Tag Archives: solar panel cost

Solar Panel Kit

Posted by on April 21, 2010 No comments

With some common tools and a few basic skills, you can seriously reduce the price of your solar power system by using a solar panel kit. Several types of solar panel kits are available, some providing just the basics, and others providing many or all of the actual components needed. Check out solar panel cost if you need to know about the cost of solar panels.

The most basic type of kit does not include any actual parts; rather, it’s a set of directions on how to build a solar panel, including where to get the necessary parts. For anyone interested in solar energy, these inexpensive guides are a good place to start. Kits that include videos are particularly good. In most cases, the videos are step-by-step demonstrations of how to build a solar panel. For the best guide to building your own solar panels, visit best DIY Solar and Wind guides.

It’s also possible to find kits that provide directions as well as parts needed to build a solar panel. This will include a choice of solar cells, soldering equipment, and connection wires. With these kits, you’ll see some that let you build your own panel enclosure, and others that come with a pre-built enclosure. In addition to the savings that come from building your own solar panel, you’ll also have an opportunity to learn about how they work, which will likely have benefits in the future. Once you’ve built a solar panel in this way, you’ll be able to use the panel by itself to charge batteries, or power small appliances using an inverter.

You can also find large-scale solar panel kits are used to set up an entire solar power system for your home. In addition to the solar panels, these kits will generally include inverters, charge controllers, and batteries. This type of kit will help you avoid the frustration of incompatible parts. If you do decide to work without a kit, you’ll need to know how to ensure that your solar panels and inverter will work together.

Using solar panel kits, you can take a staggered approach to establishing a solar power system. In this way, instead of making one big investment, you can spread out the cost of setting up a system over a longer period of time.

Building your own solar panels can be a rewarding experience. In addition to the monthly savings, you’ll be reducing your carbon footprint as well as helping your country end its dependence on foreign oil. Just about anyone can build a solar panel. In addition to the common parts, which you’ll find at your local hardware store, solar cells themselves are very easy to acquire.

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Living Off Grid

Posted by on April 9, 2010 No comments

Off grid living is becoming more appealing to many people as the cost of energy continues to increase. It is now very possible to disconnect from the power grid and make all of your own energy. If you size the system appropriately, you can use solar panels or wind turbines to produce all of your own power. You can take at least your first step towards off grid living by producing some of your own power.

First, let’s discuss solar power. Solar panels are a great option for supplying power to many homes and can work in all parts of the world, even in remote areas or places with a harsh environment. The only requirement is lots of sunlight and some hardware. It is actually pretty easy to build your own solar panel.  To see the best guide I’ve found, take a look at  GreenDIYEnergy Review.   You can put together a solar power system that is as large or small as required and it can even be portable if your living arrangements are mobile. Solar panels are tough, require very little maintenance and can last up to 20 years if properly cared for.

A basic system includes some number of solar panels which are wired together. In order to produce maximum power, solar panels in the northern hemisphere should be pointed due south. With older solar panels, it was more important that they point directly at the sun and many solar power systems used motors to rotate the panels so they always pointed directly at the sun, however with more modern panels this is less important.With more modern solar panels, it is less important that they point directly at the sun, but older solar power systems often had motors to rotate the panels as the sun moved across the sky. With modern solar panels, as long as they are pointed due south and at the proper vertical angle, stationary panels will work almost as well as ones driven by motors.  Another great resource for how to build a solar panel is  Build a Solar Panel.

Since solar cells produce Direct Current (DC), the electricity produced by solar cells can be used to power any DC appliance or to charge batteries. Using batteries allows for storing electricity to be used when the sun isn’t shining.

A power inverter can be used to convert the DC electricity from solar panels into the AC electricity that standard appliances around your house require. A power inverter can convert DC electricity coming from either the solar panels or batteries in AC electricity.

Another way to begin living off grid is with the use of a wind turbine. You can mount a modern wind turbine on a pole or tower, or perhaps even on the roof of your home. These modern wind turbines are fairly small and quite efficient. If you want to generate power at night as well as during the day, wind turbines can do this which is an advantage over solar panels. As long as the wind is blowing, a wind turbine can produce electricity.  For a great guide to building your own wind turbine, visit  Earth4Energy

You can install both a wind turbine and solar panels together. You can use the same power inverter and batteries with both solar and wind and this setup can give you the best of both worlds. If it is overcast and windy the wind turbine can generate power and if is it a sunny, calm day the solar panels will provide power.

IF you want to pull the plug and begin an off grid lifestyle, either of these systems can generate enough power to allow you to do so. They will let you take your first step towards completely pulling the plug.

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