panels and residential wind generator. For more information, read the Power 4 home review on this blog.

==> Click here to visit Power 4 Home now!

GreenDIYEnergy Scam – Is Green DIY Energy a Fraudulent Scam?


One of the popular home renewable energy guides on the internet is the Green DIY Energy program. If you didn’t know, you can find the program at www.greendiyenergy.com.

Due to its popularity, many people are wondering whether Green DIY Energy is a scam. It is a fair assumption and I decided to write something about it.

What Green DIY Energy Promises

When you land on the main web site, there’s a big bold title that says “The Secrets of Building Your Own Solar Energy…for less than $200”.



I guess the key question here is, can you make a DIY solar panel for less than $200?

If a normal person can’t do so, it is fair to say Green DIY Energy is a scam.

So I’m using that as my control criteria to judge if the program is a fraud.

Making an Inexpensive Solar Panel

There are a total of 4 e-books that comes with Green DIY Energy. 2 of the manual cover DIY solar panel while the other 2 e-books talk about DIY home wind generator.

When I read the manual on solar panel construction, the actual recommended cost is only $98, not $200 as mention!

I was thinking, why are they raising the bar for themselves? Wouldn’t it be an even bigger challenge to work with such a small budget?

Here’s the catch, the Green DIY Energy solar panel plans focus on only 1 solar panel, not the whole home solar power system. A complete system would definitely cost a lot more.

Some people misunderstood this and thought they can build a complete residential solar energy system with only a couple hundred dollars.

A complete solar system has multiple components. You will need the DC disconnect, charge controller, circuit breaker, battery bank, power inverter etc. Even if you can get the parts cheaply, you would need a budget of at least $1000.

The Main Test

Okay, back to the topic, can we make a solar panel for only $98?

Based on the project costing as shown in the Green DIY Energy e-book (diagram below), the biggest cost is on the Photovoltaic (PV) cells which is $67.50.

Hence, 69% of the budget is on the solar cells alone. If we can validate the cost of the solar cells as recommended, then we can prove Green DIY Energy’s claim.

The solar panel design is capable of generating approximately 18 volt and about 75 watts of electricity. The panel would be sufficient to charge a conventional 12 volt deep cycle battery.

As it turns out, you will need 36 pieces of 3” x 6” PV cells for the solar panel. The origin of the solar cells is from Ebay. So let’s have a look in Ebay.

Cheap Solar Cells at Ebay

I did a search on Ebay to see if I could find some inexpensive solar cells. It took me about 10 minutes of searching.

The closest offer that I could find is a 36 pieces of 3” x 5” solar cells selling for $56.50.

The Conclusion

So far, the DIY solar panel project costing as recommended in Green DIY Energy is pretty accurate.

In the e-book, they spent $67.50 on solar cells. When I search in Ebay, the actual price offered for 36 pieces of PV cells is $56.50.

So is Green DIY Energy a scam?

From my research, the recommendation is quite valid. So, it is not a scam.

They promised that you can build a homemade solar panel for less than $200. My guess is, if you were to follow their instructions to the letter, you can get it done for less than $150.

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


Related web pages:
1) Green DIY Energy Video Review – Build Your Own Solar Panel

2) Is It Possible To Power Your Home With Wind For Less Than $140?

3) Deep cycle battery – A deep-cycle lead-acid battery is designed to deliver a consistent voltage as the battery discharges. In contrast, starter batteries (e.g. most automotive batteries) are designed to deliver sporadic current spikes.