Build Your Own Solar Panel

If you’re one of those people concerned about the effect of greenhouse gases on our environment and the rapidly rising cost of your energy bills, you may already have considered purchasing energy-saving products. You’ll therefore know that, even with the best will in the world, translating your philosophy and desire into practice can be very expensive, albeit you may eventually reap the benefits of your investment both ecologically and financially!

That’s why many people have turned to the cheaper alternative of buying Guides for DIY renewable energy products and created their own energy-saving devices for their homes. (Solar and Wind Power systems can cost as little as $200!) Unfortunately, with the growing number of Guides out there it’s not that easy choosing what’s the right product for you, so you may feel you need a little guidance!

Well – the ‘Green Eco Club’ promises to do just that!

It’s been created to help those people who want an eco-friendly lifestyle while also saving money in the process. As a member, each month you’ll have access to:

• A new monthly DIY Guide covering renewable energy-related topics and including interviews with energy experts;
• A weekly video or mp3 giving you tips ( for example on how to build your own Solar Panel system)
• Access to a library containing Green Videos, mp3 Audio Recordings and other Multi-media informationwhere you can see hands on instructional videos that will help you build your own renewable energy systems.
• Regular money-saving ideas and tips on how to be ‘green’, some of which can save you as much as one third of your current energy bills.
• Advice from the experts on a variety of green issues.

So – the question is – “Is it worth $27 per month?”

Well, in my experience, one of the things preventing people from turning their dream of an eco-friendly life into a reality is the cost of commercial products. ‘Doing it Yourself’ eliminates this hurdle because you can achieve it at a fraction of the cost and the step-by-step Guides, chosen by the experts, tell you how.

Another problem is not knowing what to do, and this is covered in the monthly advice and tips – many of them at no extra cost to you. In fact when you first sign up you’ll receive the first 6 renewable energy Guides with your membership. These are normally sold at $27 each so with the ‘No Risk’, 60 day, 100% Refund policy (and you get to keep those first 6 Guides anyway) you have nothing to lose – plus you have all the other benefits that the Club offers too.

All in all I would say this is certainly worthwhile for those who need a little more help, ideas and guidance from people who know more that they do about reducing the damage to our planet and is certainly good value at the price.

To be honest I haven’t yet found any negative comments – anywhere on the internet – which must say something about its value to those people who want a little help and support to advance their green projects.

Recently, a number of guides can be found on the internet with there primary intent being, to give people instructions on how to create their own home made energy system at a reasonable cost. One of these manuals is Power4home. After reading the e-book, I have written an honest and unbiased Power 4 Home Review.

During 2008, countries all over the world went through what could be referred to as an energy shock, because of the high cost of crude oil. Actually, the prices went up to as much as one hundred and fifty dollars per barrel and it seems we are quickly headed in that direction again. As a result, thousands of home owners and vehicle owners from different parts of the world found it almost impossible to deal with the continuously increasing cost of energy. For this reason, sales of fuel efficient vehicles increase, and people start to search for ways to save on their energy costs in and around the home. They start to look for effective ways to power their homes using wind power for home or solar power for the home.

When using this guide, the lower capital investment will allow you to recover your money quickly and the time needed to complete the job is relatively short. You will find two options for home made energy in this manual. One will give you the option to build a solar panel on your own, for solar power home, while the other is for a windmill generator for home use or wind power homes. You can select the one that would best suit your needs and climate conditions. If you are living in an area that is sunny, it’s best to install the solar panel which is designed for residential purposes. But, if you live in an area that does not get enough sun light, it’s recommended to go with the Power4home windmill which is also very effective.

It can only be assumed that every person in the world would never be interested in paying high costs for electricity unless you own an electric company and benefit from high energy costs. We all want to pay less for the energy we consume.This is actually one of the reasons why so many have decided to take matters in their own hands and take action to lower their electricity costs by building their own solar power for the home. I think, one of the best reasons to pursue solar power for the home as well as wind power for the home is that the environment is not harmed one bit.

1. How To Easily Build Your Own Super Efficient Solar Panels – an instantly downloadable e-book that gives you the steps you need to take, from what supplies to buy to how to assemble it. It was really easy for me to read and understand.

2. How to Install The Power4Home System and Save $1000s – This gives you more information on how to put the whole system together and be able to spend less with the electric company. It tells you how to store the power and also how to connect the system to your home.

3. How To Build a High Power Wind Generator – Step-by-step with diagrams on how to build a wind turbine.

4. 3 Hours of Instructional Video – This is actually my favorite part. I’m a visual learner and being able to actually see what’s going on, really helps with what I’m doing. I refer back to the notes and then to the video whenever I get lost.

