An easy, cheap way to start out in solar is by putting in solar lighting in your yard. For about $20 you can get a solar light with a variety of mounting options. Some solar light kits come with a built-in stake so that all you have to do is to stick it in the ground.

Most solar power light kits are one-piece. The PV module is on top of the light itself. You just put it in the ground where it gets lots of sun during the day and you are good to go.

The solar power light kit you choose should not blink or change colors if you are looking for background lighting. The best location for the spotlight variety are around porches, driveways, and walk ways. These are areas where people will be walking. I have even seen a light placed near a garbage can so that it is no longer necessary to flip the light switch anymore when taking the trash out at night.

You can also get solar power lights that are connected to motion detectors.

A word of warning: avoid the cheap solar power lights. You know it's cheap if the housing of the light is made out of flimsy plastic. These lights cost less but they don't last for very long. Aluminum is good. Heavy black plastic is good. You can tell if a solar light kit is good by how much it costs, avoid the really cheap ones. The good quality ones go for about $60 for 6 matching solar lights.

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This article will teach you the basics of solar power for producing your own electricity.

It is easy to confuse solar power for the production of electricity, with solar to produce heat. They are different topics. Solar power uses photovoltaic cells to produce electricity called solar panels or PV panels. These panels release electricity when sunlight strikes them. In contrast, a solar heater uses the sun to actually heat water or air flowing through it and it has nothing to do with electricity and PV panels.

Solar panels are pointed at solar south in the northern hemisphere and solar north in the southern hemisphere. Solar north and solar south are a little different than magnetic compass north and south.

The sun strikes the PV panels which creates an eletrical charge which is directed to the output terminals which product DC (direct current) somewhere between 6 and 24 volts depending on the solar panels. Most solar panels are set to output 12 volts.

The total amount of solar power produced by your system is based on what is called Peak Sun Hours. Peak Sun Hours represent the average amount of sun available per day throughout the year for your specific locality.

It is estimated that at "peak sun", 1000 W/m² of power reaches the surface of the earth. One hour of full sun provides 1000 Wh per m² = 1 kWh/m² - representing the solar energy received in one hour on a cloudless summer day on a one-square meter surface directed towards the sun.

The daily average of Peak Sun Hours is used for calculation purposes in the design of the system. To see the average Peak Sun Hours for your area in the United States, go to the solar power calculator at http://www.mysolarsecret.com/solar-power-calculator.html and select the city nearest you under the wording "Select the city nearest you for the number of hours per day of sun" about half way down the page. Follow your eyes across the webpage to the box on the right side of the screen to see the Peak Sun Hours for your area.

Components You Will Need In Your Solar Power System

The four primary components for producing electricity using solar power, which provides common 120 volt AC power for daily use are: Solar panels, charge controller, battery and inverter. Solar panels charge the battery, and the charge regulator insures proper charging of the battery. The battery provides DC voltage to the inverter, and the inverter converts the DC voltage to normal AC voltage.

Solar Panels

The output of a solar panel is usually stated in watts, and the wattage is determined by multiplying the rated voltage by the rated amperage. The formula for wattage is VOLTS times AMPS equals WATTS. So for example, a 12 volt 60 watt solar panel measuring about 20 X 44 inches has a rated voltage of 17.1 and a rated 3.5 amperage.

V x A = W
17.1 volts times 3.5 amps equals 60 watts

If an average of 6 hours of peak sun per day is available in an area, then the above solar panel can produce an average 360 watt hours of power per day; 60w times 6 hrs. = 360 watt-hours. Since the intensity of sunlight contacting the solar panel varies throughout the day, we use the term "peak sun hours" as a method to smooth out the variations into a daily average. Early morning and late-in-the-day sunlight produces less power than the mid-day sun. Naturally, cloudy days will produce less power than bright sunny days as well. When planning a system your geographical area is rated in average peak sun hours per day based on yearly sun data. Average peak sun hours for various geographical areas is listed on the solar power calculator webpage at http://www.mysolarsecret.com/solar-power-calculator.html

Solar Panels For Sale

25 Watt Folding Solar Panel

15 watt Solar Panel

10 WATT SOLAR PANEL FRAMED

15 WATT SOLAR PANEL FRAMED

25 WATT SOLAR PANEL FRAMED

Solar Panel 18-Watt 12-Volt Deep-Cycle Battery Charger

Solar 18-Watt 12-Volt Charger

13 Watt General Purpose Solar Module

Bird-X - SOLPAN2-CRTTR - CritterBlaster Pro Solar Power Panel Accessory - Black - 37 L x 15 W in.

