Residential Solar Power Systems – How Practical is Your Own DIY Solar Power System?

May 22, 2010 by SolarInfo
Filed under Home Improvement

Anthony Dempster asked:

Residential Solar Power Systems are becoming increasingly popular amongst a wide range of people due to two main reasons - the state of the economy and the state of the planet. Residential Solar Power offers the opportunity to save money and help the planet - but just how practical and realistic is a DIY solar power system? Is it too expensive? Can it really be done? We investigate.

One of the things that concerns most people I've spoken to is the potential cost of establishing their own solar panel system. They've looked at the websites of local solar power installers and been told that the setup costs are likely to be several thousand dollars. Most of this cost is attributed to the solar panels themselves.

The good news is that you can actually build your own solar panels. A solar panel is simply a collection of smaller solar cells connected up together onto a single board. And the smaller solar cells aren't actually that expensive to purchase - they can be found on the internet or in local hardware stores. Wiring them up together is actually pretty easy.

What about putting the boards up though? Well, although putting them up on the roof is the preferred option, they will actually work pretty well as long as they are put somewhere that receives as much sun as possible. This is handy for people who may have unconventional roof designs or have no desire to have them showing on their roof.

Probably the question that most people ask though is this - "if I build it myself, can I actually make proper use of the electricity generated?". The answer is yes. In a simple system you can wire your panels up to provide electricity for additional lighting or to power other electrical appliances. And believe it or not, your solar power system can be wired up to your mains power electricity and truly save you money on your electric bill - the only proviso here is you must follow local laws and be safe by making use of a proper electrician.