Are DIY Solar Panels Worth it?

[sunnybp]

we suggest person with electrical skills training DIY the solar power system. After all, we should pay more attention to some features during installation process.

[BilljustBill]

I think DIY solar panels make for a great DIY project, and one day I'll build one or two for that, but as a serious power supply, nope. I wanted to build my own wind turbine, but after weeks of collecting information online, I decided to spend $350.00 and buy one, although one day I'd like to have a crack at building a turbine too. I think DIY has its place, but you just have to know where that place is.

Bob,
Way back...in the summer of '80, I put up a Enertech 1800, a grid supported 110v win-gen... Now that time has passed, and so has the 1800, I was wondering about your DC wind turbine and its price. Do you like it so far, what's the brand, and where's a good place to get that price. Did the price include shipping? Was shipping much?
Thanks,
Bill

[aadhar]

the big manufacturers be the only people able to make and sell solar panels to only the weathly that can afford them? If the average joe puts something with quality materials in it and it gets UL listed,

[MarineLiner]

But not from the scam e-book

If the average joe puts something with quality materials in it and it gets UL listed,

Yes, if that average joe had not bought the scam home made instruction e-book from the deleted sig.

[russ]

The average Joe is going to go through the process of UL certification?

Come on who are you kidding? UL certification is not a minor process.

[philpaine]

The EforE Guides and their Ilk are NOT Scams.
It is not fair to call these various DIY instruction guides scams. Whether you like it or not, the best guides do explain very clearly, using diagrams and video, how to make solar panels. I have bought and reviewed the leading guides and also hunted through the 'Net looking for better instructional material. The best of these guides beat the free stuff hands down - I know people on this forum don't want to believe that, but from my research I believe it to be true - please direct me to the better free material that shows on video the step by step process and I'll be very pleased to put details on my web site.

However, I fully agree that the other claims made by EforE etc, either made directly, implied or contained within the "testimonials", are total bunk. But don't chuck out the baby with the bathwater - the best guides do an excellent job of showing you how to make solar panels. It is such a shame they have to spoil everything with their misleading and deceitful marketing hype.

Does DIY Make Financial Sense?
It always surprises me that people think you can make a solar panel cheaper than you can buy one. Well, unless your back yard is already conveniently full of 3/4in sheets of plywood and 1/4in sheets of plexiglass, this is frankly nonsense. See this article below that goes through all the materials you need to make a solar panel and gives warnings re UL certification:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Solar-Energy-House---Warnings-Regarding-DIY-Solar-Panels&id=3040384

So does it make financial sense? NO. DIY solar panels cost approx $3 per watt (no warranties, potential fire hazard, can't be connected to the grid, no financial rebates), wholesale panels with UL cert (min order quantity 2) $2.44 per watt or cheaper.

The only reason to make your own solar panel is as a science project.

UL Certification
Manufacturers submit 15 - 20 panels for testing in order to obtain UL certification. This rules out the DIY route - not that I can see any DIYer producing a panel that would pass the strict testing.

Low Cost Solar Panels - Where to Get Them
Since writing the above article I continue hunting high and low for the cheapest solar panels. I managed to find some panels at less than $2 per watt. I can assure you that if you are patient, the cheapest place to buy Solar Panels is eBay, next cheapest is Wholesale and then Retail.

A couple of weeks ago I found 117watt solar panels with UL certification for sale for $220 including free shipping within mainland USA ($1.88 per watt). Have a look at my article:

http://www.solar-panel-home.net/general/cheap-solar-panels-for-solar-energy-homes/

If you want a science project then making your own solar panel would be a good one. But you won't save money. If you really want to do this, then the best of these guides will really show you how to do it and also provide you with a lot of very good educational material on electricity, on and off grid systems etc. I wouldn't recommend that you mount them on the roof of any building due to the potential fire hazard.

Anyway, 'nuff said.

All the best

Phil Paine

[Mike90250]

If they (instructions) were free, it's different. Ads that claim that if you buy their instructions on how to run your house on free electricity, with just a weekend of work, and some glue and string you have in the garage, you will be free of electric bills forever, is a scam. But the policy about links to sales sites, is pretty firm. Only in response to specific questions, and not a link to U.makeMe.Rich.Today.4free.com at the end of nonsense posts:

Hi I see you too are interested in electricty solar. Good plan friend.
U.makeMe.Rich.Today.4free.com

[Bob]

Quality, affordable DIY still exists...

Hi there,

Just to re-assure readers that quality DIY is not dead:

I AM the kind of person that WOULD build my own car to save money, or an MP3 player (been there, done that), or whatever else. It's all a matter of circumstance and scale.

As has been argued, turning low volume DIY into a saleable item is tricky, if extremely difficult. Probably. I've come across lots of rubbish and scam solar sites out there that do not add real value.

It has been argued that the time and even only the material expense required to implement a reasonable DIY PV panel makes it un-economical. Not so in my opinion. At least if you live outside the 'States. Read on.

I am a 35 year old mechanical engineer residing in South Africa, with 15+ yrs of design experience, specialising in hydraulics and thermodynamics. Some electrical, some electronics and lots of hands-on tinkering and prototyping experience in many engineering fields. Not much solar experience. I am fairly confident that with mostly basic tools I CAN design and build a moderately sized system (1.3kW) to power a variety of household appliances (a pool pump in the day, lights, microwave at night, fridge, for 18hrs a day). We get zero rebates on solar panels here.

