How To Find Cheap Batteries For DIY Home Solar Power System




If you were to build your own home solar power system, you have to understand, there are multiple components involved to make it work. The key components are the solar cells, array DC disconnect, inverter, AC breaker panel, power meter, battery etc. Each component plays a very important role.

Deep Cycle Battery For Home Solar System

In this blog post, I wanted to write about the battery. The battery for a DIY solar power system will be used to store the electricity generated by the solar panels. The electrical appliances at home usually are not connected directly to the solar system.

This is because the power output from the solar cell fluctuates due to inconsistent amount of sun light hitting the cells. This will cause the electric current to fluctuate also.

For example, if you were to connect a 50 watt light bulb to the solar array, the light produced by the bulb will flicker due to the power fluctuation. To make the system work, the electricity generated from the solar cells is directly to a battery bank for storage.

How many battery units do you need? This will depend on your household power requirement.

If you are planning to connect multiple electrical equipment to the system, you may need anywhere from 15 to 20 units of battery. As you can see, there would be a problem to this which is the “cost”.

Buying brand new battery from the hardware shop can be quite expensive. Remember, you still need money to buy the other components.

Searching For Inexpensive Batteries

Are there any places where we can get cheap batteries on the web? Yes there is…and we are off to ebay!

Ebay is one of my favorite places to look for cheap parts. I did a blog post on how to find cheap solar cells on ebay a few weeks ago. Now we look for inexpensive batteries.

The search process is still the same. First, go to ebay web site. Remember to choose a local ebay site to save on shipping and transportation charges.

Before we begin the search, you have to know the right type of battery to look for. For a DIY solar system, the suitable battery is the deep cycle type. Now we go shopping!

On ebay main site, type in the phrase “deep cycle battery” in the search box on the top left. Next, hit the “Search” button.

You will then be presented with all the listings with deep cycle battery. The next process is the tricky part. We have to go through all the results.

Here’s a tip that I learned from Michael Harvey’s Earth 4 Energy e-book. Look for used or reconditioned deep cycle batteries. These kind of offers are the cheapest. You may have to search a few times before you find the perfect deal.

Here’s another tip, make sure the selling price is inclusive of shipping and handling. If not, you will end up paying all the charges yourself.

To increase your chances of finding the best deal, it is recommended for you to do a search on ebay a few times a week.

New users are logging on to ebay every day to trade goods and services. Some people may just have surplus batteries to off load. You want to be the first one to find them.

For more tips and tricks on finding cheap parts for a homemade solar power system, be sure to check out the Earth 4 Energy manual. If you are wondering whether Earth 4 Energy is a scam, read our review write up on the e-book.

Home Solar And Wind Power Videos

Do you want to know how you can use solar modules or wind generator to reduce your home energy consumption? If you do, check out the 30 solar and wind power for home videos e-book we’ve compiled. It’s free to download.

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Related web pages:
1) Green DIY Energy Review – Is Green DIY Energy Another Scam?

2) Renewable Energy Industries Association – Declare your energy independence!

Earth4 Energy Scam – Is The Earth4Energy E-book A Fraud?




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.

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

How To Find Cheap Solar Cells For DIY Solar Panel




A few weeks ago, I did a blog post on finding cheap solar cells on eBay. I wanted to see how many listings of inexpensive solar cells are there in eBay. So I went to eBay and did a search.

As usual, to find the solar cells, I just type in the phrase “solar cells” on the search box and hit the “Search” button. When I did the search on July 23rd 2009, there were a total of 1348 results.

Most of the results are a mixed of solar related books, tool kits, solar chargers, solar fan, etc. There are a couple of solar cells offers that I noticed.

To find the PV cells is pretty easy. All the listing come with a small picture. This makes the browsing process easier. To locate the solar cells offers, just look for the picture that resembles PV cells.

When you come across these offers, some of the cells are quite expensive. Here’s a trick that I learned from Michael Harvey of Earth 4 Energy e-book, look for cracked or chipped solar cells.

As it turn out, cracked or chipped solar cells are not totally unusable. Some of them can be repaired while other can still produce electric current but with less efficiency.

If you are looking for inexpensive PV cells for your DIY solar panel, use this criteria for your selection. I spent about half and hour going through the results and I actually found 7 good deals. You can see the screen shots on the top.

So what’s the next step? It is time to place your bid. Remember, in order for you to start bidding, you have to register as a user with eBay.

Assuming you’ve won the bid, you want to make sure the selling price is inclusive of shipping and transport charges. Since the solar cells are not in the best condition, you have to go through each and every cell to physically check its working status. I know this can be a pain but that’s the only way for you to save money on your home solar power project.

A complete residential solar power system is made from multiple components. There are many places where you can find cheap parts for your project. All you need is to know where to look for them.

If you are looking for ideas on how to save money on your renewable energy project, remember to check out Earth 4 Energy e-book. The information in the manual is priceless and can save you thousands of dollar.