More people than ever before want to “go green,” make their own solar panels and go “off the grid” – going green is the newest, hottest trend around and homeowners everywhere want to participate. But you have to be careful who you listen to, because there’s lots of bad information out there – about how much solar panels cost, how much they can save you, and how to build them in the first place.

Don’t believe anyone who says solar panels are extremely expensive. If you buy them through a big company, that is the case – you can expect to spend $20,000 or more if you want to go that route and be “professional.”

Assuming you do it yourself, though, you can get the same great results at a fraction of the price with 2 different but equally viable approaches.

One method is to simply buy already-made solar panels – don’t go for new ones, though. Go for ones that are broken or chipped and not functioning at 100%, and go through eBay, your local hardware store, or even the highway patrol.

Highway patrols spend a good portion of their time picking up broken or chipped solar panels from the side of the road due to accidents – and they desperately need to get rid of them. Call them up and offer to take them off their hands, and save a lot of money.

The second approach: You can build your own panels by buying individual solar cells – either on eBay or from your local hardware store. Just search or ask for “chipped” or “broken” cells, and you’re in business. The advantage is that these cells are very, very cheap – but the disadvantage is that it will take a weekend or two to assemble everything.

Another big myth about solar power: you can eliminate your electric bill 100% with solar panels. It would be nice if it were true, but it just isn’t the case – at least for most people.

One big problem with this is that not everyone lives in the ideal area for solar power – if you’re in Alaska, or your house is in the shade, you’ll have a tough time extracting much power from your solar panels.

Another problem is that you need hundreds or thousands of individual cells and many, many panels to completely power your house – you use thousands of kilowatts of energy each day, and the average cell just doesn’t produce enough to work very well.

The good news is that even if the solar panels don’t completely eliminate your electric bill, they can still save you a lot of money – and when used in conjunction with wind turbines, you might be able to go 100% off the grid.

Another big misconception is that DIY solar panels break easily. It’s true that nothing lasts forever, but a properly constructed panel is more durable than you might think.

It starts with proper construction: prevent moisture from getting in by using silicone, and then use flexi-glass on the outside to prevent water, dust, and debris from settling on top.

And then there’s maintenance – you need to clean your panels, check the wiring, and clean out moisture at least once a year. Do this, and your solar panels will last for years and power your house long into the future.

Similar Posts:

• Should You Make Your Own Homemade Solar Cells?
• Want to Make Your Own Homemade Solar Cells?
• Use Green Power Energy And Save The Planet
• Want to Make a Solar Panel?
• How to Build Your Own Solar Panels, You Don’t Need a Degree

Tags: Solar Power

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 31st, 2009 at 4:11 am and is filed under Solar Power. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.