However this can be quite a daunting journey. You have to know many details and speak to many people in order to sieve out the best option for you.

Below are a few tips that can help you cut through the fog and gain some clarity:

1. Determine your budget

It is no surprise that solar panels are rather costly. A complete system for the average household may cost at least $20,000. However this should not deter you from installing PV panels. You can always start with a partial system that costs $12,000, and then put up more panels when you have the budget.

Different brands carry different price tags. Therefore it is important for you to know how much money you can spare for your solar setup. With this information, you (or a solar professional) can work out a plan that benefits you most in the long run.

2. Check if it is worth it

There are different numbers you must find out in order to know if using solar panels electricity is worth it in the first place. The most important of these is the solar intensity at your area.

If the sunshine is not strong enough, your payback period will be extraordinarily long. This means you may only get back the full return of your investment after more than 20 years instead of just 12 or 15 years. Or you may never get it back at all. Careful calculation is necessary to avoid errors in judgment.

The payback period is also determined by your solar panel’s efficiency. Needless to say, the more efficient your hardware is, the faster your payback period. However high efficiency solar panels (that are also of high quality) can be quite expensive. Thus you must have a basic understanding of various solar product and they can benefit you before signing on the dotted line.

3. Work out a plan

With many factors that determine whether installing solar panels at home is a worthwhile pursuit, it is wise to have a plan.

The first step of any good plan is to do a site survey. There are many instruments that can help you with this. A typical tool that many people use is the Solar Pathfinder.

After the site survey is done, you have to find out your energy consumption through different seasons in order to size your solar power system. Then you’ll need to devise a strategy to effectively utilize solar energy in every part of your house.

If all these seems confusing to you, your best bet is to call up a solar professional. Instead of spending time to find out about these details, a professional can educate you, devise an implementation strategy for you and help you coordinate different tasks with various contractors.

Before long, you can be using solar panels electricity for your everyday needs.

Continue Reading:

1. Do-It-Yourself Solar Panels – Electricity Conversion From Sunlight
2. 7 Tips You Can Use When Buying Solar Panels
3. Homemade Solar Panels — Common Mistakes to Take Note Of When Building And Installing Photovoltaic (PV) Panels

In general, climate has a direct influence on sunlight intensity. Different conditions (as listed below) may restrict or permit the use of solar panels on your property:

1. Sunlight.

The southwest part of the U.S. gets the most sun while the northern states (and Canada) gets the least.

Obviously if your area doesn’t have enough sunshine, it won’t be cost-effective to install solar panels. But how much is enough?

Studies show that the amount of sunlight we experience across the United States is more or less within 20% of the sunshine level in Florida. This makes it possible for most households to have solar panels on their roofs.

Occassionally, there may be shade issues at specific locations, but this can be solved in one way or another.

Generally, the more sun your home experience, the better (and faster) return you’ll have on your investment. You can get data about the sunshine your area experiences from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). They recorded sunlight data on 239 locations all across the United States:

http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/pubs/redbook/

2. Cloud

If you are living in a cloudy region, it is still possible to use solar panels. This is because solar energy is present although it’s diffused. Surprisingly, there is an advantage to this. The orientation of your solar panels becomes less important since light is coming from different directions.

3. Snowfall

Snow covers your PV panels and weighs them down. Some parts of your property may accumulate more snow than others. This may be because some spots are warmer than others. You will want to locate your solar panels where there is least snow accumulation.

4. Fog

Pollutants, fog and smog in the air affect sunlight intensity. If this is an obvious concern, you (or your contractor) should measure the sunlight intensity at your area to determine if you can get enough solar energy on a long-term basis.

5. Temperature

PV panels are affected by temperature. The lower the temperature, the better its performance. You can generally get more power output from a cold, cloudy day than a hot sunny day.

6. Air Density

Air density affects the amount of sunshine you receive. However its effect is marginal compared to the other factors. If you live on the mountains where air is thinner, you receive more sunshine. The air temperature may also be lower. Thus your PV panels will likely be more effective than when it’s installed at sea level.

7. Wind

Strong winds can damage your solar panel installation by tearing it from its mounts. But this, by itself, should not deter you from using solar panels.

