There are so many reasons to use DIY (Do-It-Yourself) solar panels to produce your own home energy. I’ll give you just a few…
Reason #1) There are no real ongoing costs or maintenance…
Once you setup the solar panel, there is not much else you have to do. There are no moving parts, the solar panel is 100% silent, it doesn’t give off any fumes – and basically as long as the Sun keeps shining …your solar panels will continue to give you free electricity!
Reason #2) You can scale up a solar panel system to fit your energy needs…
You can build your solar panel to whatever specifications you want pretty much. To give you an example, a 4kWp system can generate around 3,700 kilowatt hours of electricity throughout a year, which is equivalent to a typical household’s electricity needs (this also saves nearly two tons of carbon dioxide every year).
Moreover, the amount of power a solar panel system produces depend on the quality of the solar panel and the technology which is used in building the solar panel. Generally, solar cells are labeled with their specifications (amps, watts, voltage, etc.) and you just buy all of the same solar cells (with the same specs) and then just connect them to get your desired energy output for your solar panel.
And then to scale up a solar panel system, you simply create another solar panel and attach it to the solar panels you already have. This is easy even for me (i.e. someone with no building/tech experience)!
Reason #3) You can sell the energy you produce
Not only can you save money on your electricity costs if you use solar panels …you can also make money!
Some people don’t realize this but if the solar panel system you have produces more electricity than your home requires; you can sell the surplus back to the grid (or get a credit from the energy company).
And the only investment for you is the initial cost for your solar panel system. After that, the solar panel will produce electricity for the remainder of the system’s lifespan. – That’s a pretty great investment if you ask me!
Reason #4) DIY Solar Panels are now 10x cheaper than comparable retail solar panels…
While it is still expensive to buy a retail solar panel system; you are now able to build your own professional quality solar panel system very inexpensively.
New technology, cheaper parts and a simple to follow solar panel building course (like the one I used) make this all very easy and affordable.
If you decide to go with more expensive retail solar panels then it will take you over a decade to make that initial cost up with your energy savings. However, with DIY solar panels you can easily make up the initial cost of your solar panels within the first couple months (and in many cases within the 1st month).
And keep in mind that while there is a small initial, 1-time cost for parts in a DIY solar panel; after you purchase these you will get energy savings over the rest of your life for this 1-time small investment!
What’s Next?…
It’s no wonder DIY solar panels have become so popular in the past couple years. They are just as good as the solar panels retail companies charge …but 10x cheaper.
And DIY solar panels are already more efficient than the solar panels retail companies were selling just a couple years ago!
So why not build your own like my family and I did? You save money, become more energy independent and make you, your family and your home more self-sufficient!
7 replies to "4 Reasons Everyone Should Produce Their Own DIY home energy…"
I couldn’t agree more. It blows my mind more people don’t do this. Great article.
I’ve been saying this for years! But finally, my husband and I are just starting our panels this week.
Great list. I love #2 because it really allows anyone to start into this. When they’re ready just scale it up.
Another great article, Joe. Thanks, I’m inspired bot build my next.
I agree with you and have been dreaming of doing just that for years.
The problem has always been one of; a) Availability, b) High cost.
Now you tell me a DIY system could cost me around 10% that of a retail system, or, in other words, I could build a system 10 times the size or output of a similarly priced retail setup?
I live in a large city in Canada (Montreal, Quebec), and I have yet to find a supplier of raw solar cells.
Where should I look? Overseas?
Thank you
Ronnie
Hi there Ronnie,
Great questions. I’ll go ahead and answer them in order for you:
1) A DIYhomeEnergy.com Solar Panel system costs about 10% of the cost of a similarly powered retail solar panel system.
The quality of these solar panels is also A-grade and they will certainly last longer than a lifetime. So you don’t sacrifice efficiency or quality when doing a DIY solar panel system – as long as you make them like they show at http://DIYhomeEnergy.com/System/presentation/
Moreover, when you build solar panels you don’t have to build some enormous system to start. You can build 1, 2, 3+ DIY solar panels …connect them and start with that. Then you can build more DIY solar panel units and connect them in with your current system (that’s how I got started). It’s very low cost and easy to do.
2) And I would definitely use the multiple sources they teach about in the DIY Home Energy System course when trying to find your supplies. They show you where to get dirt cheap parts, solar cells, etc. that are all brand new and A grade quality. Their course is what I used and what I recommend: http://DIYhomeEnergy.com/System/presentation/
They don’t leave anything out when it comes to where to get parts …and they give you many options from 3rd party suppliers (so you can shop around at those and make sure you get the cheapest prices). – Most of the suppliers I noticed that they use also offer free shipping to the U.S. Canada, and other countries.
I hope that helps! Take care, Ronald.
– Joe Fields
Thank ou