ROOF/GABLE SOLAR PANEL (Ventamatic VXSOLARPANEL)

Sunsei SE-16000 Solar 260-Watt 16.5-Volt Charger

Sunsei SE-24000 Solar 400-Watt 16.5-Volt Charger

Sunsei SE-4000 Solar 65-Watt 16.5-Volt Charger

Sunforce 15-watt Solar Charger with 7-amp Charge Controller

60 Watt Solar Panel with 7 Amp Charge Controller, Model# 37015

10 Watt Black Frame Mono-crystalline Solar Panel and Battery Charger

20 Watt Black Frame Mono-crystalline Solar Panel and Battery Charger

40 Watt Black Frame Mono-crystalline Solar Panel and Battery Charger

Learn About Wiring Solar Panels And Batteries

There are three types of wiring configurations that are relatively easy to learn. Once mastered, the job of wiring batteries or solar modules becomes easy as pie. The three configurations are:

Series wiring
Parallel wiring
And a combination of the two known simply as series/parallel wiring.

Solar panels can be wired in series or in parallel to increase voltage or amperage respectively, and they can be wired both in series and in parallel to increase both volts and amps. Series wiring refers to connecting the positive terminal of one panel to the negative terminal of another. The resulting outer positive and negative terminals will produce voltage the sum of the two panels, but the amperage stays the same as one panel. So three 12 volt/3.5 amp panels wired in series produces 36 volts at 3.5 amps. Four of these wired in series would produce 48 volts at 3.5 amps.

Wiring Solar Panels In Series

To wire any device in series you must connect the positive terminal of one device to the negative terminal of the next device.

Wiring Solar Panels In Parallel

Parallel wiring refers to connecting positive terminals to positive terminals and negative to negative. The result is that voltage stays the same, but amperage becomes the sum of the number of panels. So three 12 volt/3.5 amp panels wired in parallel would produce 12 volts at 10.5 amps. Four panels would produce 12 volts at 14 amps.

Wiring Solar Panels In Series and Parallel

Series/parallel wiring refers to doing both of the above - increasing volts and amps to achieve the desired voltage as in 24 or 48 volt systems.

You might be asking why in the world would someone want to put them self through wiring both in series and in parallel? Let's say that you want to increase the Amp hour rating of a battery pack so that you could run your appliances longer but you needed to wire the pack in such a way as to keep the battery pack at 12 volts, or you want to increase the charging capacity of your solar array but you needed to wire the solar modules in such a way as to keep the solar array at 34 volts, well, series/parallel wiring is the only way to do that.

Charge Controller

A charge controller monitors the battery's state-of-charge to insure that when the battery needs charge-current it gets it, and also protects the battery from being over-charged. Connecting a solar panel to a battery without a regulator seriously risks damaging the battery and can cause a hazard.

Charge controllers (or often called charge regulator) are rated based on the amount of amperage they can process from a solar array. If a controller is rated at 20 amps it means that you can connect up to 20 amps of solar panel output current to this one controller. The most advanced charge controllers utilize a charging principal referred to as Pulse-Width-Modulation (PWM) - which insures the most efficient battery charging and extends the life of the battery. Even more advanced controllers also include Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) which maximizes the amount of current going into the battery from the solar array by lowering the panel's output voltage, which increases the charging amps to the battery - because if a panel can produce 60 watts with 17.2 volts and 3.5 amps, then if the voltage is lowered to say 14 volts then the amperage increases to 4.28 (14v X 4.28 amps = 60 watts) resulting in a 19% increase in charging amps for this example.

Many charge controllers also offer Low Voltage Disconnect (LVD) and Battery Temperature Compensation (BTC) as an optional feature. The LVD feature permits connecting loads to the LVD terminals which are then voltage sensitive. If the battery voltage drops too far the loads are disconnected - preventing potential damage to both the battery and the loads. BTC adjusts the charge rate based on the temperature of the battery since batteries are sensitive to temperature variations above and below about 75 F degrees.

