Living Off the Grid with Solar Power

December 4th, 2009 Χ

Living Off Grid with Solar Power
When it comes to living off grid, one way many seek to accomplish it is with solar power. Today I’m going to cover just how easy it is to go off grid by choosing to build your own solar panel system. With new techniques and kits becoming available it really is simple for anyone who chooses to convert their entire home to solar power and live off grid for good.

Really this is a three step process, so let’s cover each step individually to help you go off grid and build your own solar energy system.

Living off Grid Step 1 – Determine Your Requirements.
Your first step can actually be divided into two separate steps. First, it’s worth taking the time to reduce your energy needs before converting to solar power. This is as simple as looking at what you currently have and replacing things with more energy efficient models.

As an example, a 100 Watt incandescent bulb uses 100 Watts of energy for every hour you have it on. A newer LCD bulb has cleaner light and uses only 4.5 Watts of energy to produce the same amount of light. Simple changes like this will reduce your energy requirements and in turn reduce the cost of your overall system.

If you need help with this step, Canada’s Energuide is an excellent resource to learn about the energy requirements of different items, and comparing them to reduce energy. Also, the implementation guide that comes with Green Power Easy details the steps needed here very well. Find a link to their site at the end of this article.

Once you’ve reduced your energy requirements, you need to take the time to calculate how much energy you use on a daily basis. This is as simple as looking at everything in your home that requires electricity and then calculating the Watt-Hour requirements.

For example if you look at your lightbulbs:
That LCD 4.5Watt Bulb is on for 4 hours a day. It then uses 4.5 x 4 = 18 Watt Hours of Electricity each day.
Your fridge that is rated at 400 Watts (runs about 1/3 of the time) uses 400 x 8 = 3200 Watt hours of electricity every day (or 3.2 kW Hours) .

Continue this with every electrical appliance in your house until you have a complete list of what’s needed.

Living off Grid Step 2 – Build Solar Panels to Suit
Your next step is to build enough solar panels to suit your home’s needs. If you were building 100 Watt panels, then each one is capable of producing about 1.2 kilo Watt Hours of electricity every day. If in step one you determined that you needed 10 kilo Watt hours per day to run your home, you would then need 8 panels to run your home.

In this case, you want to produce more power than you actually use so you should build more. Using the above example I might choose to build 11 panels to ensure I have energy to spare and that I never reduce my battery bank to 0.

Building your own solar panels is surprisingly simple. A DIY guide to alternative energy can teach you everything you need to know.

Living off Grid Step 3 – Assembly Your Solar Power System
The last step to living off grid is to put together your final system. This will entail getting a charge controller (can be built yourself for about ¼ of the cost), setting up a battery bank, and then getting a power inverter and wiring everything into your home.

There are many choices out there to learn how to implement all of the steps we have just discussed. . We suggest the first step is to read some reviews of the top guides to DIY solar panels. These guides give you a more detailed idea of how to do it and will also give you inexpensive solutions to things like building a battery bank to store energy.

Solar Panels for Home – Buy or Build ?

December 4th, 2009 Χ

When it comes to getting solar panels for home use, it’s fair to say that there are many choices. We could talk about Kyocera solar panels, GE panels or Evergreen solar. It’s my admonition that your main choice shouldn’t be between solar panel brands though; it should be whether or not you want to save money by building them yourself.
With the right instruction, anyone can build a solar panel, and building solar panels for your home will save you thousands over the cost of buying them. To clarify this, let’s compare buying solar panels to building them yourself.
Building Solar Panels for Home Use will Save You Money

Buy Solar Panels For Home Use
To begin with let’s talk about buying solar panels. In 2009, the average cost of solar panels did actually fall a bit, but it’s still not enough.
According to Science Daily, the average cost per watt for solar panels installed ranged between $7.60 and $10.60 (depending on where you live). So for a 100 Watt solar panel you should expect to pay $760 – $1060 per panel. Considering that just 3 years prior the same panel was $1200 +, this is a step in the right direction, but we can still install a solar power system for a lot less.

