Solar energy is awesome! It is a form of a group of energy types called Renewable Energy, since it is the energy that simply renews itself all the time. Know Renewable and Energy. I worked as a civilian contractor at the US Department of Energy Headquarters in Washington, DC for five years. I know my apples.
You put up a solar panel, and when the sun shines you get more energy. You build a windmill, and when the wind blows you get more energy. You push air into a geo-thermal unit in the ground where it is 65 degrees, and it will give you the 65 degree air coming out, or run water through a pipe buried at 65 degrees ground temperature, and you can run your heat pump with 65 degree water year round. renewable These are, since you don't have to destroy something to make more electricity.
They just keep going and going and going. renewable Non-energy runs out of supply and ceases. Think of a coal plant making electricity. They have to burn the coal to create the electricity. When the coal is all gone, you have no more energy. The sun keeps shining, with the exception of Alaska in the winter, letting you continue to create free electricity.
I can tell you though, none of the free electricity comes cheap. A Solar Array on your rooftop can be installed in $ 20,000 or more. Parts and labor to put in the geo-thermal, can easily run $ 40,000. With a really big house, you can expect double that amount. A windmill requires a large area where the noise of the continual windmill running won't affect your neighbors. You would probably want to use this on a farm.
Let's talk about getting real. Let's talk about low-cost solar. There are several online ads for To It Yourself solar. One company out there advertises that you can build the following.
about $ 200 for a usable solar panel and storage battery setup, and
about $ 200 for a usable system for windmill
He sends you the instructions for less than $ 50.
Now comes the fun part. Do You want to know about these ads To It Yourself. If you go online looking for "To It Yourself solar panel 's", there are over 331,000 responses. Go ahead, Google it. That is the people that claim to 331,000 have built a solar panel for less than $ 200, integrated it into a system and reduced their energy costs between 75% percent. (I'll give you a hint-no way! It's all the sales pitch. There aren ' t that many free forklift batteries in the world.) Or stay right here and get the information you need.
You see, there are is only three companies out there getting 90% of those hits. You're going to get a FAQ page and a signup form. They don't have time to talk to you directly. Fill it out, send them their fifty bucks, and get your instruction book.
The rest of that online traffic is going to honest, tree hugging solar enthusiasts. They have forums that have laymen and engineers participating. They have parts, true life examples, and advice.
For instance, in the US, the panels must be certified before they can go into your electrical system. Electric Codes! Insurance Company Underwriters will deny your home-owners insurance if you don't meet Code on self-installs. You can find out how to get that done. However, if you want to know the good, the bad, and ugly, read on.
The Good:
about Solar electricity is great for the environment. I'm into that. I want to save trees, and breathe clean air and drink non-polluted water. My favorite charity is Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky (RROKI). You can see that from my vantage point, great for the environment is my favorite.
o Saves you money. We're both into that, too. If you build an entire array of solar panel s, you can produce a lot of electricity. If you make the electricity yourself, then you don't have to give the power company as much money each month. For instance, my personal electric bills have doubled twice in the last seven years. If a solar array cuts my usage by 75%, my power bills would be back to what they were seven years ago. I would be at 75% of the power I am using, and paying the power company for 25% of it at full price.
o You can make money doing this.
Two ways:
* 1) Build enough solar panel s on your roof to sell BACK to the power company
* 2) After you have created your own, you could make a cottage industry out of making the panels for your neighbors at a small profit. It's really easy and you already have the instructions.
The Bad:
* You have to have a place with sunshine. And the solar panel covered with snow is not going to work either. * You need power inverters, batteries, cables and wires and hardware to connect it into your electric panel * A single panel will not very well run and refrigerator, washer, and dryer at the same time. You will need an array of panels for all that.
The Ugly:
* This is electricity. Most States have strict laws called Electrical Codes. You must have a licensed electrician for the hook up into your house wiring. If you do not have a licensed electrician for the hook up into your house wiring, you are in a very sensitive area. Legally. I said ugly. Long story short, use a licensed electrician to the hook up. Build it yourself, but have a pro link it into your system.
* Bottom Line??? Yes, you can build a solar panel and create your own electricity. However, one panel isn't going to be enough. They solar panel produces about 1 KwH of electricity per week. That would be what it takes to run your computer for about 40 hours. When you look at the average cost of a solar setup for your house being $ outturn 2004, they aren '' t talking about a single $ 200 panel. They mean an array. Building your own panels will save you a lot, but you will still need to be on the grid until you connect a lot of panels.
However, the answer remains, Yes, You can build your own solar panel and it will work.
This article was written rfitz42@fitzprefers.com order. I worked in the Renewable Energy Sector at DOE in the Office of State and Community Programs in an outfit named Building Technology Section. I now run an informational and informative website called, oddly enough http://solar.fitzprefers.com., There are several other articles on DIY Solar, and a bunch of other things as well. Or, just http://www.fitzprefers.com it is. It's all there. Thank you. A link to my website would also be greatly appreciated.
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