Charge Controllers For Sale

Solar Charge Controller for solar/wind generator/Wind Turbine - 45 amps

Solar Charge Controller for solar/wind generators - 60 amps

Solar Controller 12-Volt Battery Charge Monitor

10 Amp Solar Charge Controller

15-watt Solar Charger with 7-amp Charge Controller

4.5 amp 12 volt Solar Charge Controller Regulator by Morningstar

4 Amp solar charge controller - CDT-C4 regulator 12V #35004

20 Amp Solar Charge Controller with Digital Display

Sunsei SE-CC25000 25 Amp Solar Charge Controller

60 Watt Solar Panel with 7 Amp Charge Controller, Model# 37015

Sunforce Digital Charge Controller - 10 Amp, Model# 600311

Xantrex Charge Controller for DC Charging Sources - 40 Amp, Model# C40

Xantrex Charge Controller for DC Charging Sources - 35 Amp, Model# C35

Xantrex Charge Controller for DC Charging Sources - 60 Amp, Model# C60

I hope you are well on your way to designing your own homemade solar power system from reading this article. If you need additional help in the form of an easy, step-by-step guide on exactly what parts you need to buy and how to connect the parts together see the top two solar panel how to guides that I reviewed at http://www.mysolarsecret.com

Battery

The Deep Cycle batteries used are designed to be discharged and then re-charged hundreds or thousands of times. These batteries are rated in Amp Hours (ah) - usually at 20 hours and 100 hours. Amp hours refers to the amount of current - in amps - which can be supplied by the battery over the period of hours. For example, a 350ah battery could supply 17.5 continuous amps over 20 hours or 35 continuous amps for 10 hours. To quickly express the total watts potentially available in a 6 volt 360ah battery; 360ah times the nominal 6 volts equals 2160 watts or 2.16kWh (kilowatt-hours). Like solar panels, batteries are wired in series and/or parallel to increase voltage to the desired level and increase amp hours.

The battery should have sufficient amp hour capacity to supply needed power during the longest expected period "no sun" or extremely cloudy conditions. A lead-acid battery should be sized at least 20% larger than this amount. If there is a source of back-up power, such as a standby generator along with a battery charger, the battery bank does not have to be sized for worst case weather conditions.

The size of the battery bank required will depend on the storage capacity required, the maximum discharge rate, the maximum charge rate, and the minimum temperature at which the batteries will be used. During planning, all of these factors are looked at, and the one requiring the largest capacity will dictate the battery size.

Deep Cycle Batteries For Sale

Basement Watchdog Deep Cycle Battery (30HDC140S)

Glen Tronics B-1000 Standby Deep Cycle Battery

Glen Tronics B-2200 Standby Deep Cycle Battery

MK Deep Cycle Gel Cell 12 Volt Battery for Backup Sump Pumps

Powerstar 12V 33AH Group U1 Deep Cycle Sealed Battery

Optima Blue Top D34M High-Power Deep-Cycle Battery (870CA)

Optima Dual Post 750 CCA Deep Cycle Marine Battery

Inverter

An inverter is a device which changes DC power stored in a battery to standard 120/240 VAC electricity (also referred to as 110/220). Most solar power systems generate DC current which is stored in batteries. Nearly all lighting, appliances, motors, etc., are designed to use ac power, so it takes an inverter to make the switch from battery-stored DC to standard power (120 VAC, 60 Hz).

In an inverter, direct current (DC) is switched back and forth to produce alternating current (AC). Then it is transformed, filtered, stepped, etc. to get it to an acceptable output waveform. The more processing, the cleaner and quieter the output, but the lower the efficiency of the conversion. The goal becomes to produce a waveform that is acceptable to all loads without sacrificing too much power into the conversion process.

Inverters come in two basic output designs - sine wave and modified sine wave. Most 120VAC devices can use the modified sine wave, but there are some notable exceptions. Devices such as laser printers which use triacs and/or silicon controlled rectifiers are damaged when provided mod-sine wave power. Motors and power supplies usually run warmer and less efficiently on mod-sine wave power. Some things, like fans, amplifiers, and cheap fluorescent lights, give off an audible buzz on modified sine wave power. However, modified sine wave inverters make the conversion from DC to AC very efficiently. They are relatively inexpensive, and many of the electrical devices we use every day work fine on them.