5. Exclusive Parts Suppliers List – I did some price comparison with the list that they provided with my local Home Depot and I found that some of the things they had on the list were a lot cheaper. Depending on your location, the list is very helpful as you can get parts that are less expensive.

6. 83 Ways To Reduce Your Home Energy Needs – This was more of a bonus on just how to conserve more energy, like turning off the lights when you leave the room and putting the TV on sleep mode when you fall asleep so that it turns off. And how about the energy saving technology advances with compact
fluorescent light bulbs. I know I save a lot using them.

7. Advanced Power Saving Technology – The main takeaways I got from this section was being able to specially wire things more efficiently so that it saves electricity costs.

8. IRS TAX Rebate Forms – This year I saved on my taxes, I got a nice check in the mail from Uncle Sam! I’m planning to use that money to make more solar panels.

9. Life Time PREMIUM Support Membership – I had to use their support twice and every time they were very friendly and helpful. Couldn’t have asked for anything better.

Ever since the global crude oil price reached its peak at $150 per barrel back in mid 2008, home owners have had to pay a higher electricity bill. This is not surprising since most of the utility companies use oil or natural gas to generate power.

The dreadful question is, would there be another price hike in the future? Chances are…it might.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to be at the mercy of the power companies. They increase the power rate I have to pay but I have never seen a reduction…even when crude oil prices have reduced!

That has lead me to source for ways to reduce my home electricity consumption. One alternative is to use renewable energy sources such as solar and wind generator.

As it turns out, there are many DIY residential renewable energy guides on the web. One of the popular ones is the Homemade Energy e-book.

Is it any good? Or is it a scam?

That’s the reason I’m writing this review.

Homemade Energy Manual Review

The Homemade Energy book is written by Ben Ford. Ben is a 52 year old Californian who has some experience building residential green energy systems. You can see Ben in his introduction video above.

For this review, I decided to purchase the manual.

Is It A Scam?

To be honest, I was a bit hesitant before I made the purchase. But I did it anyway. There’s actually a 60 Day Money Back Guarantee on Ben’s offer. So I thought what the heck. There’s no harm trying it.

There are actually 2 manuals that come with Homemade Energy. A DIY solar panel and home wind turbine guide.

Ben of Homemade Energy promised he’ll show us how to own a solar or wind power for $200 or even less.

If is possible to work with such a low budget or is he pulling my leg?

I started to read the solar power guide to find the answer.

DIY Solar Panel For Less Than $200

After reading the solar guide, I realized the budget of less than $200 is meant for 1 solar panel and not for the complete system.

The solar panel instruction recommended in Homemade Energy is capable of generating about 18 volts and approximately 75 watts of energy. To do that, we have to use 36 pieces of Photovoltaic (PV) cells.

As it turns out, we can get a lot of the construction material quite cheaply from Ebay.

To be fair, a complete residential solar power system would need more than $200 of capital investment. Remember, there are other components involved such as DC disconnect, switch panel, battery bank, charge controller, power inverter, power cables, meter gauges etc.

Ben did cover a quick description of all the components in his guide, but I wish he could have provided more information such as the types, cost, recommendation etc.

Review Conclusion

So, is Ben Ford’s Homemade Energy guide a scam? Personally, I did learn some valuable information from the guide. I have not read the wind generator manual yet. But so far, the DIY solar panel instructions make sense and relatively easy to follow.

Hence, I don’t think it a scam. Nonetheless, everyone has their own individual opinion. If you want to know more about Homemade Energy, click on the link below.

Click here to visit Homemade Energy now!

I have read a lot of these do it yourself solar panel guides and one thing is for sure. I wish I had a solar power guide like Earth4Energy when I first started building my own solar panels.

Being a DIY junkie and Electrical Engineer, I first got the idea of building my own solar power system as a great way to save money while going green at the same time. I’m a big supporter of the green movement and believe that alternative energy is the answer to our future energy needs. But my jaw dropped when I first learned how expensive it is to have a commercial system installed in your home. We’re talking $10,000 to $30,000 which can take you 10 to 20 years to break even on.

The demand is there but the price is just not realistic for most. So it was only a matter of time before someone got the great idea to teach others how to build their own solar power system. That is where the well known DIY enthusiast Michael Harvey stepped in. Much like me, he thought the prices of the commercial systems were outrageous. So Michael Harvey consulted with some of the other DIY solar experts and put together the Earth4Energy guide to bring the benefits of solar power technology to the general public.