Build Solar Panels For Home Use
Now let’s talk about building solar panels. If you choose the DIY yourself method to install your solar panels for home use, you can go green while saving green!
The average cost of a homemade solar panel is $1.25 – $2.50 per watt. To put this into perspective, instead of paying $1060 per panel (on the high end) you can expect to pay $250 or less (also on the high end). That’s a savings of over $800 per panel.
In this case it isn’t the brand you choose that varies the cost, but the parts themselves. Solar cells will cost you about $0.95 per watt, and then you have some choices to put the rest of the panel together. You could build a cheap solar panel for $125 – $150. Or you could use higher end backer boards and covers and spend $250 per panel.
Now here’s the best part. Building a solar panel isn’t difficult at all. Starting with the right instruction, most people can build a complete solar panel in less than an hour. In other words by simply putting in an hour of time you save yourself $800. For each panel you build, you’ll repeat this.
Solar Panels For Home Compared – Building to Buying
It’s when we talk about an entire solar energy system for your home that the advantage to building solar panels for home really becomes clear. If you decided to convert your whole home to solar energy (you don’t have to do this by the way, you could just install a few panels to reduce your energy bill) you might need 12 panels, maybe 15, or even 20. In this case you’d have to calculate your own energy need.
Let’s just assume for a moment that you needed 12. If you purchased those panels at $1000 per piece, that’s 12 x $1000 = $12,000 you would be spending on the solar panels. If you chose to build those solar panels instead, even if we calculate this on the high-end, you would be paying $250 x 12 = $3000. In other words you saved $9,000.
As long as you use an ISO certified DC converter, that homemade solar energy system can still be tied into the grid, and as such it still qualifies for the government rebates on green power. So you can still reduce that $3,000 by an additional 40% – 60% (depends on your state).
To sum it up, you can build solar panels for home use and save money. In fact, with the right instructional material, anyone can do it. To get you started, I recommend the #1 DIY Solar Guide (Green Power Easy), or the #2 DIY Solar Guide (Earth 4 Energy). Or if you’re not quite ready to get started, take a look at all of our reviews to see more info.

DIY Green Energy Guides – Choosing the Right One

November 21st, 2009 2

DIY Green Energy Guides – Choosing the Right Solar Panel or Wind Turbine website

“Going Green” is on just about everyone’s mind now days. Many of us have jumped on board and are doing everything we can to help the revolution. Many have started the boarding process and are doing a little at a time and others are just starting out. No matter which step you are at, the key to success is doing your research. As most of us have heard before “knowledge is power.” And in the case of “going green” we are literally talking about power, or at least the amount of it we use and where we get it from.

The internet is absolutely bombarded with companies and advertisements concerning the green revolution. Many of these companies are very legitimate and are truly taking steps to help mother earth, while others are simply trying to capitalize on the movement. You can literally find hundreds or thousands of “green” products out there for sale, everything from rain collection barrels to solar lighting for your walkway. In this article we are going to discuss do-it-yourself solar panels and wind turbines. Due to a few advances in the industry over the past few years it has become very inexpensive to actually build your own systems and literally power your complete home from these systems, in effect never having to pay the power companies again. Because of these advances and the ability to build inexpensive systems there has been a boom of internet websites promoting the practice.

These “Green Energy” websites are capitalizing on the green diy movement by offering books or guides that teach individuals how to build these power systems themselves. Most advertise that you can build your own solar panel or wind turbine for under $200. If you perform a Google search for “diy solar panels” or even just “solar panels” alone, you will find hundreds of sites offering these guides. So many in fact that it becomes overwhelming to weed through them. We are about to give you some pointers as to how to choose the right ones.

We literally scanned and read through dozens of these green energy websites. What we found was that most of them are offering the same information just packaged in different brightly colored packages. All of the websites sell what is known as an eBook. This is an electronic book that you download from their website, usually in .pdf format. There are a few things you should look at when evaluating which of these sites to trust and possibly purchase your guide from.