Sine wave inverters can virtually operate anything. Your utility company provides sine wave power, so a sine wave inverter is equal to or even better than utility supplied power. A sine wave inverter can "clean up" utility or generator supplied power because of its internal processing.

Inverters are made with various internal features and many permit external equipment interface. Common internal features are internal battery chargers which can rapidly charge batteries when an AC source such as a generator or utility power is connected to the inverter's INPUT terminals. Auto-transfer switching is also a common internal feature which enables switching from either one AC source to another and/or from utility power to inverter power for designated loads. Battery temperature compensation, internal relays to control loads, automatic remote generator starting/stopping and many other programmable features are available.

Most inverters produce 120VAC, but can be equipped with a step-up transformer to produce 120/240VAC. Some inverters can be series or parallel "stacked-interfaced" to produce 120/240VAC or to increase the available amperage.

Inverters For Sale

Xantrex Technologies 851-0400 XPower Plus 400-Watt Inverter

Xantrex Technologies 851-0178 XPower 175-Watt Micro Inverter

Cobra CPI 475 400 Watt Power Inverter

Jensen JP30 300 Watt Power Inverter

Duracell DC to AC Pocket Power Source Inverter 175 Watt #813-0291-07

Cobra CPI 1575 3000 Watt 12 Volt DC to 120 Volt AC Power Inverter

Cobra CPI 875 1600 Watt 12 Volt DC to 120 Volt AC Power Inverter

Xantrex Technologies 851-0700 XPower Plus 700-Watt Inverter

Belkin F5C400-300W 2 Outlet Dc/Ac Inverter

Vector VEC024BCA 400-Watt Inverter with Case

XANTREX XPOWER POWERSOURCE MOBILE 100 852-0281

Xantrex Technologies 852-0400 XPower PowerSource 400-Watt Portable Inverter

Xantrex Technologies 852-2071 Xpower AC/DC Powerpack Solar With 400 Watt Inverter, Two AC Outlets, USB Port, And Digital Display

Xantrex Technologies 851-0401 XPower Plus 400-Watt Inverter

Tripp Lite PV375 PV 375W 12V DC to AC Portable Inverter with DC Auto Power Outlet

Tripp Lite PV150 PV 150W 12V DC to AC Portable Inverter with DC Auto Power Outlet

Duracell 852-0281-07 DC to AC 100 Watt Inverter & 4.0 Amp/Hour Lithium Ion Mobile Power Source

Cobra CPI 2575 5000 Watt 12 Volt DC to 120 Volt AC Power Inverter

Solar #PI4000X - 400 W Power inverter

I hope you are well on your way to designing your own homemade solar power system from reading this article. If you need additional help in the form of an easy, step-by-step guide on exactly what parts you need to buy and how to connect the parts together see the top two solar panel how to guides that I reviewed at http://www.mysolarsecret.com

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Hi everyone. I live in Dallas Texas. I am planning to purchase a new home. I was wondering what are the best energy efficient options I should ask the builder for? Have you done anything yourself? What worked for you that didn't cost you very much? What should be my focus: solar or ventilation?

The windows in the family room are huge. What is the best way to block out the sun and the Texas heat?

The builder was trying to get me to add a Tech Shield radium sheet to the roof because he says it will reflect heat and therefore save on my monthly electric bill. Has anyone tried this before and do they really work?

There are a ton of ways you can save energy with your new home. Probably the biggest way is to modify your windows. Heat gets into or out of your house through the windows. Ask the builder what type of windows are available; if they have low-E coating; are Argon filled; are double, triple, or quadruple paned. The more panes of glass, the more energy is absorbed. After you purchase, you should get them coated with a tint. You should also buy heavy drapes and keep them closed during the day. These steps will go a long way towards keeping the heat out (or in).

The next best thing you can do is to install solar panels. If you pay to have it done, it will probably cost you about $50,000. I recommend a do it yourself home solar approach. Basically this approach is to build one solar panel at a time and gradually get your home using more and more electricity from the sun. This is a good scale up approach. Each solar panel, deep cycle battery, controller, and inverter will cost you about $200. So when you have an extra $200, you say okay, I'm going to make my wash machine run on solar power this month. The best book that you can find that gives you easy, step by step instructions on how to do this is here: Do It Yourself Home Solar

The next best thing you can do is to install a wind turbine. Texas has some pretty good winds and so this will help. The solar power book mentioned above also has a chapter on how to build a wind turbine for your home for about $150.