Now I’ve read just about every guide on the market, and there are a lot, but the Earth4Energy guide has some things that I think set it far above the rest and really set the bar high for all other solar panel guides.

For starters, the trend for many of these solar guides is to teach people how to make only the cheapest solar panels possible. They do this because, of course, this is what people really want to know. But speaking from experience, there is a definite sacrifice of quality.

If you are only interested in building the cheapest solar panels then Earth4Energy still delivers because they do include all of the information you need for this. But, if you are willing to spend just a little more, Earth4Energy also shows you how to build high quality solar panels in less time and that will last more than 3 times longer than that of the competition. So in the long run, you end up saving much more time and money. Trust me, it is well worth it.

Another thing that sets Earth4Energy apart from its competition is its high quality video series. Many of the other solar power guides are beginning to ad instructional videos to their products to keep up but the Earth4Energy videos are by far the best, most professional, and easiest to follow.

The Earth4Energy guide also includes additional help on how to install and set up your solar panels which many of the other guides often leave out. You will need this information if you are looking to install your panels on your roof or integrate them into your home power system.

Earth4Energy also includes most of the other standard tools that you will need. They provide you a solar power calculator to determine the right size solar power system to meet your energy needs. They also provide a good explanation of the various system configurations and all of the necessary components to help you easily make sense of it all. They even show you how to get a hold of solar cells for next to nothing which, although are less efficient, can help those with even the tightest budget to build quality but cheap solar panels.

Although solar power is the main focus, this guide also shows you how to make a high quality wind turbine from scratch. They have a great video showing you exactly how to build professional looking wind turbine blades that are quite impressive. And you will learn exactly how to make them out of standard PVC pipe for next to nothing.

Let’s face it, times are tough and we are all looking for ways to save some money to put toward more important things. Unfortunately, the cost of energy still continues to rise even in this economy. So this makes it the perfect time to start taking advantage of solar power and many of the other alternative energy sources readily available.

Whether you are looking for a fun do it yourself solar power project, a way to save some money on your energy bill, or you want to take a major step toward going green, the Earth4Energy guide is the best solar energy guide there is, period.

Click Here to Visit the Earth 4 Energy Website:

Before purchasing any product for review I always test out their support first by sending a friendly email requesting more information and perhaps a simple technical question.

I am happy to say that Joseph’s reply was very prompt and provided excellent answers to all my questions. It is clear that as well as being genuinely interested in renewable energy and providing the best quality design information, he also takes customer support seriously. In fact he has even set up an online help system to answer any further questions you might have to make your project a success.

What Will You Receive?

This step-by-step guide consists of 9 design manuals and 7 videos. The videos were produced by a NABCEP certified electrician.

Joseph’s system is the most detailed and complete design guide I have found so far. It’s professionally put together and thoroughly covers everything you need for a home built renewable energy system. There are 4 manuals which teach you step-by-step how a solar panel can be made for around $98, and also a wind turbine for about $140. The guides are very detailed with many photos and diagrams.

A comprehensive sizing guide allows you to calculate such things as your total system load, wire sizes, battery capacity and the number of panels required to power everything properly.

Additionally there is an installation manual and information on tax credits for energy efficiency.

The videos are divided into seven chapters:

1 – Introduction: An overview of everything including electrical terms used in renewable energy systems, safety, advantages and disadvantages of solar power, system components, on-grid and off-grid systems, insolation and solar sizing, charge controllers, battery configuration, inverters, system test, sizing a wind generator.

2 – Photovoltaic System Components: Solar cells, solar modules, solar arrays, charge controller, batteries, battery banks, inverters, DC-loads, AC-loads, configurations, day use systems, off-grid systems, hybrid systems, on-grid systems, on-grid with backup.

3 – Safety and Compliance: Important considerations for grid-tied systems and connecting to your local grid

4 – Electrical Fundamentals: Safety, Volts, Amps, Amp-Hours, Watts, Watt-hours and Kilowatt-Hours, your energy consumption, Ohm’s Law, AC and DC, series circuits, parallel circuits, PV panels in series and parallel.

5 – Tools: A comprehensive look at all the tools that you will require to construct your solar panel

6 – Batteries: Purpose, lead-acid batteries, deep-cycle batteries, safety, maintenance, Gel-cells, absorbed glass matt batteries, advantages and disadvantages, charge controllers, alkaline batteries, battery specifications, battery safety, wiring and configuration, sizing, cycling ability.

Most of the do it yourself guides I have purchased have either been padded with fluff or just downright junk, and I didn’t even bother if they couldn’t offer proper support. I believe this top-notch guide is the best available and I am sure you will be glad you made the right choice.