Homemade Solar Power – Save Money by Making Your Own Solar Power System

Article by Jon Osbourne

There are many positives that come with building a solar power system. These positives include, but are not limited to, saving a lot of money on your power bills and helping out the environment. It’s therefore not a big surprise to discover more and more people are starting to produce their own Do it yourself (DIY) Solar Power Systems.

Building your own DIY Solar Power system is a simple and straight forward process, you don’t need to be an expert or have an expert help you out, you just need a clear, easy to follow blueprint and you will have your own system built and producing energy in no time.

The following three steps are crucial in ensuring your homemade solar power project is a success:

  1. Get a good guide: as mentioned above, putting together a diy solar power system is not the hardest tasks in the world, but you do need to make sure you have a good guide, set of plans, to work from. There are a large number of these guides, some not as impressive as others, I highly recommend that you choose one that comes with video as well as written instructions.
  2. Materials: Once you have got a guide to work from you need to assemble all the materials listed in the guide. All of these materials will be readily available at most local hardware stores.
  3. Follow the instructions: Probably the biggest mistake a lot of people make with diy projects is rushing the process and not paying enough attention to the instructions, take the time to read through and study your guide at least once before starting, it will make the whole process that much easier.

As I’ve emphasized in this article, making your own homemade solar power is a relatively easy process, best of all you get to enjoy the substantial financial benefits that come with saving hundreds if not thousands of dollars (depending on your usual consumption) annually of your power bill. In our household we estimate a 70% reduction off our traditional power bill, those sort of savings are substantial and I’m sure you would agree in any times, let alone the current economic ones we find ourselves in, this is a welcome and much needed relief.

So if you are interested in building your own diy solar power project and saving some money, what are you waiting for? Visit the following link for more information on homemade solar power.

As mentioned above there are some great homemade solar power guides and some not so great ones, to read a review of a side by side comparison of the best three available online, take a look at the following link DIY Solar Power kits Reviewed.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

A Solar Power Inverter: Its Purpose

by: Anna Williams

A solar power inverter forms an important part of any home solar energy system which supplies enough electricity to get you off the grid.

The inverter converts direct current, which is produced by a solar panel, into alternating current.

There is also a charge controller, which can use excess power to charge your system’s battery, and provide energy without any waste.

In some cases, solar power might be your best solution, if you want to get your home running off the grid. It is also relatively simple to install, and doesn’t require a large quantity of parts and components, in order to produce electricity.

Each system is different, but generally speaking, all you need is:

Your wiringA battery to store electricity inA set of solar panelsA solar regulator or charge controller

Solar panels usually produce 12 to 24 volts DC. Some appliances can run on this power, but most home appliances require 110 or 220 volts AC.

This is where a solar power inverter is needed. It converts the direct current into alternating current.

What is direct current? Direct current, or DC, flows continuously in one direction, while alternating current changes in its direction of flow.

Alternating current (AC) is used because it is a type of electricity which can be carried over longer distances, with minimal energy loss . Oddly enough, however, most household appliances have built in devices which convert the AC into DC, in order to operate.

Various types of solar inverters can be found on the market currently. You might come across some which are pretty cheap. But keep in mind that these might be inferior in quality. Some inverters get warmer when in use – and that heat adds up to a loss of energy.

Different solar inverters use different “loads,” as well. The “load” is the amount of current or energy that the inverter can handle. For home use, you might want to get a solar inverter that can handle a couple of hundred watts, at any given time. These aren’t always cheap, but they will be worthwhile in the long run.

Possibly the best choice of solar inverter is the true sine wave. This type of inverter produces power identical to what you would receive from the main supply grid. When viewed on an oscilloscope, the waves are smooth.

If the true sine wave is beyond your budget, you might settle for a modified sine wave. This gives a lesser quality power than the true sine wave does, but is less expensive.

Getting Completely Off the Grid

If you are looking to get your home running off the grid completely, then get a “stand-alone power system inverter.” With this type of device, you plug the deep cycle batteries in – and it can be installed by virtually anyone.

You can also get a “mains grid inverter,” which draws power from your solar panels, and at the same time feeds excess energy back to the main grid. In some states, you can earn money back from the power companies when you produce excess power and feed it back to the grid.

Installing a Solar Power System in Your Home

When installing a partial or complete solar energy system into your home, there are generally two ways to go about it.

1.Hire a professional installation company to install your system

2.Do it yourself.

The least expensive choice is the latter – do-it-yourself.

There are many high-quality and popular do-it-yourself guides available, which will teach you how to install your own solar power or wind power system at home. These guides often include manuals, instructional videos, diagrams, and step-by-step instructions. For more information on these guides, please see DIY Solar Power.

You can find solar inverters and related solar power products at Solar Power Inverter.

About The Author

For more information on this subject, please visit DIY Solar Power.

http://www.findportablesolarpower.com