Top Five Reasons to Build Your Own Solar Panels

Building your own solar panels may be easier than you think. As a matter of fact, if you have a little time on your hands, you can build your own solar panels over the course of a weekend, for between $100 and $200. There are a lot of good reasons to build your own solar panels. Here are a few of them.

1. Building your own solar panels is a lot cheaper than buying them.

One of the biggest reasons that solar panels aren’t more popular is that they are simply very expensive. People who buy their solar panels and outfit their entire homes with them are looking at spending $10,000. And that’s minimum. The good news for these people is that they will probably never pay another electric bill again. The bad news is it will take at least fifteen years for their initial investment to pay for itself.

Even when it comes to less expensive, smaller solar panel kits, a 20 watt solar panel will still cost its buyer a minimum of $150. And these are cheap solar panels that don’t produce all that much electricity. By comparison, with a little time and effort, you can build your own solar panels much more inexpensively, and produce the same amount of energy – or more, depending upon your needs.

2. Waste not, want not.

A lot of do-it-yourself solar panels can be built using damaged or broken solar panel cells that would otherwise end up in the garbage. Solar panel cells are very fragile, like thin glass. Even just shipping solar panel cells can break them, which is why many vendors you will find online actually dip the panels in wax before shipping them to better protect them.

But the main point here is that factories cannot use chipped solar panel cells in their commercial solar panel projects… but you can use them. Finding solar panels that have been only slightly damaged is another great way to save money as you build your own solar panels.

3. Even if your solar solar panels aren’t enough to run your entire house, you will still positively impact your electric bill.

Let’s say you pay $100 per month on average for electricity. Have you paused to consider that this adds up to $1,200 per year? And that’s not counting those very hot months when you can’t help but run your air conditioning unit most of the day; for average Americans, according to MSN Money, $1,400 per year in electric bills is about normal.

In truth, the small solar panels you can build using the do-it-yourself guides available on the internet are not going to be enough to make your entire home power grid independent. A typical DIY solar panel that you can build for less than $200 will generate about 60 to 120 watts; in a week, a 60 watt solar panel can generate about 1400 watt-hours of energy. What can you do with that amount of energy? Here’s a look:

A laptop computer uses anywhere from 40 – 90 watts per hour of use
A 19” television uses about 95 watts per hour
A 17” LCD monitor uses 40 watts per hour
A radio uses 20 – 75 watts per hour

In other words, before you get stars in your eyes about building your own solar panels that will run your entire home for you, a little math will reveal that it will take quite a few DIY solar panels to power your whole home. But, nonetheless, when you build your own solar panels, together with some common-sense energy conservation you can off-set your electricity costs and easily cut your monthly bill by a third or more. Unlike the large commercial solar panels that cost tens of thousands of dollars and take ten or fifteen years (or more!) to repay their owner, DIY solar panels pay their owner back their investment within a couple of months.

4. Building your own solar panels will help save the planet.

By now, hopefully everyone knows that our environment is in dire trouble. After decades of living large (literally), we are rapidly using up our global resources. What kind of world do you want your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to inherit? Better yet, what kind of example do you want to set for your children right now? Imagine what would happen if everyone on your block cut their energy usage by a third! According to figures from the US Department of Energy, the average household in America uses close to 900 kilowatt-hours per month. If you live in a neighborhood with 100 homes, and everyone reduced their energy usage from 900 kilowatt-hours to 600, that would be 30,000 kilowatt-hours saved – and that’s just in one neighborhood in one month. Given this, don’t you think it’s time to do your part?

5. Building your own solar panels is fun.

Finally, besides the fact that you can help save the planet and reduce your own energy bills, building your own solar panels is just plain old-fashioned fun. Most do-it-yourself projects around the home don’t have half the pay-off that building your own solar panels has. Building your own solar panels is a great excuse to pull out some power tools and mess around in the basement or garage for a weekend. Better yet, bring your kids or your friends with you to help your solar panel project. You’ll have a good time together!

About the Author

KN Singer blogs about green living and better health at The Live Better Site.

