4 Key Components of a Homemade Solar System

on Nov 05 in Lowes DIY

Do you experience high home electricity bills? The amount of money we pay for electricity is second only to our home bank mortgage. Many home owners understanding this issue and are sourcing for ways to reduce their home power consumption.

One option to reduce your home energy cost is to use renewable energy source such as solar. The fastest way to start enjoying free energy from the sun is by purchasing a residential solar power system.

However, this kind of system can be quite expensive. A cheaper alternative is with a homemade solar system.

If you are planning to build your own home solar system via a Do It Yourself (DIY) approach, here are 4 key components to consider.

1) Photovoltaic cells – When you are making the solar panel, the solar cells will be the most expensive component. It will take up more than 60 percent of the total project cost. To save cost, you can source for used or slightly damaged solar cells on Ebay.

2) Charge controller – The main function of the charge controller is to take care of the battery. The power from the solar cells will go to the charge controller and then directed to the battery units.

The key function of the controller is to prevent the battery from being overcharged. Overcharging a battery can drastically reduce its lifespan. When a battery is fully charged, the extra power will be dumped onto a power load.

3) Battery bank – The battery will be used to store all the power generated from the solar cells. The kind of battery suitable for residential solar power system is the deep cycle type.

Do not use automotive battery. A homemade solar system will require a battery to reach very low Depth of Discharge (DOD). A car battery will destroy itself if it was to be used with a solar system.

4) Power inverter – Deep cycle battery can only stored Direct Current (DC). Since most of our home electrical appliances use Alternate Current (AC), you will need a device to change the DC to AC. That device is known as a power inverter.

To start using power generated from the sun, connect your electrical equipment to the power outlet from the inverter. When you have multiple equipment drawing power from the solar energy system, you will see a reduction in your home electricity bill.

Will Yap is a home renewable energy enthusiast and he writes about DIY solar homes on his blog. Are you looking for more information on homemade solar system? If you are, go to www.diysolarhomes/blog to download a free copy of the “30 Solar and Wind Power For Homes” video e-book to help you get started.

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