DIY Solar Panels
Note: This is page 2 of our guide about DIY Solar Panels. For page 1, go to: Homemade Solar Panels.
Where Should I Place My Homemade Solar Panels?
The two most common places to put DIY solar panels are either on the roof of your house, or on the ground in your yard.
The roof has emerged as the most popular location for two reasons. First, in order to convert sunlight into electricity, solar panels need a direct line-of-sight between them and the sun. Trees, other buildings, or any other obstacle that provides shade or otherwise gets in the way will block the sun from your homemade solar panels. The easiest way to solve this problem is to raise the solar panels up higher than the obstacles. To do that, of course, you should place the DIY solar panels on the roof.
Click HERE to Learn How to Make DIY Solar Panels for Under $200!
Second, solar panels are big, and take up a lot of space. Furthermore, you will probably need more than one to power your entire home. If you mount your homemade solar panels on the ground, you may quickly fill your entire yard. Mounting DIY solar panels in the roof instead has the advantage of keeping them out of the way and freeing up your yard.
Ground-mounted solar panels, however, do have one big advantage: accessibility. It is much easier and safer to walk out into your yard than on the roof of your house to perform maintenance and repairs to your homemade solar panels. If you live in a part of the country where there are few trees, such as the Great Plains or the Southwest, and if you own enough property (like a farm) to mount several DIY solar panels and have room to spare, perhaps ground-mounted solar panels are the way to go.
What Direction Should I Point My Homemade Solar Panels?
Placing your DIY solar panels perfectly flat, facing straight up, is the best option. This way, no matter where the sun is in the sky or at what angle, sunlight is still hitting the solar panel somewhere. Unfortunately, however, many homes have angled roofs instead of flat, making the “pointing straight up” option impractical. In this case, mount your DIY solar panels on the south-facing side of your roof to collect the most sunlight. In the continental United States, the sun is in the southern part of the sky for the most part.
How Can I Build Homemade Solar Panels?
The answer to that question goes way beyond the scope of this brief article. What we can do, however, is point you in the right direction. The easiest and most efficient route for you to go is to buy a step-by-step instruction manual on how to build DIY solar panels from one of the many websites that sell them. These are usually $50 or less, and well worth the money.
Not all instruction manuals for DIY solar panels are equal, however. Here are some things to look for when shopping online for a good instruction manual:
• Clear, Step-by-Step Instructions (instead of just overviews)
• Simple, Plain English (instead of confusing technical terms and slang)
• Multiple, Clear Illustrations (instead of just text)
• Demonstration Videos (although not necessary, they are very, very helpful)
• Shopping Tips (for solar cells, deep-cycles batteries, and other hard-to-find items)
• Good Reviews (from past customers)
• Price (more than $60 is too much)
If you can find a high-quality manual, you will start enjoying the benefits of DIY solar panels within 2 weeks, because the manual should be able to teach you to build homemade solar panels in just a weekend.
www.DIYSolarPowerforHomes.com Staff
Evans D. Smith
Click HERE to Learn How to Make DIY Solar Panels for Under $200!