Build Your Own Solar Panel – The Truth Behind Saving Cash With Residential Photo Voltaic Cells

With the surge in energy prices and the weakening economy, consumers are wisely looking to alternative energy as a solution. Solutions like solar and wind power have now become hot topics budget minded households. But with prices from the lows of $ 6,200 to the highs of over $ 30,000, a commercial solar solution is too impractical for a mere mortals budget. That is why many are turning looking to build their own solar panel.

Imagine the thrill of a $ 0 energy bill.

Or … How about selling your "surge" energy back to the utility company for income?

This is not myth. This is not fantasy.

Real people are building and profiting from their own solar panels right now. They have panels on their roofs that are bringing in enough energy to run normal appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, televisions and more. In fact some people are going so far as to switch appliances to take advantage of their extra energy. Check out what one solar user named Laura Peterson said "We actually just got a new washer and dryer, and we put in an electric dryer, instead of a gas one, because we figured we might as well use the electricity that we're generating . "

Imagine the thrill of having "too much" energy …

The Truth About Most DIY Solar Panels

The truth is that you can build your own DIY solar panel but the majority of the plans you will find out there are for 3rd year electronic engineering students who are taking the time to fuse hundreds of broken and re-used solar cell pieces together to come out with a whopping 1/2 volt supply of energy!

In case you are not keen on electrical engineering, that is not a lot. In fact many of these projects barely produce enough power to light an LED.

Needless to say this is not the amount of power that will get normal household off of the grid and producing their own usable energy.

I bring this up to say that if you believe that you can create a DIY photo voltaic (which simply means generating electricity from light) solar panel by surfing the forums, you will probably be rudely disappointed.

The best solution is to go for a product that is geared towards normal people (not engineering students).

Solar Panel Kits And Plans

There are a few solar panel kits on the markets for just over $ 1,200 dollars. The good side of getting one of these kits is that they have most of the components you will need for the solar panel itself. However it should be noted that they do not include components such as the inverter or hi "amp hour" battery.

The Power Inverter – is a critical component that changes the DC voltage that solar panels produce into usable AC power that normal household appliances run off of. Without this component the power coming off of the pane is practically useless. These inverters are quite expensive, on the order of $ 500- $ 750 new.

The Battery – Another critical component is the battery bank. This is essential because your solar cells may well produce more power than you need during the day (and of course none at night). The batteries store that power for future use so that it is not wasted. High amp hour batteries can store this power 80 – 110 hours of power usage, which should get you through some cloudy days and dark nights. These run in the $ 150- $ 200 range for new batteries.

Those are the essential components for a kit. And of course the cost stated for the panels is "per panel" so multiplly that by the number of panels you need.

The $ 200 Solution …