Has anyone actually used those kits online like energy4green or earth4energy to build their own solar panels or windmills? I’m so tempted but with my budget can’t afford to waste any money. They have a 60 day money back policy but that doesn’t include the money used to buy the supplies to try and build the things. My electric bill is almost $ 300 a month due to my stay at home disabled veteran husband who went from Utah snow to Florida sun and he has to have the AC on really cold. If anyone has actually built one can you tell me of your experience and if it actually is worth the money? I do lots of D.I.Y. projects but am a novice with electric besides installing a ceiling fan and changing out a light switch.
More Pages:
- Solar Power: How Does A Solar Powered Ceiling Fan Work? (10/9/2011)
- Solar Power: What Could Be The Procedure And Cost Of Solar Power System For A Domestic Home Use.WOULD ANY SUPPLY CHAIN Show? (7/7/2011)
- Solar Lights: Vivid Dream About The Sun, Moon Etc? (9/27/2011)
- Solar Panel: How Could I Build A Small, Efficient Solar Panel? (8/14/2011)
- Solar Panel: How Can I Build A Small Solar Panel To Power A Light Bulb? (7/18/2011)
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
my dad has built a solar panel with those kit thingys and they do work. but i think you can buy like a solar panels from The Source too!
Yes it is possible to build your own solar panels and wind generator.
Yes the sites you mentioned will show you details on how to do it.
But there are other sources you may want to look at first, before you spend money. A very good one is:
http://www.instructables.com
Also check out http://www.motherearthnews.com
There are also a few youtub videos out there that explain how to do it if you can find them.
Alright, now for my experience. The solar panels everyone will show you how to build use Crystaline solar cells. These do work, but are not the state of the art panels that are commercially available now.
You can purchase broken or chipped solar cells on ebay, or if you yahoo search it you will find there are several companies selling solar cells in bulk. Buying broken or chipped cells will work, but you get to piece them all together, and it can be time consuming and frustrating.
You can purchase new solar cells for a reasonable price at these same sites, so depending on your budget you might be better off going this route.
Once you get your solar cells, and a few other odds and ends that are pretty minor, you can build a solar panel that will produce aprox. 100 Watts for around $ 100-$ 200. If you really shop around and use some scap materials you can probably get this cost down a little if you need too.
Building the solar panel is only part of the equation. Realistically you will need a bank of batteries to store your power. Hooking directly to your home will not work since your panels are producing DC current and your home is AC. You have a few choices here:
1. purchase an inverter too convert the DC to AC, and then have it connected to your home power supply. (usually not recommended)
2. Connect the solar panels to a bank of batteries, then to an inverter hooked to your home power. (this is the common method)
3. Connect the solar panels to a bank of batteries, then hook up too dedicated DC wiring within you home. (This is what I would recommend)
The common method uses an inverter to change the power from DC to AC so you can run your normal lights and appliances. If you check your requirements on your AC appliances you will see that they are AC energy hogs.
Here is an example: A normal incandescent bulb will use 54 watts. Your solar panel is only generating 100 watts. To have any impact on your power usage at all, you will need a roof full of large solar panels.
I see a lot of people on this site discouraging people from solar power because of this, they do the math and they are right, it just isn’t practical in most cases. The problem is they are not looking at the whole picture however.
The trick is not to convert your solar power to AC, but rather your home, or part of it, to DC. A DC flourescent or LED light bulb only requires about 4 watts to provide the same light as an incandescent bulb. How many of these can you light with a 100 watt panel? Is the solution becoming apparent?
My recommendation is that you can do this in steps. Build a solar system with a battery bank, this will give you reserve power for nighttime and cloudy days. Start simple, convert some of your lighting fixtures (the ones you use the most) to DC flourescent or LED bulbs.
They are a little more expensive, shop around and you can find them fairly reasonable, but they last for a very very long time. Have the wiring for these light fixtures bypass the homes AC power, and run directly off the solar system.
Once you have your system in place, it is very easy to add additional panels, and additional batteries. Once you get going, you can start looking into DC powered appliances as well. If you have a laptop computer for instance, it runs just as well on DC power. Nowadays you can get pretty much anything DC powered. Microwaves, radios, ceiling fans, the only thing you might have trouble with is an HD TV (They really love the AC power!)
In regards to the wind generator, it is pretty much the same. Check out the web site mentioned above, they will have wind generator info also. With a wind generator you will need a motor, this is what generates the power when the wind blows through the blades. the larger the motor, the more power you can generate. However, the larger the motor, the more wind you will need to turn it, and accordingly the larger the blades on your wind generator.
Just like the solar panels, you can purchase a new or used motor, use scrap materials for a tower or pole to hold your generator up into the wind, and PVC piping makes good blades, all in all around $ 100-$ 200. for a generator capable of producing about 300 watts of power with a 25 mph steady wind, and 6 ft blades on your motor.
