People have used solar energy for billions of years with some people doing it even without their knowledge.  One of the first ingenious uses of energy from the sun was back in the 17th century when explorers harnessed energy from the sun using collection boxes and used the heat to cook food.

Solar power mainly involves collecting light and heat from the sun rays and using it both in homes and in offices for very many uses.  According to studies, a very tiny portion of the heat from the sun is actually being converted into energy.  This has been attributed to the fact that some people do not have the technology required to fully collect energy while other people, especially in developed countries, do not feel the need to collect energy from the sun when they have other sources of power.

When harnessing energy from the sun, people use heat engines as well as photovoltaic devices.  The way these technologies collect and convert the energy enables people know if they are passive or active technologies.  Photovoltaic devices or cells from the sun are directly harnessed from the sun to form electricity that can be used for lighting and powering tools such as calculators and watches.  Devices manufactured for collecting sun energy as well as photovoltaic devices are classified into active technologies while designs and building materials that make it easier for inhabitants to convert heat and light into energy are classified into passive technologies for harnessing energy from the sun.

These materials may include those that disperse light in certain ways and also technologies that make it possible for light to fill a certain space in a room or office.  There are many ways that people all over the world use solar energy.  The most common application of solar energy is lighting.Incorporating skylights and windows when building reduces the amount of artificial lighting required in that building.  Using solar water heaters or other types of heaters to warm up rooms or heat water is another common application of solar energy.People also use solar water heaters to heat up swimming pools.  Active solar harnessing technologies include the use of solar panels to convert heat from the sun into electricity.However, the use of solar energy is slowed down by the fact that the rays from the sun only reach the earth at certain times of the year and is based on the location, season and weather.  This means that people have to collect the all the energy that they require in the period when the sun rays reach the earth.

1. Solar energy takes 8 minutes 17 seconds to travel from the sun’s surface to earth.
2. Solar energy will run out in 5 billion years as the sun will run out of fuel.
3. A Swiss scientist, Horace de Saussure invented the world’s first solar energy collector, or ‘hot box’ in 1767.
4. In the 1830s, British astronomer – John Herschel used a solar energy collector box to cook food during an expedition to Africa (talk about innovation)
5. Do you know that Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his experiments with solar energy and photovoltaics.
6. The amount of sunlight that fall on the earth every minute is enough to meet the world’s energy demands for an entire year.
7. If we could only covered a small fraction of the Sahara desert with photovoltaic cells, we could generate all the world’s electricity requirements.
8. All TV and communications satellites are powered by solar energy using the photovoltaic cells.

AND SLASH 80% OFF YOUR ENERGY BILL, WHILE SPENDING LESS THAN $200 ON THESE SOLAR PANEL KITS TO BUILD SOLAR PANEL!

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You can build solar panel by yourself, and you don’t have to be an expert craftsman!

Ok….so how can I build my own solar panel when I have no idea where to begin? What the heck is a photovoltaic cell anyway in the first place?!

Good question. It’s the same question I asked myself when I first started to build solar panel too.

Answer: GET THE SOLAR PANEL KIT!

A DIY solar panel kit gives you everything you need to build solar panel system and reduce those energy bills.

With this solar panel kit, you get the step-by-step direction that is necessary to successfully construct, wire and mount your solar panel system, plus a lot more helpful stuff.

I wanted to find the best DIY solar panel kit, so I did some research and compared many solar panel kits.

Only two solar panel kits truly stood out:

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HERE IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU GET WITH THE #1 RATED DIY KIT:

• Step-by-step, fully illustrated construction manuals on solar and wind power
• Video tutorials covering 7 aspects of solar panel construction
• Comprehensive parts and tools lists
• 24/7 dedicated customer and technical support
• Thrifty DIYer guide – learn how to build the solar panels for half price
• IRS renewable energy tax rebate forms
• 60 day full money-back guarantee

I PERSONALLY PURCHASED AND USED GREEN DIY ENERGY

I can attest to its effectiveness. It is totally legit and gives you everything you need to build solar panel.

Home Made Energy Review

Cost: $47

Content: Two DIY manuals – 1 for solar power, 1 for wind power; 7 “How-to” videos; Comprehensive parts and tools list; $98 solar panel system guide; IRS renewable energy tax credit forms; energy consumer guide; interactive online forum

Guarantee: 60 day full money-back

I wasn’t that impressed with Home Made Energy when I first viewed its sales page.  It wasn’t as flashy and good-looking as some of the others I had seen.  But after taking the time to fully check out the product and compare its features to the competition, I decided that Home Made Energy really is the best DIY solar energy guide available.

