FAQ About DIY Solar Panels and Wind Turbines

I have been getting many questions lately from people who are trying to build homemade solar panels and wind turbines for their homes.
So I decided to create a quick FAQ about DIY solar panels and wind turbines.

To begin with, I will just address a common question …building and using your own solar panels is not a hard task! If you use some good instructions (like I used)the whole process is quick, easy, and pretty fun.

So with that being said, there are a couple questions I seem to get more frequently then others regarding how to build solar panels and how to make wind turbines so I’m going to address those now…

Question 1: After I make my wind turbine or solar panel can I plug it straight into my house’s wiring?

This is a good question but the answer is no. You just need a couple inexpensive parts that you basically just attach to each other. This is not hard to do at all …and these parts are quite inexpensive like I said. Once you do this, you can start using all of the energy your solar panels or residential wind turbine are pumping out for you!

Question #2: Can I connect my solar panel directly to my battery?

This is another good question but the answer is no. You need something that acts as a charge controller so your battery doesn’t get destroyed. If you didn’t use this you would have to continuously watch the voltage meter on the battery and connect and disconnect it so you didn’t overcharge or over discharge the battery. Instead just make it more simple and use a simple (and cheap) charge controller. This was all laid out step by step in the solar panel and wind turbine directions I used. And it’s really as easy as plugging a lamp into a wall (if you can do that …you can use solar panels or a wind turbine)!

Question #3: Can I use my car battery for my wind turbine or solar panels?

You can use a battery to store the excess power your solar panels or wind turbine produces. Which is great!

And what I encourage people to use (and what I use) are“deep cycle batteries” because car batteries are meant to give off bursting power to start up a car. They are not meant to charge and discharge over and over again like a battery in a solar panel or wind turbine systems needs to. Deep cycle batteries are easy to find (and you can restore old deep cycle batteries for dirt cheap) – so be sure to use one of these instead of just a car battery.

Question #4: Can you make me a wind turbine or solar panels

I appreciate the consideration but I don’t have time with my day job to commercially build and sell these. It’s really not very hard though and I’m confident any normal person can make one themselves. If you are interested in making a unit yourself you just need some good plans (like the ones I used) and it’s really as simple as connecting a few parts. And don’t waste your money on retail units! – When you see how easy (and cheap) it is to “Do It Yourself” (DIY) you won’t believe it.

Question #5: Is it possible to sell your surplus power to the electric company?

Yes! I’d advise you to do just a little research first though. Depending on your energy company – some may give you a credit instead. But there are many that you can sell the excess power back to also and actually receive a check!

You’ll want to know how much surplus power you have. Then you’ll want to figure out how much the utility company will pay you for that energy. It’s important to note that the utility company will only buy it from you for the wholesale going rate.

Hopefully that cleared up some of your “Frequently Asked Questions” FAQ about DIY Solar Panels and Wind Turbines! Building a solar panel or wind turbine is not a difficult task at all and it’ll pay dividends for years to come. You basically build it once and enjoy the free energy from the Sun it will produce for the rest of your life! Remember, there are no moving parts or any real maintenance …so you just put a little time and money into building your own and you enjoy the energy cost savings for the rest of your life. It’s no doubt one of the best investments you can every make.

Stay tuned for more articles, videos, and helpful information about how I built my solar panels!