Next, a well insulated home will go a long way towards saving money on your monthly electricity bill. Ask the builder how many inches of insulation were put in the attic and in the walls. The number you want to hear is at least 6 inches. If it is not too late, have the builder put 10 - 12 inches in the attic. Also, ask for roof fans installed to vent the hot air from the attic to the outside. These roof fans are really cheap and easy to install and will make a huge difference in cooling off your house.

Finally, have a programmable thermostat installed. This will help you money off your monthly electricity bill. You can program it to turn the air off at 8:00 am when you leave for work, and then turn it back on around 4:00 pm before you get home. You can also adjust the temperature so that at 1:00 am while you sleep, it turns the temperature down to 72 degrees.

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Just when you thought things couldn't get any more stupid in solar power, the solar power ice maker comes out.

Take a look at this picture.

Notice how proud these San Jose State University students are with big grins on their faces: the result of a lame professor no doubt praising these students for creating the most stupid thing in solar power this year.

The San Jose State University is pushing this as an alternative to refrigeration and say that it can be used if you happen to be somewhere off of the electrical grid, like in the developing world or in a disaster zone.

First of all, look at the stupid curve shaped mirror in the front. That will blind anyone walking in front of it (notice how the 3 guys are standing out of the way of the terrible reflection while the guy up close is ducked down under the focal point of the reflected light beam). So if you think you can stand behind this thing and push it, think again, you rugged, off of the electrical grid dude who lives in the developing world.

Often disaster zones still have strong winds blowing and debris flying through the air. Strong winds will blow this thing right over and debris would shatter the glass mirror causing harmful glass projectiles to fly outward.

Also, in a disaster zone thousands of people are going to be pushing up against you with outreached hands trying to get your ice. People are going to be falling all over this thing. For one, anyone falling on the big mirror will probably break it. Worse, you still need to hook this thing up to a water source, it's not a self contained unit like most solar devices are. So while people are starving of thirst, you are wasting what limited supply of water there is by pumping it through this ice maker than can only produce ice at a rate of 14 pounds a day, or less than 2 pounds per hour. Basically what this amounts to is saying to the starving of thirst man, "I don't have any water for your now but when I do have water for you it will be on the rocks!"

If something isn't good enough to be used in the U.S., why do Universities always opt for throwing it to the developing world? At this rate, I can see it now, a protest at the UN with people holding signs that say, "U.S. Don't Give Me Your Trash, Just Give Me Cash."

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I am doing a class project. My project is to design solar panels that follow the sun for our robot. I was wondering if someone could tell me the easiest way to accomplish this.

What you need sounds like a solar tracking system. You need a large flat panel that tilts and then you put the solar panels on top of this panel. Now the easiest way to get the panel to track the movement of the sun is just to put the flat panel that tilts on a timed motor. So the sun moves across the sky from east to west. So you time the motor to run, say 12 times a day, once an hour. Each hour the motor turns on and runs for just a few seconds. When the motor runs, it tilts the solar panels a little (a certain degree) to follow the sun.

Check out this video on a manual solar panel tilt mechanism. It might give you some ideas for your class project.

Duration : 0:1:30

Read the rest of this entry »

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I want to buy or build a tricyle that is solar powered. I don't need to go very long distances, but without a car, it's difficult. I want a tricycle because I want to add one of those bike carseats for my 6 year old to ride with me and I thought it would be better balanced and safer if the seat was mounted in between the two back wheels instead of me trying to balance us two on these Georgia hills.

I want Solar power to give me a little kick on the road for at least a mile or two when I choose.

What do you think? Any tips, ideas, or facts to give me? Do you know how I would go about doing this without paying as much as a used car?

Serious answers only! Thanks in advance!

The one EV car I currently have (have 2 vehicles that run on hydrogen also) I converted from a vw bug and is free to charge. As I live completely off the grid all my electricity comes from solar panels and 2 wind generators, which I also built.

