At our house, we’ve been kicking around the idea of using solar energy. We live in a great location for it, with lots of sunshine and really long summer days. But it turns out that solar energy setups are a little more complicated that I first thought. I should know better, but I was hoping you could just put some solar energy panels on the roof and hook up the power. But as it turns out, things are never quite that simple.
So that brought up this question. There are lots of instructional guides and books available on putting together a solar power system at home. The sales pages for these books claim that anyone can do it for just a few dollars, but that you will eventually save thousands. Are these guides for real?
If you’re willing to overlook the grandiose claims of the authors for many of these guides, then you can probably get some decent information out of them. It will cost you more than just a few dollars to go solar, and it might be several years before you break even on the cost. However, if you like the idea of going “off the grid”–even just a little bit–then solar power is very appealing and you may find it to be worth the effort.
Here’s the process in a nutshell: you need to find solar panels at a discount price. Usually these can be found online. They may have been used, but still have plenty of useful life left. Sometimes you can strike a great deal on slightly damaged panels that are still powerful enough for a home system. And yes, it’s even possible to build your own from scratch.
Once you have the panels, the rest of the bits can be bought in sections. Again, there’s no need to wear yourself out driving around town and coming up empty-handed. Online shopping is definitely the way to go when it comes to items like these.
Will you be able to generate so much solar power you start selling it back to the local utility? Probably not. But it will be a satisfying project in self-reliance, and you’ll definitely learn some good lessons about going green on a budget.
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