- First and probably most important is to look at their Money Back offer. Do they offer a truly risk-free guarantee? Make sure you read the fine print to ensure there isn’t a catch.

- Second, do you get other items as well as your diy guide? Most offer tax savings info, parts guides and other bonus information.

- Next, do you get to download the information directly after you make your purchase, or do you have to wait for someone to respond to you?

- Try out their customer service. Send them an email to ask a question and see how long it takes to get a reply.

- Does the site look like a copy of all the other sites you’ve seen, or does it look original?

- Do their videos appear professionally made, clear and can you hear the audio well?

These are just a few of the items you can use to verify the validity of the sites you are looking at. One review site that exist out there is MySolarReview.com which has taken most of the guess work out of the equation for you by providing reviews of 5 of the top DIY Green Energy sites.

Simply make sure you do a little research before you decide which DIY site to purchase your guide from. Make sure the one you choose will provide you with as much info as possible for your money. There are several review sites out there to help with your decision. No matter which review site you look at most of them will list Green Power Easy and Earth 4 Energy as their top picks.

Solar Power for Survivalists

November 9th, 2009 Χ

By Joseph Parish
As a survivalist I fully understand that in the event of a major crisis our usual power generating facilities may not be functioning as expected. In that sense, I am continually seeking out additional means by which I can create electrical power on my own. Having this ability to make my own electricity is not only beneficial at my normal home but would serve as a great advantage when it is functional at my distant emergency retreat as well.

The advantages of employing solar energy as a power source have some far reaching effects upon not only my abilities to be self sufficient but for the environment also. Practical solar equipment is relatively new at the market place and there is still much that we have to learn about this amazing way to make power. Regardless of its newness this astounding form of power generation is preordained to become our major energy source in future years. Several of the fundamental advantages of this type of power are:

•It is a very renewable energy resource. What this means is that we will never run out of this form of energy. Fossil fuels have a limited life span and sooner or later there will no longer be any oil to acquire as our reserves are completely depleted. Solar on the other hand, will be available as long as the sun in the sky shines down upon us.

•Solar power is a green form of energy. It is a non-polluting type of power source unlike oil. It emits no undesirable gases or odors and does not harm our environment in any manner. We will never experience a spill of any kind from solar power equipment.

•Best of all it is free. Once you have the necessary equipment firmly in place it will produce your needed electricity at no further expense on your part. With no moving parts of any kind the equipment if properly maintained can perhaps last you a lifetime.

For us survivalists these advantages can be seen in everyday products such as the cars we drive, our hot water heaters and light for our buildings. Since we often locate our emergency retreats in out of the way locations the use of solar power provides us with a bit of human comforts that we have come to expect.
I have been quite verbal at expressing the various advantages of solar power and now to be fair I would like to present you with a few of its disadvantages. The downfalls associated with these sunlight generating units are that they are still extremely costly. The expected performance is lower then we would want considering the financial investment necessary. We can only hope that the technology for this energy source continues to be improved resulting in an increase in quality while dropping the price considerably.

However, with that said, building your own solar panels is totally different story. You can easily build a solar panel for under $200 and recoupe your investment very quickly. It just takes a little DIY adventure and experience. Learn how to get started by reading about the top five DIY guides found on the web and when you are ready to start you can’t go wrong in choosing to use Green Power Easy.

Homemade Wind Generators and Their Benefits

November 2nd, 2009 Χ

By Alexandru Matei
The advantage of a homemade wind generator is multi-fold. Though on one hand, it reduces the dependence on traditional methods of generating power and reduces our monthly bills on the other we can do our part in saving the environment, since it is one of the cleanest and endless sources of power today. Basically, a homemade wind generators consists of DC motor, blades, a hub and a tower. The best part is that if you want to switch to wind power and start living off grid then you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a brand-new commercial wind turbine when you can simply build your own in your own backyard for no more than $200.