However I did charge up at Costco in Carlsbad California (I actually only drove up there to fill up) if I remember right it was around $2.00

Not sure if you’re interesting in doing it yourself, but I’d be willing to walk you step by step threw the conversion. I've converted 3 of my own cars (a datsun truck, ford ban, and a vw bug) and a few for neighbors. I've also converted cars to run on hydrogen, ethanol and biodiesel, by far EV is the easiest.

If you’re interested here’s what it would entitle…

- The engine compartment is first cleaned out of any gasoline components.
- Electric components are then installed in exchange.
- A battery bank is built and incorporated.
- Existing starter and driving systems are connected.
- Turn the key, step on the gas pedal sending more energy to the electric motor, & thus more power to the drive system, which in return creates more speed, more acceleration.
- The system has normal automotive top speeds and acceleration, typical to the vehicle your modifying. If your top speed was 85 mph and your acceleration was 1 mile per min, then this will be what your left with after the conversion.

The methods are extremely simple, making the process possible for anyone, everyone, ANYWHERE.

Typical tools, hardware & supplies are used, making access to parts available for all.

Electric Conversions can be easily accomplished in ANY model vehicle, even tractors, Generators, types of machinery, etc.

Project lengths range from 1 day to 1 month.
If you’re interested I wrote a guide on it which is available at www agua-luna com

My last EV conversion ran me about $1400. Everything is available online. I have a how to do it yourself guide available at www agua-luna com that will walk you step by step through the process. If you have ANY questions feel free to contact me through the site. Here’s a list of what you'd need...

Advanced DC Motor
The motor is an 8" Advanced DC series-wound motor. It weighs 107 pounds and is rated at 68 peak horsepower. These motors are available in several sizes.

Adaptor plate
The adaptor plate mates the motor to the transmission. It is constructed of 1/2 inch aluminum and is pre-drilled with bolt hole patterns for both the motor and transmission. An aluminum spacer is also used for proper spacing between the shafts of the transmission and motor. Adaptor plates are available for many cars.

DC Motor Controller
The controller regulates current going to the motor. It is a solid-state device that uses a pulse width modulator (PWM) that sends short bursts of current to the motor at a rate of 15 kHz. Controllers are available from both Curtis and DCP.

Potbox (Potentiometer)
The potbox is a 5K ohm throttle between the controller and the accelerator, similar to the way a sewing machine pedal works. The potbox's lever arm is attached to the existing accelerator cable.

Main Contactor
An electric relay that serves the same purpose as the ignition switch in a gas car. When the key is turned to the start position, the contactor closes the circuit to allow current to flow to the controller.

Circuit Breaker
A safety device that shuts down power for servicing or during an emergency. The circuit breaker is installed under the hood and can be switched both off and on from the drivers seat with an extension or cable.

Main Fuse
The main fuse protect the system from high voltage spikes. A fuse should be installed at each battery box or group of batteries.

Shunt
A shunt is placed in series within the wiring as a means to connect meters. Shunts are available in different sizes for both high and low power configurations.

Charger interlock
A relay that keeps the circuit open so nobody will inadvertantly drive off with the charge cord plugged into the car.

DC/DC Converter
The DC/DC converter is similar in function to a gas car's alternator. It charges the 12 volt accessory battery by chopping voltage from the main battery pack down to 13.5 volts.

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I would like to get started and gradually add to my system until I am off the grid!

It's tricky, because you actually want to be on the grid.

The reason is that one of the ways solar works economically is that you sell your excess power back to the electric company when you don't need it. "Off-grid" systems are significantly more expensive, used only by people who physically can't connect without running expensive wires.

There are two really good guides out that will walk you through how to do this. To compare both guides, go to http://www.mysolarsecret.com

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Does someone know the website i could look at.

Before you even think about the cost, learn all you can about solar systems. There is good info on the Internet, and at the webpage http://www.mysolarsecret.com. Sometimes contractors will put on seminars (of course hoping to grab your business and charge you $10,000).

The best deal I've seen on a do it yourself solar system is being able to do it for under $200 which is what the guides at the webpage I gave you above teach you to do. Building and installing a good solar system is not that hard. It might be good for you, and maybe not. I spent a year finding out what would be best for me, and I am glad I did. One can make costly mistakes going into it too soon.

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