Here’s why it is the best: Content, Content, Content!  It gives you so much for its $47 price tag.  No other guide gives you 7 “how-to” training videos on technical aspects of making solar panels (the next closest is Earth 4 Energy, which only gives you 3 training videos).  No other guide has a separate manual that shows you how to build a energy system for under $100.

CLICK HERE to be taken to Home Made Energy’s homepage.

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Cost: $49.97

Content: Two DIY manuals – 1 for solar power and one for wind power; 3 “How-to” training videos; comprehensive parts and tools list; IRS tax rebate forms

Guarantee: 60 day full money-back

Earth 4 Energy is very similar to Green DIY Energy; it also has good, clear fully-illustrated manuals and similar bonuses, along with the same full 60 day guarantee.  The only difference is in what it lacks.  It doesn’t have as many “how-to” videos, and does not have a customer service forum.  It is still a solid buy, and there are many satisified customers who put together a good home energy system by following its manual.

CLICK HERE to be taken to Earth 4 Energy’s homepage.

The solar panel kits mentioned above show you exactly how to build solar panel and power your home with clean energy.

The DIY solar panel kits really do live up to their claims.  You will build a solar energy system for less than $200, and slash your energy bills by anywhere from 40% to 80% (depending on the size of your home).

If you expand on your solar energy system you could easily eliminate your energy bill completely, and be powering your home solely off of free, clean and infinite solar power!

I reviewed many DIY solar panel guides, but most of them were overpriced, and really didn’t give you that much quality content.  That is why Home Made Energy and Earth 4 Energy are the only two guides I recommend, they give you a TON of content and bonuses for their $50 price tag.  Buy one of them, follow the directions, and enjoy going “Green”!  Let me know what you think; I’m sure you’ll be pleased.

Alright, so that is officially the end of my review on the top two DIY solar panel kits.

So…..Build Solar Panel today with these great Solar Panel Kits!

Go buy some bricks of 3 X 6 mono-crystalline solar cells. It takes a total of 36 of these type solar cells wired

in series to make a panel. Each cell produces about 1/2 Volt. 36 of these in series would give about 18 volts which would be good for charging 12 volt batteries. (Yes, you really need that high a Voltage to effectively charge 12 Volt batteries) This type of solar cell is as thin as paper and as brittle and fragile as glass. They are very easily damaged too. The seller of these solar cells dips stacks of 18 in wax to stabilize them and make it easier to ship them without damaging them. The wax is quite a pain to remove though. If possible, find cells for sale that aren't dipped in wax. Keep in mind though that they may suffer some more damage in shipping. Notice that these cells have metal tabs on them. You want cells with tabs on them. You are already going to have to do a lot of soldering to build a panel from tabbed solar cells. If you buy cells without tabs, it will at least double the amount of soldering you have to do. So paying extra for tabbed cells is well worth the money spent.

Besides solar cells with size 3×6, there are lots of other sizes available too. You could use larger or smaller cells for your panel. Just keep a few things in mind when you decide.

-  Cells of the same type all produce the same voltage no matter what size they are. So the same number of cells is always needed.

-  Larger cells produce more current (Amps) and smaller cells produce less current.

-  The total power your panel can produce is determined by Amps X Volts.

So using bigger cells produces more power, but the panel will be large and heavy too. Using smaller cells keeps the panel small and light, but won't produce as much power as the bigger one. Also, mixing cell sizes is not a good idea. This is because the current your panel can produce will be limited by the smallest cell in the group and the larger cells won't work to their full potential.

Let's assume we use 3 X 6 inches in size and are rated at roughly 3 amps. You can wire 36 of them in series to get a little over 18 volts. The result should be a panel capable of delivering almost 60 Watts of power in bright sunlight. It doesn't sound like a lot of power, but it sure beats no power at all. And that is 60 Watts all day when the sun is shining. That power will go into charging batteries which will primarily be used for powering lights and small appliances for only a few hours after dark.

After you buy your solar cells, put them away in a safe place where they won't get dropped, played with by the kids, or eaten by the dog until you are ready to install them in the panel. These cells are very fragile. Rough treatment and excessive handling will turn your expensive solar cells into little, blue, shiny shards that aren't useful for anything.

