DIY Solar Panel Kits

What are something things I can build to make energy out of wind, solar, water, etc. I just want something simple that could make enough energy to power a small shack.

I would prefer to build something like this..

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-1000-watt-wind-turbine/
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/axialflux/

This claims it gets 1,000 watts

So if you know of anything like this could you please provide a link to a detailed tutorial.

Thanks a lot.
Is this worth looking into building?

http://www.instructables.com/id/A-Home-Power-Plant—Wind-Power-Generator-Revised/

How about a pedal-power generator:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Bicyle-Power-for-Your-Television%2c-Laptop%2c-or-Cell-/

i would like to construct 4x 12VDC computer fans under my roof vent. These would be wired in parallel to a 12V solar panel (Wattage depending on size of fans). I know this would only work during the day, but that’s really all I need. My question is, would this make a difference in the temp in the attic or am I wasting my time. Really, I don’t want to spend $300 of a pre-made kit and have to replace the vent.

We had a solar vent put in our roof, and were amazed at how much cooler the house got. Years later, the house was still cool, but when I went up to check the fan, I found that the solar panel had burned out, and the fan was not moving. Apparently, just having a large vent near the ridgeline, even without forced air, is enough to make a huge difference.

If I had to do it again, I would put one of those wind-powered vents, the kind that looks like a turban, up there. In our neighborhood, those things have been on people's rooftops for like 20 years. They've rusted, but I still see them turning in the breeze.

If you really want to use the existing vent, maybe consider one of those really powerful attic fans, that plugs into AC. You would only need to run it on low, or maybe just for a few minutes to clear out the hot air.

http://blog.makezine.com/finishedpanel.jpg
The metal grill shown here are at my disposal and I was wondering if I can use them to make solar panels at home for home use. I have 2 of these but there are like 1×2ft.

I would really like some step by step help on this one.
Thanks.
I need electricity not a system that heats water.

You could. But keep in mind that the amount of heat that it can absorb is a function of the surface area exposed to sunlight. The condenser coil that you show would not be very effective.
Edit: The only way you could possibly generate electricity with those condenser is to heat water or some other fluid. There would be a copuple of methods after that. But none are going to be able to generate much. As I said, insufficient area to absorb sunlight.

I know it can be done, but to what extent does it work and how easy is it to do. I have gone to a number of sites to do it yourself but they mostly appear to be scams trying to get you to purchase a product that may not even exist much less work. There was even one very legit sounding blog, but when I went to find more blogs from this person, I only got sent back to the same one page, as if it were only an advertisement and not even a real blog. I don't mind spending money to learn how to do this right, I just hate the idea of being scammed.

maybe you mean solar cells but a solar panel is just a black box with pipes going through it, the colour absorbs heat wich is in turn absorbed by the watrer pipes, to make one yourself make a lenght of water pipe with lots of bends so you can get as much pipe as possible in a small space, then make a box to fit aroud the pipe and paint it black, attach the ends of the pipe to your water supply and away u go,
commercialy built ones will make hotter water but this is way, way cheaper!

I'm trying to develop a DIY grid tie system & know only the basics about electrical work.
No worries guys I'm a master plumber & have a friend who is a master electrician who would be doing all the wiring. He wasn't around for me to ask initially. Thanks for the answers!

A typical 60W panel has a 4A short circuit current from spec in first link below. This is most likely about 3.5A of peak sun charging current.
Depending where you live, you may get 2 to 5 hours of peak sun charging current a day. You should be able to find this figure on the internet for your area. It is the number of equivalent full sun hours (that the panel will provide 3.5A). It will take all the daylight hours to achieve this equivalent. Lets say you have 3 hours equivalent, so you will get 3.5A x 3h = 10.5Ah per day average.

The battery is 212Ah, so it takes (1.4 x 212 = 300Ah) to charge it. How many days is this? Divide 300Ah by 10.5Ah per day to get 29 days. This assumes no power lost from the battery over that time. Basically the battery (depending on type) could lose almost that much charge over a month from self discharge, so this panel would just keep a battery of this size more or less fully charged if there is no load.

With an MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) controller this figure could be improved, as the charge is derived from the maximum power, not the maximum current, and could provide more current than the maximum from the panel (using internal electronics).

If you want a grid tie system you need a higher voltage to operate the grid tie inverter. You don't need batteries, that is one of the reasons for using such a system. These inverters typically require 150-500V from the panels. This is for good reasons of efficiency and cost. Look up "Sunny Boy" (a German model popular in the US and Australia and Europe at least) to get an idea. This inverter adjusts the load automatically to use the input voltage that gets the maximum power from the panels (MPPT tracking). You need 10 x 12V panels in series to get this voltage. That means you can deliver about 600W to the inverter. Usually smaller systems target 1KW as the power from the panels, using bigger panels, or 24V modules etc. The design starts with the total wattage of the panels, as this is the high cost item. A 1KW system may not export much power at all.

I recommend you research this much further, or get some sort of consultancy with someone familiar with your region before you go ahead. There are plenty of references on the web. The wiring is at voltages similar to household voltages so you should get a suitably qualified electrician to do that work.

I know it seems disappointing, but the power from a solar panel is small compared with household use, especially as the full power only occurs a few hours a day. For example, the standby power from your appliances alone will exceed the 60W rating of the panel, so it makes economic and environmental sense to eliminate that by turning things off at the wall outlet. This panel could perhaps power such a small thing as a network router on a 24 x 7 hour basis.

Depending where you live, solar hot water may make more sense than an electrical system, as it represents more energy saving due to higher efficiency, and also is more practical for a DIY project.

You may get government grants, Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) etc. to offset the cost of some systems in some regions. Hope this helps.

http://EnergyForEarth.net

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In this video this mans home is completely powered by the power of the sun which is available to us all. DIY solar power for your home is actually fairly simple. You can follow the above link and find an ebook giving instructions on how to make your own solar power system for less than $200.00 worth of materials to get started. I have found it very useful information in solar power kits and highly recommend it.

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http://EnergyForEarth.net

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