DIY Solar Panels

Are you a Pinterest or YouTube freak?! Or love to work on do-it-yourself (DIY) projects?  Today so many things can be done from home as DIY projects in order to help budget your finances and cut down on monthly bills.  Sites like Pinterest and YouTube provide the public with free DIY tutorials that allow you to create things you would like to have or need to have at a much cheaper price.

That means that you should be able to create solar panels at home by yourself too right?!  Of course there is the option to purchase DIY kits from IKEA or other home appliance stores, but what about truly DIY solar panels?  The answer is YES!  With solar panels still having a huge upfront long term investment today and electricity bills continuing to rise, many people have gotten their wheels turning and figured out how to make solar panels and solar energy on their own at an affordable price.

How In The World Do You Make Solar Panels?

There are so many crazy products out there in the world today, that DIY solar panels are nothing out of the norm.  In fact there are hundreds of thousands of people around the world that have already created and successfully use DIY solar panels to create their own energy!   As long as you have the time, patience, and determination to complete a project DIY solar panels will be seem like a breeze.  Of course everyone does things a tad different when it comes to creating DIY projects, otherwise it would not be a unique project and provide one with such a feeling of accomplishment, satisfaction, and pride right?  Below are a few sites that provide you with DIY solar panel tutorials.

Solar panel made from broken re-used solar cells: (small version)

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Panel/?ALLSTEPS

Solar panel made from polycrystalline cells: (small version) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zy3ELxwdtE

Solar panel made from polycrystalline cells: (large scale version/panel of the link provided above)

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/345862446355064026/

If you’re a fan of canned beverages, save those cans!! You can even create your own DIY solar panel out of cans.  Recycling ‘soda’ cans for this project makes it extra ‘green’!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Solar-panel-air-heater-made-of-pop-cans/

http://www.freeonplate.com/how-to-build-diy-solar-panels-out-of-pop-cans/

Creating a solar panel like those above may be a challenge but in the end it will also be worth it, especially when you start to see those electric bills getting smaller and smaller.  Experimenting with DIY solar panels to get more amperage or efficiency is idea for those with time and creative minds.  Don’t forget to share your experience and/or ideas with the others!

Advantages and Disadvantages of DIY solar panels

As you can imagine like store bought panels and anything else that is home made, DIY solar panels also come with baggage (advantages and disadvantages).  Making solar panels on your own sounds very complicating but if you have read or watched the sample DIY tutorials above you know that is not necessarily true.  But what exactly are the advantages and disadvantages of DIY solar panels?

• Advantages: Did you know that you can save up to 75% by making your own solar panels right at home (free labor of course J)? Also without feed-in-tariffs (FIT) (please refer to Solar Power in the UK to read about FIT’s <insert link>) from the government your sole purpose of saving money on electricity is put into effect much sooner.  You are also able to save time by starting your project when you want and working at your own pace.  If you were to work with the government on your solar power project, it could take up to six months or longer just for an installment team to install your panels. Don’t forget that solar energy is environmentally friendly!

• Disadvantages: Did you know the government may have a requirement that all DIY solar panels must be installed or connect to your home or other building/appliance by a licensed electrician? Not only does this cost money but it will also cost time as there may be very busy electricians.  DIY solar panels may also be less efficient than those of higher quality (and cost) bought in stores or installed by the government installation team through the FIT program.  What about warranties?  With homemade DIY solar panels there are no warranties if panels were to break or stop providing energy.  Another down fall for all those who are busy or just do not want to take up such a project is that you have to do everything yourself (unless you can recruit some help).  This means you have to have the time, work area, and patience to create your own solar panels (but it would be worth it).

Note: If you are thinking about DIY solar panels, you should check with your government to see if DIY solar panels qualify and/or apply for FIT in your area.