Imagine a beautiful summer day. The sky is blue, the sun is shining, and the only cloud in the sky is in the form of your latest utility bill which seems to only be going up…

How can you deal with this problem? Maybe you need to take advantage of potential energy displaced by the sun. Here are some tips on building cheap solar panels for your home.

Most of the tools needed to build your own solar panels can be found in your workshop or garage. The basics include a hammer, saw, screw drivers, a knife, and soldering iron.

The materials list for our cheap solar panels is a bit longer, but may also include stuff you already have laying around the house. Many people have some timber for the panel framing and mounting. Add to this list some screws and you are ready to rock!

It is easy to find inexpensive pre tabbed photovoltaic cells online and the wiring to connect them. With glue, solder and flux, plastic sheeting to cover up the lid of the housing in addition to stopping current reversal by blocking diodes, the project is well on the way.

The next step is a coffee/beer break. Its time to make some panel mounting decisions. Here is a recommendation: a southward facing slope at 30 degrees that is free of natural pests and shade is the way to go. It needs to be easy to wire to the area you end up choosing. Eventually, these wires will connect the cheap solar panels to strong batteries.

Ready to stop reading and start building? This DIY guide is all you need to assemble quality solar panels – on the cheap!

It should be mentioned that at least a weekend be dedicated to this process. Clear a spot in the house that is clean and dust free. This is pretty much just an assembly project – putting things on a 6×6 back board.

After the cells tabs are joined with wire and the blocking diodes are hooked up, it is time to connect the unit to the storage battery and cover it with a plastic lid. The whole thing then needs to be sealed with silicone grouting.

If you want to make your panel(s) super efficient, you should paint the entire housing black – not the lid though! Remember to apply plenty of insulation to the rear of the housing before mounting it on a roof.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help when it comes to mounting your cheap solar panels. Although the thing may not be really heavy, it is awkward to swing around on a roof top by yourself.

If this sounds like too much for your DIY skills, then perhaps you should purchase a kit set or even an entire working unit. It is a good idea to check out the work of others who have gone down similar tracks, or at least see a functioning unit in action.

The main goal of this cheap solar panels project is to provide you with the means of generating your own power. This should be fun, and will give you a strong advantage in a world with unreliable grid power system.

Pumped to start working on your own panels? I suggest hecking out DIY  Solar for all the info you need to build your own solar energy panels!

Tags: cheap solar panels, energy efficient house, small solar panels, solar panels for electricity