Next build a box. I made the box shallow so the sides wouldn't shade the solar cells when the sun comes at an angle from the sides. It is made of 3/8 inch thick plywood with 3/4 X 3/4 pieces of wood around the edges. The pieces are glued and screwed in place firmly together. This panel will hold 36 3 X 6 inch solar cells. I decided to make 2 sub-panels of 18 cells each just so make it easier to assemble later. So there is a center divider across the middle of the box. Each sub-panel will fit into one well in the main panel.

Make sure you drilled holes in the edges of the well. These are vent holes to keep the air pressure inside the panel equalized with the outside, and to let moisture escape. These holes must be on the bottom of the panel or rain and dew will run inside. There must also be vent holes in the center divider between the two sub panels.

Next, cut two pieces of masonite peg-board to fit inside the wells. These pieces of peg-board will be the substrates that each sub-panel will be built on. They were cut to be a loose fit in the wells. You don't have to use peg-board for this. Just about any thin, rigid and non-conducting material should work well.

Protect the solar cells from the weather using plexiglass front. Here two pieces of scrap plexiglass have been cut to fit the front of the panel. I didn't have one piece big enough to do the whole thing. Glass could also be used for this, but glass is fragile. Hail stones and flying debris that would shatter glass will just bounce off the plexi. Now you can start to see what the finished panel will look like.

Next give all the wooden parts of the panel several coats of paint to protect them from moisture and the weather. The box was painted inside and out. The peg-board pieces were also painted. They got several coats on both sides. Be sure to paint them on both sides or they will curl when exposed to moisture after awhile. Curling could damage the solar cells that will be glued to them.

Next, bath in hot water to melt the wax and separate the cells from each other. Don't let the water boil or the bubbles will jostle the cells against each other violently. Also, boiling water may be hot enough to loosen the electrical connections on the cells. I also recommend putting the brick of cells in the water cold, and then slowly heating it up to just below boiling temperature to avoid harsh thermal shocks to the cells. Plastic tongs and spatulas come in handy for teasing the cells apart once the wax melts. Try not to pull too hard on the metal tabs or they may rip off.

Now it's time to start installing them in the panel.  Laid out the cells on that grid pattern upside-down and solder them together. All 18 cells on each half panel need to be soldered together in series, then both half panels need to be connected in series to get the desired voltage.

Repeat the above steps and soldered solar cells together until you have a string of six cells. Then soldered tabs from scrapped cells to the solder points on the back of the last cell in the string of six. Repeat the whole process two more times to get three strings of six cells for a total of 18 for this half of the panel.

Next, glue the cell in place.  The three strings of cells need to be wired in series. So the middle string needs to be rotated 180 degrees with respect to the other two.

Each solar panel in a solar power system needs a blocking diode in series with it to prevent the panel from discharging your batteries at night or during cloudy weather. I recommend a Schottky diode with a 3.3 Amp current rating. Schottky diodes have a much lower forward voltage drop than ordinary rectifier diodes, so less power is wasted. Every Watt counts.

DIY Solar Pool Heater

The Basics of DIY Solar Pool Heater

There are a few fundamentals of solar pool heating system that you should be aware of first and foremost. First you should know that the fundamental principle of heating a pool with DIY solar pool heater is that you need to provide it with at least as much energy as the pool would lose to the environment, at the desired temperature.

You are going to need to take into consideration here convection, solar gain, evaporation, radiation, and more. Remember that temperature is going to play a very important role here because it has a significant impact on the energy losses of a pool.

Getting Started With DIY Solar Pool Heater

If you want to get involved with DIY solar pool heater, the first step is going to be for you to gather your materials.

DIY Solar Pool Heater

You can either purchase all of the necessary materials separately, or you can just go the easy route and get a solar power pool heating kit which will come with everything included in it.

DIY Solar Pool Heater

There are certainly more than enough stores that cater to solar powered products, and shopping online will probably be your best bet if you want to get the best value on your DIY solar pool heater equipment and supplies.

Now comes the installation process, which is going to take some time, especially if you are just new to the whole solar power thing and are not sure how to get started. Make sure that you read the manual front to back if you want to do some DIY solar power heater project, so that you know what you are doing and know where to refer to in

DIY Solar Pool Heater

the manual if you ever need any help.

The good news is that there are lots of great resources out there referring to solar power

DIY Solar Pool heater

so you will certainly never be lacking here. Also if you want to get some help or just get someone to do the work for you, you can always hire a professional solar power system installer.

