Top Solar Panels and Wind Renewable Energy Do-It-Yourself Guides

There has been a lot of literature written about the benefits of building your very own residential solar energy system. It is noted that not many have directly addressed the facts associated with these projects. Below are some key facts and figures

Grid Tied Only Vs Battery Backed Solar System
Grid Tied Only system work on a process known as Net Metering. The former is a system with no batteries and the excess electricity produced by the solar panels are redirected to your local utility grid, thereby spinning your existing meter backwards, allowing you credits for the excess power your provide to your utility company. In contrast, Battery backed solar systems utilize a process which enables excess energy to be stored within batteries as back up for future use.

Some Grid Tied Only Systems allow battery backups to be retro fitted or at inception. The benefit of a battery backed system is that in times of a blackout, it will kick into action, avoiding back feeding the grid. Grid Tied Only system and battery backed systems use the same solar panels, with the key difference being the inverter and there addition of batteries.

Determining the Magnitude of Your Solar Panels System
As a new enthusiast of the residential solar energy system, learning to build your own solar panels can be a great thrill. A solar panel of any size would spell cost savings for you on your yearly power consumption. You need to first figure out how much energy consumption in terms of total kilowatt hours or kwh you have used in the past year as a benchmark. You should tabulate your monthly utility bills, find the total, as well as the average daily consumption. For instance, assume that your average home consumption is a total of 4000 kwh a year. A 1 KW solar system generates an average of 2000 KW hours in a year, thereby constituting 50 percent of your yearly power consumption.

You also need to determine the amount of space you will need for the solar panels. In general, a rule of thumb is that you will need about 125 square feet for 1.2 kwh system, 160 square feet for 1.6 kwh size and 240 square feet for the 2.5 kwh system.

For more information on how to build your own solar panels, check out more facts on building Residential Solar Energy systems here.

There are tens of thousands of smart home owners who use solar energy to power their home appliances, heating and pumping water. Most are slowly becoming 100 percent solar reliant. They use the solar electricity generated to power their notebooks, microwaves, cookers, TVs etc. They power heating and pump water with the generated solar energy. This is a lifestyle change which bespeaks of environmentally friendliness and lots of savings. There are many myths about solar power systems for homes which we shall address today.

Myth 1 - Solar Power Systems Can Spin Your Electric Meter Backwards
Using a residential solar power system can literally turn your electric meter backwards. When you generate excess amounts of electricity and that you are connect to the power grid, the excess energy from your system produces will go to the electric lines to be used by other homes, hence spinning your meter backwards. You will then be given credits reflected in your monthly utility statements for contributing back to the grid. Alternatively, if your excess electricity is stored in batteries, then the excess will be tapped for future use.

Myth 2 - Solar Power Systems for Homes are Very Expensive
Many myths have been spinning in the fraternity that solar panels for homes are too expensive to afford. Well, they are just what they are, myths. Compare a 200 dollar homemade solar panel which functions just as well, if not better, than a 3,000 dollar ready made solar panel in the market, and it is obvious which you will choose. That is the initial investment savings. Now assume that you will save about 60 to 80 percent on your utility bill and that your monthly bill is about 600 dollars. Taking a 70 percent savings on your bill, this constitutes 420 dollars savings monthly, amounting to 5,040 dollar a year for as long as your solar panels work hard for you. And it is good to note that solar panels, if maintained well, can last from 25 to 40 years.

Myth 3 - Very Few Literature Is Produced On How To Do Build Your Own Solar Panels
Yes, it was a mystery only a while ago when solar power systems were dominated by large corporations. Homemade solar experts have slowly become the order of the day. To start you off on the right footing, you will need a good guide detailing the materials required, specific how to instructions. Go for the good one with step by step videos, free access to member forums as well as free lifetime updates. And if you think this is going to be expensive, well think again, as all the above will only cost you less than a good meal.

So if you are ready to save on your electricity bills, start joining the thousands of families tapping on Free Renewable Energy. Visit Top Pick - Earth4Energy Solar And Wind Energy Guide for Your Complete Solar Power Guide.

Or check out reviews of other guides like Home Made Energy Solar and Wind Renewable Energy Guide for more information at start looking for a good guide now, set up your solar panel in half the weekend and start saving tons in no time.

Solar Power is essentially photo voltaics which means light electricity, a semiconductor-based technology used to convert light energy into direct current or dc electricity, using no moving parts but only solar panels, consuming no conventional fuels, and creating no pollution.

There are 3 key considerations which you need make when deciding on how much solar energy you will need for powering your home using homemade solar panels. Here we share some insights:

How Much Electricity Do You Need
To find out how much power you need, you will have to backtrack your utility bills for the past year. This task is made more convenient when you have been staying at your current location for at least a year. Set up a spreadsheet and record down the amount of kwh or kilowatt hours that you consumed each day of each month. This record will provide you with a benchmark of how much you consume on a daily, monthly and seasonal basis as well as what your peak consumption months are. Note that winters are higher consumption months than summers as a general rule of thumb.

Homemade Residential Solar Panels

You will take the total kwh of all twelve months and divide by 12 for an indication of how much kwh you will consume on an average monthly basis. Also take the 3 months consumption of every season and divide by 90 days to track your consumption per season. Finally, take the grand total of kwh for past year and divide over 365 days so that it also gives you an indication of your average daily consumption. Armed with these information, you will have a much better perspective of how much energy you need as specs for your homemade solar power system.

How Much Energy Should You Generator
How much can you have defines the amount of direct sunlight, or more specifically the number of hours you will receive for your solar panels.

If you have decided where to most optimally locate your solar panels, often on the roof, then you will need to observe the number of hours your roof is directly receiving sunlight. If you have problems physically measuring this, then take 5 hours of direct sunlight throughout the year as an average benchmark as a rule of thumb. However, you should note that depending on where you are situated, you may get more or less than 5 hours of direct sunlight, so ensure that this gets factored into your planning as well. Research shows that as a rule of thumb, a 2 kw system receiving direct sunlight for about 5 hours per day and can generate 10 kwh per day on average throughout the year. Again, take your location into consideration, as statistics show southern states in the US as the best performing states in the country.

Take for instance, assuming that for a start, you wish to create about 2 kwh solar electricity system with an optimize overall system efficiency of about 80 percent, you will require 5 panels or more. Another example, a 5 kwh solar power system optimized at 80 percent would require 13 panels or more.

Factors To Take Into Consideration
However, it is critical to note that the results really depends on many factors, namely how much direct sunlight you are getting daily throughout the year, how much electricity is used as a household, what is your normal consumption pattern and potential compromise you are able to make and most critically, how much do you wish to save on your utility bills.