Do-it-yourself solar power projects can help you spend less on energy, and help you reduce your household’s carbon emissions. Even better, the projects are not expensive at all. You’ll spend a small amount of money to make something that will help you save a lot on energy bills. You must choose the right project that will be most beneficial for you in terms of time, effort and money you’ll spend on it.
There are different types of do-it-yourself solar projects you can choose from. Be sure to pick the one that will meet your needs.
In the solar thermal category, you can choose among home solar power ideas, solar space heating, solar water heating, passive solar cooling, sunspaces, greenhouses, and solar pool heating. These projects will help you use the sun’s energy to heat your home and/or your water supply.
Passive solar power set-ups in the home make your living area more energy-efficient. You could do this along with a solar heating project, especially if you live in a place where the winters are cold. Solar space heating is more cost-effective as compared with solar electric systems.
But if your location is off the grid, you could also try your hand at do-it-yourself solar electric projects. You can make a simple PV solar system that can power your water pump and other electronic devices. You might also want to combine this with wind and hydro systems.
Then, there are the do-it-yourself solar cooking projects. Solar cooking is the safest, simplest, and most convenient method of cooking your food without using of fossil fuels or conventional electricity sources, and without producing unwarranted heat in your kitchen. Solar cookers are not just for cooking. They can also heat water for your household, preserve fruits and tomatoes, sanitize utensils and dishes, and kill insects in grains. These are just a few of the ways solar ovens and cookers can help your household.
Whatever your particular circumstances, you should be able to find DIY solar power projects that will suit your requirements. There are tons to choose from – solar powered lighting, water pumping, conservation, solar space heating, home solar power, solar water heating, greenhouses, passive solar cooling techniques, solar pool heating, solar electricity, solar cooking, solar drying, and even solar vehicles. The level of expertise required for these projects can range from novice to professional. You can also pick up DIY kits from stores but some projects can be made from thing you commonly find at home.
Have you ever done a do-it-yourself solar power project? What was it, and how did it benefit you?
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I am currently trying to get a project off the ground by doing all the work myself, but I am not finding the information in this area very trustworthy. I would be much more trusting of people who are providing the information for free but most want you to buy eBooks.
Anyway. My aim is to get my laptop running on solar. I’d imagine that could be easily attainable. I think I will wait till I get a new MacBook, which runs on the same power as 1/4 of a 60 watt light bulb.
@David – You might find that the most comprehensive information on the subject is what is sold. I personally never insist that anyone do everything for free and or that they never charge for something which takes work to provide or produce – people do have to earn a living and pay their bills and if they spent all of their time doing things for free they would go broke, unless they have some extra source of income. I am sure you can imagine if someone insisted that you do all of your work (whatever your job or career is) for free and never earn an income from it. You can get free samples at an ice cream shop, but if you want a whole ice cream cone you usually buy one. You will have a hard time finding an icecream shop which only gives free samples and doesn’t sell any ice cream cones.
What’s more, the eBooks which people sell on this subject are fully refundable and you can get your money back immediately if you aren’t happy with them. This process takes about 3 minutes. This means that the vendor of the eBook extends trust to his customers that they will only refund the item if they truly find it unhelpful. It is far easier for the customer to take advantage of the vendor than vice versa.
On this blog, there are DIY solar power projects you can try and experiment, and you can see how they work out. The information is provided for free; you don’t have to buy anything to try them. There are of course no guarantees involved, and if you do try something and feel you have useful and constructive feedback on how it went, we would be happy to publish it here for the benefit of other visitors.
I’ve never done a solar power project but I’d like that, because I try to be eco friendly in all areas of my life, although it usually means some more work (recycling etc..). I’ll take a look on the projects on this site. I like the solar window option, might give it a try one day..