When there is an unscheduled power failure, you tend to use invertors or generators, which can provide sufficient electricity to run your household with the least of inconvenience. However, you cannot run all the appliances on a generator or inverter for too long. At best, these can help you for four to eight hours. After that, you will have to do with candles for light, and do without the rest of appliances.

If the power failure stretches over long periods, life becomes very stressful. There are instances when people die because of lack of electricity. This could be in the case of quadriplegics who need electricity in order to keep their life support systems working. You also have cases where people die of extreme cold or heat due to lack of power.

The backup solar power system can ensure continuous free electricity for as long as you require it. If the backup solar power system is installed well, you can run all your appliances without any interruption. It is great to have a reliable source of electricity whenever you need it. All your power problems can be solved with the installation of a backup solar power system.

Do you know that the backup solar power system Is safer than any electricity backup program?

Look at the alternative electricity providers. You have to choose from among wet batteries, generators, inverters – each of these can expose you to extreme danger of fire, explosion and acid spills. If you look at it, the backup solar power system is your safest choice. There is no spillage, almost no maintenance, no chance of it exploding and in return, you get the best and most reliable source of electricity.

Sunlight stands as one of the most important renewable sources of energy in prospect. Solar energy is now actively being used by the technology of solar cells, which collect solar energy from the sunlight and covert it into electric power.  Solar power generator greatly facilitate the use of such solar power plants.

Why Use Portable Solar Power Generator

Users of power generator gas and motor oil are often complaining against the noise produced by them. Also, these power

Portable Solar Power Generator

generator have to be constantly refilled with the fuel-an alienating duty. Solar power generator rid the user all of these concerns. Portable solar power generator make it possible to provide the appliances as small as a power drill to larger ones like TV or Refrigerator with the required electric power. Running on wheels, these power generator are ideal for using at remote construction sites, camping, desert trips, and ordinary household use. Many durable designs are now available for use with a strong wagon-style base and large handles that are easy to grip. In short, portable solar power generator make power available at almost anywhere.

Top Features Of Some Good Portable Solar Power Generator

Portable Solar Power Generator

Some of the best portable solar power generators come in different models equipped with 12 to 30 Amperes electric current and 150 watts inverter. These generators are mostly easy to use due to their plug and go system. Some of these come with batteries for storing the charge; others lack batteries. A good solar power generator will store six batteries. Panels, which run the generator, can be folded for easy portability. Also, these generators show protective and durability features like separate fusion of the sockets, unbreakable enclosures, and resistance to weathering or corrosion. Most of all, such generators are environment friendly and produce both AC and DC current without noise or fumes. House lights, computers, fans, radios and TV etc. all run perfect with these portable solar generator.

The Pros And Cons In Using Portable Solar Generator

On the plus side, a solar power generator is going to be more efficient than traditional electricity powered generators. You will not to have to not have to search for an outlet to plug in your generator. On the other hand, you must remember that your portable solar generators will require sunlight. On a cloudy day or after sunset, it will not work unless you have additional batteries stored in it for holding solar energy as electric charge.

As the world moves toward an energy crunch, the demand for solar power products increases. Using the sun as a natural source of energy could possibly be the answer for all the energy problems facing the world today and the future. There are many different types of solar power products available today. If you want to heat your pool you can use solar pool heating. In addition, to keep your pool warm you can also use a solar pool cover. Batteries can be charged with a solar battery charger, thus preventing the waste of battery after battery.

If you love landscaping, you can set a solar fountain up in your backyard. This will help power your fountain without the use of regular electricity. If you want to augment your backyard with another few solar gadgets, you can choose between solar outdoor lighting and a solar garden light. These forms of lighting charge during the day and use the stored up power to light the garden at night.

If you love cooking, you can buy a solar oven and use the sun’s rays to power your cooking device. This form of oven is perfect for cooking outside in the garden. The solar oven comes in all different sizes and can either be portable or anchored to a spot.

And if you have an attic and you want to cool it off. Sure, you could always put an air conditioner in the space, but that’s usually costly. What’s best is to perhaps install a solar attic fan. This device will enable you to cool off that musty, dusty attic and turn it into a comfortable room.

Solar shades are also great for keeping your house warm. If you install these shades on your windows, they will absorb the heat and channel it into your house.

Of course, the majority of solar devices require a system to be integrated with your house. But don’t fret, while the cost may seem to be high at the beginning, you will certainly make it back in savings in the long run.  Start using solar power for homes today.