DIY seems an extremely foolish approach to many, but not to me. I am confident that a minimum life of 10 years trouble-free life is possible (talking specifically about the panels). While I have yet to experiment with and actually build a panel and wait 10 years to find out if it lasts, I can't exactly preach to the unconverted. But the point is that I am in the process of trying, which is pretty much in the spirit of this website. DIY is all about taking pride in building something, potentially leading a social technology wave and feeling smug that you may have saved a buck in the long run. Key to effective DIY is SHARING YOUR SUCCESS. There

[Mike90250]

Hi there,

Just to re-assure readers that quality DIY is not dead:

DIY seems an extremely foolish approach to many, but not to me. I am confident that a minimum life of 10 years trouble-free life is possible (talking specifically about the panels).

(Lots of snippage)

Please do yourself a favor, and try searching the web for reports of DIY panels, and their lifetimes. If you have any sort of rainy season, it's impossible to seal a wood backing plate so that it wont warp after 2 or 3 months of different humidity. There are some folks in the USA southwest desert area ( less than 20% humidity for 350 days year) that have had working panels for some time.

I'm all for home built, and learning how it works, but the stresses involved between the different thermal expansion rates of wood, plexiglas, PV cells, and the electrolysis that happens when moisture builds, the panels fail, sometimes silently, sometimes in fire.
See this thread:

http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?t=1083

There are some that have access to the exotic potting compounds, and if you have a vacuum bag system that's even better.

[Mike90250]

An aluminum panel covered with Lexan (which can sustain temp of up to 400 degrees) are good materials... what is wrong with it?

Where do you get that number of 400?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycarbonate lists upper working limit
of 130c / 266f and only FAIR Ultraviolet resistance

[philpaine]

Hi Bob

I don't know the cost of things in S Africa, or the rules and regulations regarding solar panels. My figures and comments are based on research of the US marketplace.

Cost of DIY
My ezine article http://ezinearticles.com/?Solar-Ener...els&id=3040384 gives a breakdown of the costs of a DIY solar panel, the bottom line being approx $180 for a 60 watt panel: $3 per watt. These costs are based on realistic prices from the Internet.

Cost of Factory Made Panels
As stated in my posting above, I have found 117 watt solar panels on eBay, with UL certification, for $220 in.shipping: $1.88 per watt. There were a number of other panels at around $2.60 per watt (UL certified).
You can also get solar panels wholesale with minimum order quantities of 2 panels - hunt around and depending on how many you buy this could work out at around $2.50 - $2.70 per watt.

UL Certification
In the US, if you want to connect your panels to the grid your panels will need to have UL certification.
The same is true if you want to avail yourself of the government incentives. This rules out DIY solar panels for most people in the US.

DIY Panel Issues
From what I understand, there that two main problems with DIY solar panels:
*fire risk - and if you make a claim your insurance company may be very reluctant to pay out on panels that don't have UL certification
*water vapour - unless you are able to encapsulate your cells effectively, water will get in and over time the panel will degrade. The drier your climate the longer it will take.

I agree it would be a great science project but still question whether it really makes any sense to make them yourself, certainly in the US it doesn't.

Kind regards

Phil

[fireofenergy]

Glass panels?

Of course, with DIY, got to start out small. I did so with leds, actually, Cree Q5, the most efficient light source available (to me anyways). I simply soldered ten .6A cells in series, and permanently sealed it with two pieces of 8 inch square glass and silicone. Years later, it still works. A little fog will accumulate but that goes away, perhaps I should throw in some of that silica "do not eat" stuff???

Wood will work, but only as a frame IF the encapsulated "product" can withstand warpage. Hopefully, my next experiments can withstand (with slight leeway).

Therefore, with aluminum frames, the main worry would be breakage (of the non tempered glass).

Now, (IF ONLY WE CAN GET TEMPERED GLASS FOR CHEAP, THEN) we would have the perfect DIY panel! Why, because, on e-bay, we can get 3.6 amp'ers for $1.50 apiece! That's like a dollar per watt and the satisfaction of being able to gradually build a larger setup.

I tried to read the scams about "DIY" but they suck because I asked a question and they simply try to steer me into their profit goals, They don't know where to get tempered glass and if you do, please let us all know!!!

Thanks

[Jason]

i always wondered if silica gel would help

Of course, with DIY, got to start out small. I did so with leds, actually, Cree Q5, the most efficient light source available (to me anyways). I simply soldered ten .6A cells in series, and permanently sealed it with two pieces of 8 inch square glass and silicone. Years later, it still works. A little fog will accumulate but that goes away, perhaps I should throw in some of that silica "do not eat" stuff???

Wood will work, but only as a frame IF the encapsulated "product" can withstand warpage. Hopefully, my next experiments can withstand (with slight leeway).

Therefore, with aluminum frames, the main worry would be breakage (of the non tempered glass).

Now, (IF ONLY WE CAN GET TEMPERED GLASS FOR CHEAP, THEN) we would have the perfect DIY panel! Why, because, on e-bay, we can get 3.6 amp'ers for $1.50 apiece! That's like a dollar per watt and the satisfaction of being able to gradually build a larger setup.

I tried to read the scams about "DIY" but they suck because I asked a question and they simply try to steer me into their profit goals, They don't know where to get tempered glass and if you do, please let us all know!!!

Thanks

[Mike90250]

i always wondered if silica gel would help

Only till it's saturated. If you use wood, I'd guess nearly any amount of silica gel would be saturated in a year.
You can buy it by the tubfull at craft stores, and regenerate it in an oven @ 250F

[fireofenergy]

If the cells are sealed in glass and silicone, would silica gel work "forever"?