The most important part of a wind turbine is the tower. The higher its tower the more amount of energy that is being generated. After all, the height of the tower is constrained by the cost and the look. Thus a higher and more aesthetic tower will cost you slightly more than a shorter tower. Another thing to keep in mind is that the system will not work efficiently if it is not connected to the ground properly. This is mainly because, if it is flexible, its height can be altered to suit the wind patterns of the day. In case of extremely bad weather or lightning, it can be removed and kept safely to avoid damage.

Other primary concerns are the location of the wind tower. It’s an absolute waste if it were surrounded by trees or buildings or anything else that blocks the free flow of wind. Finally, the power of the wind towers must be taken into consideration. For a given specification, only a maximum allowed speed of the wind is bearable. If the speed exceeds that, it tends to get damaged. Selecting a proper location for your wind turbine will reflect on its effectiveness. Anyone can build their own homemade wind generator to start saving on their monthly bills, all you need is a solid DIY wind power guide to assist you throughout the project. There are several DIY guides online that you should consider, however it is recommended that you choose one that comes with a customer support in case you run any troubleshooting.

If you’re tired of high electricity bills, discover how thousands of families worldwide benefit from homemade wind turbines and solar panels to power their homes.

For more information on how to build your own wind turbines visit our Review of the Top 5 Wind Guides.

Green Energy DIY Guides – The top 5

October 18th, 2009 Χ

If you have been searching the net for information about solar panels or wind turbines you have undoubtedly seen dozens of Green Energy Review websites. The Green Energy niche market is at the peak of its existence right now. With the “Green” movement in full force there are dozens of websites selling ebooks that teach you how to build your own solar panel and/or wind turbine. These ebooks are directed at the Do-It-Yourself homeowner who wants to start producing their own electricity in order to cut their energy costs.

In this article we are going to discuss a website which has gone to extended lengths to review five of the top DIY Green Energy websites and the guides they are offering for sale. This site is known as MySolarReview.com. The site has been produced by a family in Texas who decided a little while back that they wanted to build one of these solar panel systems for themselves. When researching the market they found so many sites to look at that it was very confusing as to which might be the one to choose. After performing all of their research they decided to create their website to help others through the decision process.

In the reviews on their website, they have rated each of the top five sites on the following traits.

• Green Power – Obviously the main goal from any power generation project is to generate power. They tested how much power each solar panel and windmill could actually generate.

• Ease of Building – With a package that teaches how to convert a home, the material should be clearly laid out, and the components should be simple to build.

• Instructional Value – From the above criteria they gave higher ratings to those learning packages that taught how to go green with ease. The best packages had everything clearly explained, drawn blueprints, and then further explained with how-to videos.

• Cost Involved – The main reason people choose to convert their home themselves is to save money. They gave much higher ratings to the packages that teach how to find parts for less.

• Availability of Parts – Some of the learning packages tested recommended parts that weren’t available. They gave higher marks to those that used parts that were available to anyone (such as at your local hardware store)

• Time Involved – How long did it take to build each component. They found this had a lot to do with how well the material was explained, but some of the plans just weren’t simple enough.

• Overall Rating – From the above factors they gave each package an overall rating.

The five sites reviewed, in order of their rankings, are Green Power Easy, Earth 4 Energy, Home Made Energy, Energy 4 Green and Power 4 Home. The consensus of all the reviews is that each guide is capable of providing you with the information needed to build a solar panel or wind turbine, but only the first two do it in convincing style. The highest ranked site, Green Power Easy, is one of the newest sites on the web. Their developers have taken the time to roll all the good aspects of the other products into one. They are offering several items in their package that the other sites don’t offer yet including Green Power Easy TV, a video series that takes you through the process step by step.

In short, if you are interested in converting your home over to renewable energy, MySolarReview.com is the place to start. At the bare minimum they will give you the information you need to do your own research and decide which Green Energy Guide is best for you.

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