Make Your Own Solar Panels

When I told my wife that I wanted to build my own solar panels, she thought I went crazy. She, like I initially thought, was we had to spend thousands and thousands of dollars buying massive panels and having a construction firm install them for us. When I told her I found a guide that showed you step by step how to make your own solar panels, she was naturally skeptical. Well after I did it, she was surprised and happy. I don’t blame her, this from a guy who couldn’t even can’t our car’s oil without making a huge mess.

CLICK HERE to view the guide I found that helped walk me through every step to DIY solar panles.

We have now had the panels installed and working for almost 6 months. The electrical savings is noticeable and I will have paid for the guide and supplies within a few more months. I am strongly considering adding more soon to enjoy more savings and taking our home 100% off the electrical grid. Extra electricity we produce will be absorbed my the electrical utility and it is possible that we can even get a check from them for the surplus. Imagine that!

It is not exceptionally hard to make your own solar panels. You just need a little courage. The guide really takes you through step by step how to do it and shows you where to purchase the supplies wholesale. I think I already mentioned, but we were able to find everything local in our city.

I put a photo of the first solar panel I made below. Not bad huh?  The best advice I can give to you before starting out on making your own solar panels is to start small. Don’t think you have to power your entire house on solar at first. Just start by making one small panel to get the feel for it. See what the savings are off your electric utility bill and decide if you want to undertake making more. I know I got an immense sense of satisfaction from making these and will be doing more soon.

CLICK HERE to view the guide that helped me find the courage to build my own solar panels.

A photo of the first solar panel I made.

Since I have used a diy solar panel guide and installed the panels on my home, a lot of my friends and neighbors have been asking me how to build a solar panel. Intsalling solar panels on your home has really increase in popularity over the past year as guides have become available showing you how to do it yourself. Prior to this only commerical businesses were able to intall these panels and the cost is in the thousands. It was not even cost effective to do so with the electric bill savings.  Now you can buld your own solar panels for much cheaper, around two hundred dollars, and combined with electic bill savings and government green energy tax rebates, it is a wise choice.

After I found the guide that would show an amateur week-end warrior like myself, finding the parts for the solar panels was the next step. I was able to get plywood, sheets of glass and copper wire from HD. You do need to buy solar or photovoltaic cells from over the internet or locally if you can. I found these about an hour away at a large electric supply house. I live in a pretty small town, but if you are in a larger city, this is no problem at all. Shop around for the best price to save more money. Once I had the supplies it took me a Saturday to make a 100-watt panel. This was enough to power my workshop in the garage. I have since built three more that power our washer/dryer and diswasher. The three big electric hogs in our home.

There are 3 main systems you can build for your home. It depends on your needs and what you want the solar panels for.  The first is a grid-tiered system in which the solar panels tie into your homes electric meter. You use the electricity generated from your solar panels first and then from the electric company second. The second system and most common for the diy solar panel people, and what I did, is a grid-tie with battery backup. You collect electricity from the solar panels to fill the bateries. Excess power is sent back through the system to the electric company. The third is stand alone systems where the solar panels are connected directly to an appliance or lighting system with battery backup. You can do this system in the beginning and then later connect to your electric comany power meter.

Any of these 3 systems work great. Once installed, solar panels require no maintenance future maintenance other than keeping them clean. Also look into government or electric company rebates that are becoming available. Green energy and reducing our carbon footprint is high on Obama’s list and it will only benefit those of us who choose to build your own solar panels.

I had been looking into making your own solar panels for quite a long time. I knew having solar panels installed at my home would save money on my electric bill and would help the environment. Both I was interested in. I didn’t install them sooner because I did not think spending thousands on having a company install the panels was a wise investment. I did not know how to make your own solar panels and if I did, would they work.

I began researching these diy solar panel guides and the basic premise of how to make a solar panel seemed simple enough. I am a retired high school science teacher and have done similar projects on a much smaller scale with my students. But I was a little nervous about building something so large and tapping into my house electrical system. I found a guide that would help me build a solar panel that would be cost effective and easy enough to do with my skill set. The cost savings and impact on the environment is a huge beneficial factor to me. I like knowing that my reducing my electric bill I am having a positive influence on environmental pollution and helping make the world a cleaner place for my grandchildren to grow up in.