Fulcrum Motion Sensor LED Porch Light …

Mighty Mule FM500 Automatic Gate Opener for Heavy Duty Single Swing Gates $433.96 The Mighty Mule FM500 Single Gate Opener is a heavy-duty, commercial-grade swing gate opener that is very easy to install. Ideal for gates weighing up to 850 lbs. or up to 18ft. long. This 12 Volt, DC-powered low-voltage system is powerful, dependable and durable. Application: Swing gate opener, Works With: Single gate, Capacity (lbs.): 850, Length (ft.): 18…

Solar Powered Motion Sensor Detector Alarm $21.99 Add extra safety and security to your home without having to get an electrician with this Motion Sensor LED Security Alarm! There’s no electricity needed to power the Solar Powered Motion Sensor Detector Alarm. With no wires to run, you can install this solar light in minutes. A built-in photocell lets the Solar-Powered Motion Sensor Outdoor Alarm know when it’s dark, so it won’t waste battery an…

Solar Panel Installation Company Business Plan – MS Word/Excel $18.95 The Solar Panel Installation Company Business Plan is a comprehensive document that you can use for raising capital from a bank or an investor. This document has fully automated 3 year financials, complete industry research, and a fully automated table of contents. The template also features full documentation that will help you through the business planning process. This is a full and complete bu…

Sno Brum Sno Pro (Snow Broom) Professional Grade Snow Removal Tool – Guaranteed No Scratch, As Seen On Tv $16.99 The Sno Brum Pro molded head is made of industrial grade polyethylene foam that endures harsh conditions and hundreds of vehicle clearings. SNO-PRO is approved for use on Class A finishes and received the highest ratings possible from an independent testing lab for non-abrasiveness, freeze resistance and durability. Manufactured with standard threads, SNO-PRO comes with our sturdy handle with die-…

USAutomatic Sentry 300 S Commercial Grade Automatic Gate Opener $795.66 Sentry 300S Automatic Single Gate OpenerThe Sentry 300 was designed to work on all types of gates that swing freely. The Sentry 300 effectively supports Ornamental Iron and Vinyl Gates up to 12 ft and 450 lbs, Chain Link Gates up to 14 ft and 300 lbs and Farm and Ranch Gates up to 20 ft and 250 lbs.The superior design and features of the Sentry 300S Automatic Gate Opener makes it impossible to com…

Uni-Solar PVL-68 PowerBond PVL 68 Watt 12 Volt 112-Inch x 15.5-Inch Flexible Solar Panel $224.18 UniSolar flexible solar panel. simple & easy peel and stick installation. Ideal for metal roof. RV/Boat, Home & Commercial applications. Battery charging off grid or grid- tie solar systems. UniSolar is one of the largest manufacturers of flexible thin film solar panels. Low Light Performance. Each UNI-SOLAR module utilizes triple-junction amorphous silicon solar cells. The blue, green, and red li…

Uni-Solar PVL-136 PowerBond PVL 136 Watt 24 Volt 216-Inch x 15.5-Inch Flexible Solar Panel $359.00 Uni-Solar 136W PV Module Amorphous, Laminate, Black, 24V, 122.8 PT…

Solar Battery Charger Kit for 12V batteries. 68 Watt Includes all major components. $299.00 68 watt Complete package includes 68 watt Flexible Solar Panel, 6.5 Amp Charge Controller and 30′ MC Cable. UniSolar flexible solar panel. simple & easy peel and stick installation. Ideal for metal roof. RV /Boat, Home & Commercial applications. Battery charging or Grid tie Solar Systems. UniSolar is one of the largest manufacturer of Flexible Thin Film Solar Panels. Plug and Play….

Energy Del Sol FPM-68 68 Watt Flex Solar Power Mat For Recreational Vehicles and Boats $512.63 Flex Power Mat combined with the Uni-Solar PVL68 was developed for the application of harnessing the Sun’s Solar Energy in remote locations allowing you to power your RV, Boat, Trailer and other applications. The FPM-68 combines revolutionary EPDM synthetic rubber and (patent pending) designs that can withstand extreme climate and weather conditions. The FPM-68 incorporates the latest photovo…