To handle strong wind, you can either (i) use stronger mounts for your solar panels, (ii) use vegetation to block the wind, or (iii) use wind turbines to dissipate its force and to generate more electricity.

Some wind is actually good for solar panels. It helps to cool them down by bringing heat away. This helps to enhance its efficiency.

Continue Reading:

1. 7 Different Ways of Using Solar Energy At Home and In Your Office
2. Survey Your Household Energy Usage Before Installing Solar Panels
3. Before You Install Solar Panels, Plug All Your Air Leakages

Sealing Off A Crack

Before you install solar panels, you need to perform an energy audit.

This serves a two-fold purpose – to determine the size of your solar power generator and to identify sources of energy wastage that can be avoided.

As you are doing your household energy audit, it is useful to check for air leaks. They account for as much as 5 to 30 percent of your energy wastage (when it comes to heating).

If your windows and doors are closed and you feel an air draft, you have a good chance of cutting down wastage simply by plugging the leaks.

The best time to test for air leaks is when it’s cold outside and warm inside. You can feel cold air quite easily this way.

A pressure test can quickly surface any leakages around your house. All you have to do is close your doors and windows, turn off all heaters and turn on your exhaust fans to full blast.

In this way, the pressure inside your house is slightly lower than the outside. Thus more air will flow through those leakages to equalize the difference in pressure.

Go around the house and look for leaks. Pay more attention to windows, doors, electrical outlets, switches, hatches and joints. Once you find a leak, mark them out immediately.

Before you seal off those leaks, you have to turn off the exhaust fans.

You can use transparent silicon caulk to plug all your air leakages. The best way to handle this is to use a caulking gun that has a pressure relief gasket. This allows good control of silicon flow as you plug those leaks.

Another way to plug air leaks is to use an aerosol can of expandable insulation. This is difficult to use, initially, as it is hard to control its flow. But it works very well. So if it’s your first time using this, get some practice on used magazines.

There may be several places that leak air. Windows and doors are easy to handle. But if you have to climb up to your roof, remember to take precaution so you won’t risk falling.

After you’re done plugging up the leaks, repeat the pressure test. Then mark out those areas you have to work on again and get cracking.

You can also check for leaks outdoor. Most often, they appear in cracks, around faucets, pipes, electrical wiring and electrical outlets. Unfortunately there is no way you can feel for air leaks outside your house.

The only way to handle this is to do a visual inspection. If you suspect a leak, give that area a touch of silicon caulk.

After you are done plugging all your air leaks, your heating system can be more efficient. Thus your indoor temperature can be maintained using less energy.

Continue Reading:

1. About
2. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 3
3. 7 Different Ways of Using Solar Energy At Home and In Your Office

1. Panel certification. This is a pre-requisite for federal and state rebates in the US. There are specific sets of standards that manufacturers must meet. These are some of the most widely used standards:

· IEC 61215 (for crystalline silicon)
· IEC 61646 (for thin films)
· IEC 61730 (safety, for all module types)
· UL 1703 (safety)
· CE mark (for EU regulations)

2. Flash Report. A flash test measures the power output in response to a short burst of xenon light source. The flash lasts for 1 to 30 milliseconds at a light intensity of 1 watt per Meter Square. The spectrum of the light source closely resembles the solar spectrum. The results in the flash report are then compared to the specifications of the PV module’s datasheet.

3. Series Fuse. Every solar panel has to be protected by a surge-protection device. This is to prevent unintended damage due to high currents leaking from neighboring panels.

Such condition (called backfeeding) occurs frequently whenever one series string of panels experience shading or has a damaged circuit. Series fuses are often located in the combiner box or in the grid-connected inverters.

4. Maximum Power Voltage. This is the voltage (V) when the output power is at its maximum. It is one of the important figures that must be considered when choosing a particular inverter or controller.

5. Maximum Power Current. This is the current (A) when the output power is at its maximum. This figure is usually needed in calculations for PV array disconnect labeling as required by National Electrical Code (NEC) Section 690.53.

Voltage Measurement

6. Open-Circuit Voltage. This is the maximum open-circuit voltage of your PV panel when it is exposed to sunlight. Note that no load should be connected while the measurement is done. Since the output voltage increases with lower ambient temperature, the open-circuit voltage is measured at the historic low temperature. This will determine the highest possible voltage output.

