Building Affordable Home Solar Panels Using Damaged Solar Cells




As there is now general awareness among people all over the world about the harmful effects of global warming and the state of the economy at present being what it is, they are searching for cheaper options to meet their energy requirements.

Although solar energy is an excellent renewable and pollution-free power source, many people are apprehensive of harnessing that energy because of heavy financial implication.

One practical solution could be to purchase fragmented, faulty or damaged solar cells and construct solar cells. However, before undertaking a project of this magnitude, you should be clear about your budget and how many solar panels you are planning to construct.

Your decision generally depends on how much power you needs to meet energy requirements in terms of watts or kilo-watts. You can estimate average monthly consumption from your monthly electricity bills for a few months. Once energy requirements are firmed up, you can work out the number of solar panels one should construct.

As a rough estimate, 36 solar panels generate 20 watts of electric power in one solar panel. The number of solar cells required depends on the size of panels you intends to make. Once you determined the size of the panels and the number of such pane that you would like to construct, the next step is to collect various materials required for the job.

It is more economical to use damaged or defective solar cells than spending money on new ones. Although there defective cells are available in a number of markets, one of the simplest methods to get these used cells is to procure them from eBay. It is not at all difficult to get damaged solar cells, sometimes you can get them from broken solar lights.

Alternatively, they can also be obtained from the company that produces highway construction signs or weather sensors. Sometimes these companies prefer to give away the broken cells willingly to anyone who needs them as cost of disposal of these cells is quite expensive.

Even if they do not give them free of charge, they sell them at throw away prices, far cheaper than what we find at eBay.

In addition to cells other items that are required are wood for housing solar panel and also some “caulk”. A little quantity of solder and a soldering iron are also needed.

When building the housing for solar panel, it is better to calculate the extent of space needed. This depends upon the number of cells proposed for a single panel. If required, they can be broken up into smaller portions.

Once the housing work is completed, the next step is to solder individual solar cells into an array. Each array should have the same size. Once the arrays are complete, they should be firmly fixed to their housing and screwed them to “Plexiglas” top.

The next stage is to mount the panels. You can mount them on the roof, which is, perhaps, the simpler option. Panel should be fixed to the roof jousts with a bolt. If this is not possible, you can use a ground mount. They are available in many hardware stores. They can also be made at home.

5 Best Devices To Reduce Energy Consumption At Home



Energy is expensive and wasting energy is tantamount to wasting money. Use of energy at home can be optimized and waste can avoided in two ways; by making changes in the lifestyle and installing energy saving devices at home.

Since it is difficult for many to make changes in the way they live, installing gadgets that can control and reduce the use of energy at home is the easiest way to reduce electricity bill monthly. The following 5 devices will help you to save energy at your home:

1) Low Wattage Bulbs.

The first step towards reducing energy consumption at home is to use low watt bulbs for lighting. Incandescent bulbs use more energy and the light they produce is not bright enough.

Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps or LED bulbs. They use less power but produce brighter light. Additionally, they have longer life than incandescent bulbs. Using solar lamps is another way to reduce the home energy bill. It is estimated that the energy consumption can be reduced by more than half if low watt bulbs are used to light your home.

2) Thermostat Device.

Lot of energy is wasted by way of unnecessary home heating. You need only a pleasant temperature in the rooms and if you have a thermostat device that can be programmed to work the air conditioning system to just meet your needs, the air conditioner will not work when it is not needed. This will reduce your energy consumption at home.

It is claimed that about 50% of the energy used at home can be saved by using a programmable thermostat.

3) Surge Protection Device.

A surge protection device prevents electricity reaching electrical appliances in excess of the desired quantities. It also stops certain electrical appliances from using electricity when the appliance is not in use.

Keeping electrical appliances in a standby mode requires energy and there is no apparent work done by the appliances. In this case, it is a waste of energy and using a surge protection device will prevent these appliances from using electricity when they are not in operation.

4) Energy Star Electrical Devices.

When possible, buy electrical appliances which consume less energy. Improved technology has brought out a number of home appliances which require less energy compared to the old models. Those appliances which use less power bear an Energy Star logo. You can be sure that your energy consumption will be reduced if all your home appliances bear the Energy Star logo.

But of course, you need to plan your shopping and should have sufficient funds to replace your old appliances with new energy saving ones.

5) Bulbs That Light Only When Needed.

The lighting in your house can be limited to the times when you really need it. For example, if you have motion sensor lights, the light will be on only when you are in the room and when you go out of the room, the light will be put off automatically.

People sometimes forget to switch off lights when they leave their homes. This leads to waste of energy. Motion sensor lights can prevent this waste.

Another device you can use to control the lighting in your home is to fix light timers. Light timers light the bulbs only at times predetermined by the home owner. If you use these energy saving devices, the money you spend on buying them will be recovered within a short time by way of reductions in your energy bills every month.

Using Solar Power For Homes In Canada – How Feasible Is It?



Considering using solar power, many would not think Canada to fit in the list, due to the cold climatic conditions here especially in those chilly winter months. But if you think positively, there could still be huge potential for solar power.

Canada has a different topography with lot many open spaces which if tapped can give real boost the use of solar power. In addition there are other options like thermal, passive heating and Photovoltaic (PV) applications that can really be used to promote the solar energy on large scale.

Due to the vide stretches between the two metropolitans, many small communities can be created at the various distances and separated from the larger grids. Many people are of the opinion that creating such small communities can be more feasible to use the solar power system for their homes than spending huge amounts of money to supply power from the grid.

It will prove to be more economical for the individuals to get the solar power in their homes; websites can be of great help in providing the complete details about building the solar system at a very reasonable cost for your homes. Canada may not be lucky to get the sufficient sun shine, but during summer months plenty of sun shine is available, that too for a longer period of the day.

This sunshine can prove to be sufficient in providing solar power to homes and in small communities, in months when the days are shorter especially during winter month’s additional panels and proper angling of the panels with additional alternatives can definitely help in tapping more sunlight.

Some of the alternatives which can be considered are wind turbines, hydroelectric and use of backup gas generator; these options eventually are proving to be less expensive.

With the improvisation of technology in solar power, photovoltaic cells are more efficient; these cells can easily be fitted in the roofing tiles and are capable of picking light spectrums. Exploring this can really give boost to the solar power; just imagine the potential which are unlimited.

This has been proved beyond doubt that solar power is totally clean, cheap and more efficient as compared to any other form of energy. Canada has made a lot of progress, so far solar power is concerned; people and industrial houses are shifting to more clean and free source of energy.

Many other commercial and navigational markets have already shifted to solar power; the recent has been using solar power for traffic signals and also for water distribution. From October 2009 the government in Ontario launched a program called Feed In Tariff or FIT for short to encourage the use of renewable energy, especially solar power. Such programs are being encouraged to give solar power to small residential areas.

In 2010 largest solar array of the world was commissioned providing power to 12000 homes in Sarnia Ontario. The project produces 80 megawatts of power, by 2015 it is expected that more than 2600 MW power can be produced. You have many online options to find right panels for your home, installing such panels can really help you in using solar power.