Key Takeaways
To most of us , solar powerstill seems like a thing of the time to come . Yeah , we love some people live off the grid with them , and some kinfolk can afford to line their roofs and wake their pools with them . Not most of us .
But it turn out that you may generate real , usable solar power in your very own home ( or wherever ) , and it ’ll be you less than $ 300 . What ’s the catch ? Oh , nothing . You just have to build the generator yourself .
And however am I supposed to do that , you might necessitate ? Well , by watch over this handy 8 tone guide fromrain.org , of course .
Get quick for solar superpower .
Building Your Very Own Solar Power Generator in 8 Easy Steps
FromRain.org
1. Buy Yourself a Small Solar Panel
For about $ 100 you should be able to get one rat at 12 volts or better ( look for 16 volts ) at an RV or maritime supplies store or from Greenbatteries Store .
2. Buy Yourself a Battery
We recommend rechargeable batteries from these green companies : Greenbatteries Store and Batteries.com . Get any size of it deep cycle 12 V lead / back breaker or gel battery . You need the deep bike battery for continuous use . The kind in your car is a crank up battery — just for starting an engine . Look for bargains , the cheapest ones should cost about $ 50 - 60 .
3. Get a battery box to put it in for $10.
( This is estimable for covering up the exposed terminals in case there are children about If you live on to deploy the system in a pump shed , cabin , or sauceboat , skip this . ) Buy a 12 volt DC meter . Radio Shack has them for about $ 25 .
4. Buy a DC input.
I like the triple inlet good example which you may find at a cable car parts store in the cigarette swooning function department for about $ 10 . This is enough to power DC appliances , and there are many commercially available , like fans , one - dry pint water boilers , lights , tomentum dryers , baby bottle warmers , and vacuity cleaners . Many cassette players , answer machine , and other electrical gismo are DC already and with the good cable will run direct off the boxful .
5. Invest in an Inverter.
If you want to lam AC appliances , you will have to indue in an inverter . This will convert the stored DC power in the battery into AC power for most of your household appliances . I bought a 115 volt 140 watt inverter made by top executive - to - Go at Pep Boys for $ 50 . Count up the number of watt you ’ll be using ( for instance , a pocket-sized vividness television(=60 watts ) with a VCR(=22 watts ) , you ’ll need 82 Isaac Watts ) . A variety of cheap inverter from 100 watts to 3000 watts can be had fromLane ’s Professional Car Products . Type " inverters " into his search bar .
6. Attach meter and DC input.
Use a Mandrillus leucophaeus to sequester the metre and DC stimulus to the top of the box .
7. Use insulated Wire to Attach the Meter to the Wingnut Terminals on the Battery.
Connect the negatively charged ( - ) pole first . Only cover one conducting wire at a sentence . join the DC inlet to the battery in the same fashion . colligate the solar venire to the assault and battery in the same path .
8. Close the Lid
I employ a bungee cord electric cord to keep it besotted . Put the solar panel in the sun . It direct 5 - 8 hours to charge a idle electric battery ; 1 - 3 time of day to top off a imperfect one . It will tend receiving set , fan , and modest electrical power lights all night , or give you about 5 hour of continuous use at 115 volt AC , or about an hour boiling water . This system may be tot up on to with larger panels , inverters , and batteries .
That ’s quite a project that ’ll kill an idle Sunday afternoon — and power a expert deal of your electrical equipment . And save you a crew of money . felicitous solar edifice .
For more info on specifics , and how best to operate the system , head over toRain.org .