This rating is important for making sure your components (panels, wiring, inverters, charge controllers, electronics, etc.) are designed to take the maximum possible voltage.

7. Short-Circuit Current. This is the maximum current produced by your solar panel when short-circuited. It is important to ensure that fuses and breakers are rated to handle high current surge during such events. Thus this measurement must be done.

More important facts and properties of your solar panel can be found at the following links:

(i) Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 1 of 3)
(ii) Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 2 of 3)

Continue Reading:

1. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 3
2. How To Build A Sun Tracking Mechanism to Increase Your Solar Panel Efficiency by 40%
3. Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 1 of 3)

Solar Panels Installation

Buying (or making) solar panels is an investment you make toward a better future. For every investment you make, you have to find out the risks involved and its potential payback.

This is the same whether you invest in equity, put your money in the bank or use it to buy a solar energy system.

Even if you know (or have an intuition) that investing in solar panels for your home is a great decision, it doesn’t hurt to estimate how this decision can help you financially.

First, let’s look at the big picture: There is an upfront cost for owning PV panels, and this hurts initially (for many of us, at least). Thankfully this is about all you’ll pay for the next 30+ years, as long as your solar panels last.

When you add up the total cost of your utility bills for the next 30+ years, your perspective will change. This is because it will almost always be more expensive. To make things worse, energy rate only goes skywards over time. And the bill you’re paying now will probably double in 30 years time.

Do you remember what the energy rates were 30 years ago?

Next, in order to know how long it takes to recoup your investment, we have to consider the total upfront cost for a commercial solar panel setup.

Here is a list of things you have to invest in:

1. Equipment cost. This includes your PV panels, inverters and rechargeable batteries, if applicable. This cost can be paid in one lump sum, or you can get financing from the bank or the supplier. When a loan is involved, you also have to include interests to the total cost.

2. Installation cost. You can hire a professional installer…or you can do it yourself, if you are handy with these tasks. Installers can charge you an hourly rate or quote you a net price for the installation job.

3. Maintenance cost. You’re lucky…solar panels need very little maintenance. And damages are usually paid for by the warranty.

4. Miscellaneous costs. There are other costs involved. You may have to pay for permits and fees to carry out solar panel installation on your roof. Although rare, there may also be taxes involved as the value of your home appreciates due to solar installation. When your solar panel has reached the end of its lifespan, you may also have to pay people to haul your equipment away.

Fortunately, the costs above are defrayed by subsidies and rebates that you may be qualified for. Your utility company, the state and federal government or even the manufacturer often provide these benefits.

Part 2 of this series talks about how long it takes to recoup your investment in the light of the above costs. The article also illustrates how much savings you can expect by installing solar panels at home.

Read on…

View Part 2 here:

http://www.diysolarpanelsworld.com/how-to-determine-the-payback-for-your-solar-panel-investment-part-2-of-3

Continue Reading:

1. Building A DIY Solar Panel – My Personal Experience
2. Why Are Solar Panels The Best Investment For Your Home?
3. Survey Your Household Energy Usage Before Installing Solar Panels

These are some of the most important information you have to know:

1. Solar panels frame. Most commercial solar panels are made using aluminum. This is because aluminum is resistant to rust and is light. However solar panel frames can occasionally be made from stainless steel or plastic.

2. Backside Material. The most common material used for the backside plane includes EVA (ethylene-vinyl-acetate) and PVB (polyvinyl-burial).

3. Solar cells are made from 3 major types of technology — monocrystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous (or thin-flim) solar panels.

4. The efficiency of solar panels depends greatly on the type of PV cells used. Environmental conditions also play an important part. Some of these include temperature, solar irradiance, angle-of-incidence and solar spectral (air mass).

Solar panel efficiency is measured in percentage. It is the ratio of output power to input power from the sunlight, which is the proportion of light energy that gets converted into electricity. The higher the value, the more electricity is generated.

However you must bear in mind that the efficiency of the solar panel is about 1 to 3 percent lower than what’s stated in the datasheet of the solar cell. This is due to several factors like reflection, heat and frame shadowing.

