One of the most popular home renewable energy guides on the internet right now is Michael Harvey’ Earth For Energy (Earth4Energy). It is selling by the thousands of copies every month.

What is the reason behind its popularity?

Many home owners are concern about rising energy cost. Apart from our bank mortgage, our electricity bill is one of the largest household expenses. To reduce energy consumption, many people are looking into solar power to supplement their electricity needs.

However, a home solar system installed by a professional contractor is very expensive. We are talking about the range of $30,000 and above depending on your current home energy consumption. The time it takes to recover your investment can range from 20 to 30 years!

As a cheaper alternative, many home owners are setting up a home solar system via a Do It Yourself (DIY) approach.

How much would it cost to install a DIY solar system?

A realistic figure is about $1000 to $2000. The major components are the solar panel, charge controller, circuit breaker box, meter gauges, battery bank and power inverter.

The system would not be able to power all of your electrical appliances, but it will handle most of it. It can also be used to power all of your room lighting fixtures.

To reduce your cost even further, you can make your own solar panel. This is where the Earth4Energy e-book will come in handy.

The manual basically shows you how to make a solar panel with step by step instruction. The budget you’ll need to set aside is roughly $150. A typical homemade solar panel consists of 36 pieces of 3” x 6” Photovoltaic (PV) cells.

By soldering all the solar cells together, it is capable of generating 18 volts and approximately 75 watts of electricity under direct sunlight. The power generated is capable of charging a 12 volt deep cycle battery.

So is Michael Harvey’s Earth 4 Energy worth the investment?

Personally, I think it is a good buy. I bought my copy about a year ago. Back then, what I received was only 2 pdf files and a couple of videos.

Since then, they have added a few more instructional videos in the members’ area. The videos are step by step instruction of how to make a solar panel recorded in High Definition (HD). I was really impressed by the quality.

If you are thinking of setting up your own home solar power system and you don’t want to spend too much money, check out the Earth4Energy guide.

One of the first home solar power guide I bought from the web is John Russel’s Power 4 Home. A lot of people may be wondering, does the e-book really works?

There are actually 2 e-books that come together in the Power4Home program. One is on residential solar power system and another one is on home wind generator.

Let’s take the solar guide as an example. To reduce your home electricity bill, John Russel suggests you use free energy from the sun. However, getting a professional solar contractor to setup the system can be very expensive. If you are planning to power your entire home with solar power, by prepared to invest upwards of $40,000.

A cheaper alternative is to build your own home solar system. A DIY system will not be able to provide sufficient electricity for your entire home. Nonetheless, it can be used to power most of your home electrical appliances and all of the lighting fixtures.

When you are using less electricity from the power grid, you will see a reduction in your utility bill.

What Power4Home will teach you is the step by step process of making your own solar panel. A typical solar panel is made from 36 pieces of 3” x 6” Photovoltaic (PV) cells. It is capable of generating 18 volts and 75 watts of electricity. The power output is sufficient to charge a 12 volt deep cycle or marine battery.

How much will it cost to make a homemade solar panel? If you were to follow the instructions recommended by John Russel, you can get it done with less than $150.

If you are planning to build a reasonable size residential solar power system on your own, you may need 2 to 3 solar panels. The other key components required for the system are the charge controllers, meter gauges, battery bank and power inverter.

Unfortunately, you can’t make these components on your own. You’ll have to purchase them from your local hardware store. John Russel has provided some recommendation in his guide.

In total, how much would it cost to setup the solar system?

Generally, you will need to invest about $1000 to $1500. The investment cost is much lower compared to a professional system of $40,000!

So does Power 4 Home System works?

The concept of generating electricity from solar cells has already been proven to be feasible. If you have the budget, you can employ a contractor to build the system for you.

If you want to save cost, you can make the solar panel on your own. Power4Home gives you the step by step instruction to do that. If you want to reduce your home electricity bill further, you can always scale up the system by adding more solar array.

==> Click here to visit Power4Home now!

In my last post, I wrote about the amazing handheld thermal leak detector from Black & Decker, the TLD100. It’s a pretty cool device, sort of like one of the gadgets on Star Trek. The video on top shows the TLD100 in action. To use the TLD100 to check for air leaks at your home is very easy. If you are looking for air leaks around a window, first, scan the surrounding area around the window to calibrate the temperature.

You will see a green light. Next, scan the sill or openings around the window. If there’s air seeping through, you will see a blue light indicating a lower temperature. Apply some caulk to seal it. The Black & Decker TLD100 is available from Amazon.com for only $49.99 with free shipping. Click on the button on the right to get it now!