Personally I like the solar panel system as the primary, and a wind generator as a back up source for rainy or cloudy days. Also, windy nights in Florida will produce some good power as well.
The wind system can be hooked up too the battery bank just like the so
Don’t waste money finding out how to build one. I would do a lot research first. That guy with the long answer all ready helped you if you are ready to make the investment in PV panels (and the only way to get cheap ones if to contact local road contractors who use them for their signs that sometimes get damaged by drunken drivers and such). You can also find articles in Mother Earth News. It’s free to check out.
I would check to see what does best in your area. Not all areas are ideal for any one solution. Wind does good in Texas, but not so good in other places such as Washington State are not so great for solar because they have more cloudy times than sunny times. It nearly rains daily.
You probably should educate yourself on solar. It can be many things. Most think PV, but there are passive systems as well which are really cheap. Sometimes just opening up a south facing windows on a cool sunny day can do a lot. You can also build boxes that do the same thing with a small fan that pushes this heat into your home during ideal hours.
The best thing you can do is look into conservation first. Most assume they are okay, but most are really hurting here. Windows can lose their seals, weathering comes off doors, particulary on the bottom of the door. Drafts can get around light switches in older homes. Somes though the plumbing areas, and attic as well. So many people overlook just adding $ 250-500 worth of attic insultation can pay for that investment ina couple of years in electric savings (if electric or even gas heat). Then all those appliances that are getting old. Many think spending $ 800 dollars is too much to spend on a new fridge, but many energy star appliances can cut 30-50% of their energy usage, which can pay for themselves in a few years as well.
Don’t overlook all the phantom power users like unused cell chargers, dormant computers, tv’s, dvd players or anything that has little LED lights.
If you have any old fashion light bulbs in your home, replace them with CFL’s. All of them. That can cost you $ 50-75, but you can save several hundred dollars there as well if you can get the lowest acceptable wattage shopping by lumens than wattages (sometimes three 20 watt CFL’s can be just as good as three 40 watt bulbs in regard to light output). Make sure you replace any regular floruent tub lights like T20′s every few years. They get ineffient with time.
Try to keep the door close, and minimize your going in and out the door during extreme weather times.
Then consider wearing jackets in your home during winter allowing you to turn the themostat down a bit to save energy, and the same for summer with less clothes (but only do it to a comfortable level-extremes are like bad diets, they don’t last).
There are many other things you can do if you research how to save. Don’t over look the government tax credits for conservation and green measures such as adding panels to your house. Some utilities also offer stuff as well.
You might want to make the investment for a kill-a-watt meter that will allow you to check all the plugged in items in your house, except the larger appliances that are hardwired into the 220 wires. It’s a $ 30 device that can be educational.
Check out tax credit for all of this. These are far better than deductions that most expect. This makes your tax bill go down which will put more money in your wallet at tax time while saving money at the same time. Go to the IRS website for details.
You can actually build one for around $ 15 dollars. But it would take a football field of them to power your house!
You should look into building your own wind turbine, it’s more efficient and cheaper to build a good one.
I saw a guy who powered his entire house with one these!
You can start with simpler plans. Make test and start understanding how things work, that will guarrantee your success.
With the following plans, online support is also included, that will make you confident you will not just waste the money:
http://www.agua-luna.com/solar_panels.html
http://www.agua-luna.com/wind_gene.html
What I’ve heard, is that for those sites implying that you can power your house and save money with homemade solar panels, is that if you try to get your money back, there is no response. Maybe if you used a real credit card, you could dispute the charges through your credit card company. Actually, I wouldn’t be worried about buying materials and it not working – the more likely scenario is that you would get their instructions, and realize that they’re practically worthless.
In Florida, you have a chance to save money on your electric long-term, but it will be by investing maybe $ 10-20k, and then getting that back after 10 or more years. I’d suggest you contact a local solar installer and get a bid, even if it’s only to scope out how much it would cost up front. Then you can shop around and see if you could save by installing it yourself. It’s a serious project, not to be taken lightly. It took me about 3 months to put it up. It’s possible that you will not save money by self-installing, as professionals may get better prices on the panels.
The Florida state rebate is subject to availability of funds, and typically, I’ve heard people wait a long time to get it. The Federal rebate is a credit to your taxes, so you get it the next year.
All the above advice is very good but it would cost a nice sum of money to power a whole house. There’s a new solar panel company that would rent you a solar panel system for the same price your paying your company now and lock in that rate for up to 25 years. There’s no system to purchase, no installation cost, no maintenance fees, and no rate increases for the life of your contract. Check them out and see what you think. http://www.maketheswitchtosolar.com