5. Performance factors. Commercial PV panels have to be rated for different performance factors such as maximum rated power, open circuit voltage, short circuit current, maximum power voltage, maximum power current, and temperature coefficients.

These are measured under the industrial Standard Test Conditions (STC). This means the solar panel is subject to a controlled environment where there is solar irradiance of 1,000 W/m² with zero angle of incidence, solar spectrum of 1.5 air mass and 25 degrees celcius cell temperature

6. Fill factor. This is the ratio of the actual maximum power as compared to the theoretical maximum power of the solar panel. It is measured in percentage. Commercial solar panels have a fill factor greater than 70%. The fill factor for Grade B solar panels ranges from 40% to 70%. Higher fill factor implies lesser resistive (series and parallel) losses within the solar cells.

7. Connector type. Solar panels must be fitted with output terminals that are weatherproof. Many manufacturers are also fitting their solar panels with lockable connectors to prevent untrained people from unplugging the panels.

8. Solar Panel Defects. Defects can occur on both new and used solar panels. Thus you have to inspect you solar panels before purchasing.

Some common defects include:

· Scratches on the frame and/or glass
· Gap between frame and glass due to poor sealing (sometimes moisture can get trapped on the inside)
· Significantly lower output than data sheet figures
· Significantly lower fill factor than data sheet figures
· Inconsistent solar cell colors

There are other important facts and properties you have to be aware of about solar panels. You can continue reading about them at part 2 & 3 of this series:

(i) http://www.diysolarpanelsworld.com/important-facts-and-properties-of-a-solar-pv-panel-you-must-know-about-part-2-of-3

(ii) http://www.diysolarpanelsworld.com/important-facts-and-properties-of-a-solar-pv-panel-you-must-know-about-part-3-of-3

Continue Reading:

1. Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 2 of 3)
2. Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 3 of 3)
3. How Do You Know If Solar Panels Are Suitable For Your Property?

A commercial solar panel system can easily cost you upwards of $20,000 to $30,000. Systems that cost $70,000 are also not uncommon. A homemade solar panels system costs only a fraction of this price, depending on how good you are at sourcing for components.

With a lower outlay, it also means your payback period can be drastically reduced. Instead of waiting for more than 15 years before your solar panels give you a return on your investment, you can perhaps achieve this in less than 10 years.

To power your entire house, you’ll need to have an array of solar panels. This means several solar panels must be grouped together. Only then can the total power required for your household equipment and lighting needs be supplied.

Each solar panel can be built in a weekend if you know how to. Therefore if you want about 10 solar panels for your PV panels array, you must be prepared to spend up to ten weekends constructing them. However you’ll almost always use less time than this. Simply because you’ll get much faster as you get more practice.

In order to learn how to make your own solar panels for your home, you’ll need to first acquire some knowledge on these areas:

1. How to tab solar cells
2. Securing solar cells to the substrate
3. How to choose a suitable material for your substrate
4. Making a solar panel frame
5. Which types of glazing to choose for your solar panel frame
6. How to waterproof your solar panel
7. What types of connectors to use for solar panels
8. How to make an inverter
9. Connecting your solar panels to the inverter and calculating the wire requirement
10. Sizing your solar panel system
11. How to install solar panels

If you have a friend who has an extensive experience building and installing solar panels for their own home, you can tap on his expertise. Otherwise you can always find guidebooks to help you.

Good guides are filled with step-by-step instructions on how to build each solar component. Not only this, they should have many illustrations and even videos that give you a good feel on how to carry out each instruction.

Guides are definitely a must when it comes to building your own solar panels. This is true even if you consider yourself a DIY expert. There are many “shortcuts” pertaining to building a solar energy system that you won’t want to miss.

Having said this, it doesn’t mean you must do everything yourself. You can pick those tasks that you love doing and leave the rest to a professional.

For example, you may enjoy building solar panels but hate pulling cables on your roof to install those panels. You can simply pick up the phone and ask for a quotation. Anyway, having built your own PV panels, you’ll already have saved a lot of money. Spending a little for installation won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

Continue Reading:

1. Homemade Solar Panels – Should You Even Roll Up Your Sleeves To Build One?
2. Advantages Of Building Your Own Solar Panels
3. Homemade Solar Panels — Common Mistakes to Take Note Of When Building And Installing Photovoltaic (PV) Panels

While you are working on your solar panels or solar heaters, you can also explore other small projects that can make your house a better place to live in.

