DIY Solar Panel Kits

I’ve always said if it sounds too good to be true, it’s not.
Anyone order this kit?
What do you think?
Thanks!
Thanks Amy, don’t want to pick a best answer yet but yours was great.
Thanks Roderick you both deserve best answer.
It’s kinda like judging a talent contest where everyone is great.

Many of the build it yourself sites are offering a very generic booklet that does not contain useful information. You can read a great review of one of them at http://www.nlcpr.com/Deceptions6.php

Excerpt from their review:

"The gist of their claims is this:

* Get cheap broken or used solar cells on e-bay. They show screen prints of auctions starting at 99 cents but all you e-bayers know that the prices gets bid up considerably. Solder it all together and make your panels.
* Ask forklift operators for free, used batteries (assuming they are going to throw out batteries that still function)
* Get a DC motor from e-bay and make a wind mill from it."

Even if you do find a good instruction manual, home made panels cannot be connected to the electric grid, as they are not UL listed. If you really want to add solar to your house, buy factory made panels. The price has dropped a lot this year, and with rebates and credits, they are becoming more affordable. Check out the DSIRE site below to see any rebates available in your area.

if roof tiles were made of solar panel materials at a similar cost as an normal roofing tile or slate it would be easy for the government to meet its carbon footprint and cut green house gas.
if 1 tile made 0.5volts then just think how much power a house or street could make.
sell the excess back to the power grid saving the consumer cash.
i just cant find out the costs for a solar cell.

Hi John

I know how hard it is to cut down power costs especially if you are on
a tight budget and on pre power.

I think it’s disgusting how much the power companies charge you and
after reviewing last months power budget ($300) I decided to research alternative methods of reducing my power bill.

I came across this website it shows you how to build your own solar panels for less than $100. I think that is better than spending $300 a month.

There are heaps of helpful hints and they even show you how to build
a wind turbine. I also read some really good stories about people that have had success using this method for building their own solar panels.

http://tinyurl.com/nmxjor

if anyone here has used this please let me know what you think and how it has worked for you.

So far I have only heard great things and I think it’s worth testing this method to lower your power bill and be free of those power companies.

was looking at a few different sites, here is one of them, http://earths-renewable-energy.com/ they show you how to build your own solar panels, but how much energy do they take in? (knowledgeable answers only please)

For the solar power system to work you need to have a PV panel and a storage system. The PV panels functions to generate electricity and the storage system stores the energy for future use.
Batteries are the most common methods for storage of solar energy. There are 2 types of batteries available. They are nickel cadmium and lead acid. The lead acid batteries are cheap and preferred for solar energy storage. They are similar to your car battery. The nickel cadmium battery also functions in the same manner but are expensive. However the nickel cadmium batteries discharge more electricity and also last longer.
There are generally 3 ways of storing solar energy.
Sensible heat storage
For the solar energy units that have middle and low temperatures the cheapest way of storing energy is to use water and stones. The energy that is collected by the collectors increase the temperatures of the storing mediums to allow storage of the energy in these mediums and when required the heat is used. In this method of solar energy storage the concentration level is low and the duration is also short.

Latent heat storage
In this type of solar energy storage the medium for storing the energy has features like absorption of big energy, less volume and corrosion and greater repeating capabilities. At present the most effective mediums for this type of solar energy storage are hydrate carbonates, nitrates and sulphates. In latent heat storage method the energy storing density is high with longer periods of storage. The medium can be cooled easily also which makes it difficult for the medium to crystallize.

Chemical reaction energy storage
Here, the endothermic reaction of the chemicals is used for storing the solar energy. When the process is inversed the heat is released. Here some inorganic oxides are also used as the medium. By using this method you benefit by storing heat in larger quantities and for longer periods of time. For the generation of high temperature by the endothermic reactions the equipments that are needed are very costly.

Zeolites have the unique characteristics to absorb and deabsorb water which makes it the preferred material for solar energy storage. When the zeolites are heated the water molecules escape and the heat energy is stored. When the process of reabsorbing the water molecules starts the heat energy is released.

Here are some projects that people did http://www.instructables.com/tag/?q=solar+panel&limit%3Atype%3Aid=on&type%3Aid=on&type%3Auser=on&type%3Acomment=on&type%3Agroup=on&type%3AforumTopic=on&type%3AforumTopic=on&sort=none .

I would add, be careful of web sites that suggest you can power your entire home cheaply with home built panels, if you will just send them a few dollars for the information. It’s simply not that cheap or easy. If it were, you would see lots of people doing it.

I have a 4 bedroom house and a 2 car garage. How many panels would i need to power the entire house. Also would it be easy to diy or should i get a professional to do it. thanks in advance.

I have included the link to sources of information that will help you calculate your solar panel cost, need, and amount of roof space.
You need to know how much kW you use a month for the calculations. The great thing is the calculator will take into account you area, utility, and state rebates or incentives.
I would recommend doing your homework on what to expect and the components involved. For myself, I would hire a contractor to do the work on the roof and for a guarantee of some sort.

I’m interested in adding solar panels to my house to help cut energy costs.
Also, I think it would just be a neat project to do.
I’m reasonably handy and have heard about programs to help with supply of solar panels and installation for DIY solar.
Does anybody know of a good one?

There are many guides out there, I think you have to have some experience on building such systems before getting one of them. Earth4Energy guide may be a nice one.

http://ambigrid-review.blogspot.com

Lower Your Electric Bill with Do It Yourself Solar Panels. DIY Solar Panels. Ambigrid Plans Review. How It’s Made: Solar Panels! Learn to build a complete solar panel system for under $100 and get free electricity!

Download the Ambigrid Plans at:
http://ambigrid-review.blogspot.com

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http://www.EnergyBrainiac.com To build Solar Panel and Wind Mill.
Video, comparing Home Made WindMill and Home Made Solar Panels. Very Cheap Home Made WindMill vs. Home Made Solar Panels !

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Check this video out at Hi-Res here: http://www.tutvid.com/tutorials/dreamweaver/tutorials/importPSDToDream.php

We will export a web layout made in Photoshop and build an editable website layout in Dreamweaver. We will then convert the page to a template for future use and ease of editing. Have fun with this one!

Check out http://www.tutvid.com for more great training!

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http://ambigrid.net
The amount you can save by building the devices of the ambigrid kit can vary. For example a couple of our solar panels, are able to provide significant electricity to a household, for an averaged sized household, you can easily save anywhere in the range of 30-50%. This means that your power bill will reduce by 30-50%. If you decide to implement the ambigrid kit on a larger scale, it will independently power your household, meaning, you won’t have to pay anything to the power company. Our renewable energy bundle will generate all the electricity your household will need. In the best case scenario, when our kit manages to produce more energy than a household needs, the surplus of electrictiy goes back to the grid, and your meter starts going backwards. For more visit http://ambigrid.net

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