Here are some projects that take you less than a day to implement. And many of them are very helpful in lowering your energy bills as well.

Most of them do not cost more than $100+, so if you have a little time and a little cash, you can begin right away:

1. Install solar screens

Solar screens help to keep your house cool during summer. It prevents heat from coming into your house through the windows. As such, your air-conditioners will not need to work as hard.

Most solar screens are quite affordable. The best ones are those with a metallic, reflective surface. They reflect radiation away instead of absorbing it. They are also pretty durable.

2. Solar ventilators

Ventilators can be installed at your attic, powered by solar energy. During summer, you can activate these fans to pump the heat out of your interior. This alone can cool your house considerably.

All you need is a small fan, a small vent that comes with a cover and a small solar panel. You don’t even need rechargeable batteries. It stops working when it becomes dark, but you won’t need it at night.

Try it.

When the weather gets colder, remember to cover them properly so heat doesn’t escape through these vents.

3. Solar powered air circulation

When you heat up your house, warm air rises to the top. They are all trapped at the ceiling or attic. Heat is not distributed evenly. You can install a ceiling fan to push the heat down, or use solar power to pump warm air down to ground level.

The effect: Your home warms us faster and you’ll feel more comfortable.

For this project, you’ll need a small solar panel, a set of rechargeable batteries, a long pipe and a small exhaust fan.

4. Landscaping

Planting trees, scrubs and bushes around your house can give you many benefits. You will not only create a beautiful and rejuvenating environment… You can prevent bitter cold winds from blowing against your house in winter and shelter your house from strong sunshine during summer.

5. Install solar light tubes

Solar light tubes allow natural light to enter your house while keeping the heat and precipitation out. They cost a little more. But you can experience the benefits of full spectrum lighting in your room without expensive illumination technology.

Continue Reading:

1. 7 Different Ways of Using Solar Energy At Home and In Your Office
2. Challenges and Difficulties In Using Solar Panels And How To Overcome Them
3. Survey Your Household Energy Usage Before Installing Solar Panels

Making A Homemade Solar Power System

When building and installing homemade solar panels, there is a fair amount of trial and error involved. This forms part of your learning curve.

There are also mistakes you might make that are totally avoidable. These “detours” can discourage you especially if it is your first time building your own PV panels.

Here are some common ones to take note of when you work on your project. When you avoid them, you should arrive at a good product that is ready to serve you:

Common mistake #1: Trying to build the solar panel frame first

We have to draft out a plan for your solar panel construction. However many of those plans, as we know, often require minor tweaks. At times (although quite rare) certain designs do not work at all. We’ll learn what these are as we start building more complex PV panels.

The way to build a PV panel is to adopt an inside-out approach. First get your solar cells together on your workbench, and then cut out the substrate. After you have mounted all the solar cells on the substrate, you are now pretty sure what the dimensions of the solar panel frame must be.

You’ll be left high and dry if you have completed the frame, only to find out later it is not deep enough to contain your solar cells. Also, there is no advantage in building the solar panel frame first. Thus you’ll save yourself a lot of (potential) trouble if you can build the frame only after you have mounted the solar cells.

Having said this, people who follow proven solar panel blueprints to the tee will not be susceptible to such mistakes. Yet this is a good habit to have, since you’ll sooner or later design your own blueprints, isn’t it?

Common mistake #2: Not allowing solar cells to expand and contract

Solar Cells Expand and Contract

Solar cells expand when it’s heated by the sun and contracts when it is cold. If there isn’t sufficient consideration toward this, your solar cells will crack after some time.

By then it is a great hassle to repair this damage. You have to climb up to your roof, loosen the mounts, bring down your solar panel, open it up, do lots of testing, etc.. You know what I mean.

One important thing you must do is to mount the solar cells on a just one blob of silicon caulk. If you spread the silicon adhesive on its entire surface, you leave no room for expansion. Thus the glass structure will weaken and crack after several cycles of expansion and contraction.

Common mistake #3: Sweating the small stuff

The fact is some of us are perfectionist. This quality, even though is good on some occasions, cause many to stop dead in their tracks while making a homemade PV panel.

You know you are one when you try to do these things before your PV panel is completed:

a. Trying to sort out small blobs of glue that overflow the joints
b. Filing off burrs at inconspicuous corners
c. Worrying about how to align your wiring

Fine details can really be sorted out later. In reality, there isn’t a mistake you make that cannot be resolved. After all, making mistakes are part and parcel of learning.

The best time to make adjustments and improvements is when you have more or less completed your project and have gained more confidence. Your DIY skills will also be more polished by then.

To save time (and effort), there are also many small little parts (like brackets and mounts) that you can buy from hardware stores or specialty stores. They do not cost much. If you make these yourself, you’ll not be able to spend more time on important parts of the project.

Common mistake #4: Not wearing a certified safety harness when installing PV panels

Many folks use a piece of rope or an old harness kept away for many years. BIG mistake. If you were to fall, the joy of making your own solar panels is totally robbed. The savings will also be entirely siphoned into your doctor’s cash-lined pocket.

Beg, steal or borrow…use a certified harness to keep yourself safe.

Continue Reading:

1. Insider Solar Power Generator Review: 3 Most Common Mistakes Hobbyists Make on Their First DIY Solar Panel Project
2. Have Your FREE Bonus eBook “How To Build A Solar Panel” Emailed To You Now:
3. Building A DIY Solar Panel – My Personal Experience

Solar Panels -- Our Best Investment At Home

Electricity produced by solar panels used to be the most expensive option.

But things have changed.

Government and large institutions investing into this technology encouraged economies of scale. This caused the price of solar panels to come down over time.

Nowadays, solar panels have become affordable to the point where average households often consider owning them.

Even though solar panels may seem a little costly at first, they can actually help you financially. This happens in a few ways:

1. You can enjoy significant savings on your monthly energy bills.

2. Your property value increases

3. You may be qualified for grants and rebates when you use renewable energy

Since buying PV panels is really an investment, we must be able to quantify monetary returns over a specific period of time. This involves some basic calculations.

Here are some numbers that you need to figure out in order to know if installing solar panels make sense (financially) for you:

(a) Calculate your payback period. This is the number of years it takes to recoup your upfront cost. The savings you enjoy every month adds up. The time (years) it takes to reach the total cost of installing solar panels is your payback period.

An example: If you spend $3,000 on a solar heating system and that saves you $50 every month, your payback period is 60 months. This is also equivalent to 5 years.

If the cost of oil rises (every so often), you’ll save more money. As a result, your payback period becomes shorter.

Other purchases around the house will not give you such advantage. They usually result in zero (if not negligible) returns on your investment, no matter how long you wait.

And if you were to put that same $3,000 into the stock market, you could be making a windfall…or end up losing your shirt. The returns are just not as certain as investing into solar panels.

Note: Your payback period is directly influenced by the solar panel’s efficiency and the amount of solar radiation your property experiences. It is advisable to get a qualified personnel to help you with these figures if you are not familiar with the calculations.

(b) Find Out About Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs). This is important if you are using a grid-tied solar power system. Essentially, you are using the power grid as storage. Whenever your PV panels generate more electricity than you can use, they are channeled to the grid for others to enjoy. The utility company will then offset your energy bills according to their feed-in tariff rates.

There isn’t much to calculate here. As long as the FiTs are almost equivalent to the rate they’re charging you, it makes sense to use grid-tied systems. Otherwise you’ll need rechargeable batteries, which are not cheap. This, unfortunately, increases your payback period directly.

(c) Ask About Rebates. This is different for every state. The rebate you receive can either encourage or discourage you from installing PV panels. Some states offer reasonable rates while others seem to be nonchalant about using solar generated electricity. If the rates are good, your payback period shortens.

After some calculation, you will almost always agree that solar panels are the best investment for you home. Therefore we should all consider installing them (even on a small scale) sooner rather than later.

Continue Reading:

1. About
2. How You Can Benefit from Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs) with Electricity Generated by Your Solar Panels
3. Challenges and Difficulties In Using Solar Panels And How To Overcome Them