How to Build a Solar Panel 10 Steps to an Easy Solar Power System Installation

From preliminary research to getting your first solar rebate check from your electric company the path is laid out here. The following is a step by step process to a pain free and cost effective Solar System Installation.

1. Determine your historical energy use from your past electric bills. Pay attention to the difference between Summer and Winter power usage.

2. Determine your roof area available for Photovoltaic Panels. These Solar Panels mounted on your roof or ground contain the Photovoltaic (PV) cells which convert sunlight into DC power. South facing surface areas are best but seasonal variations in sun exposure allow for a variety of Solar Panel placements to be used. Also, new technology allows for sun "tracking" or programmed mechanical moving of the solar panels to maximize sun exposure during the day and across all seasons of the year.

3. Contact a licensed and aproved Solar Installation Contractor(s) in your area to perform an on-site consultation. Your contractors will know all the current solar technologies available and how to take advantage of all possible Federal, State, and possibly local solar tax rebates, grants, etc.

4. The Solar Installation Contractor will determine best location for your Photovoltaic Panels and best Inverters to use for the size of the Solar System. Location of solar panels can vary as can type of panels. Inverters (which convert the solar panel current from DC to usable AC current) need to be chosen based on best size and type for the system as does the Production Meter (explained below). The power from the Solar Panels are sent to an Inverter (or power converter) which converts the DC electricity from the solar modules to AC power, which is the same type of power being sent from your utility company to your home or business. 5. Discuss all costs for various solar electric system options and installation timing with your Solar Installation Contractor to finalize all variables. Once all is decided upon it is the time to sign the contract with your Solar Installation Contractor.

6. Your Solar Installation Contractor will submit applications to your electric utility and begin paperwork with all possible Federal, State, and possibly local tax rebates, grants, etc., to save you the maximum money possible.

7. You will then sign an agreement with your electric utility. This is called a Net Metering Agreement and states that the power utility will credit your account for the excess power you produce which flows to the power grid. Also an important consideration is the use of a Meter Monitor. This will allow you to be given credit for power you generate at different rates. These rates can be Peak and Off Peak Rates. These rates are dependent on time of day you produce power, day of the week, and month of the year. Peak Rates are often summer afternoon week days. If you send power to the power grid during peak times of the day, you will get credit at the higher, peak rate. When you gain credit and then draw on your credit at Off Peak periods your account will be debited at Off Peak rates. If all of the electricity being generated by your solar energy system is immediately being used, your meter will not "spin backwards".

8. Your Solar Installer will generate designs and pull all permits needed and, when you are ready, will install your solar system. Once completely installed your County or City will inspect the system to insure compliance of your system and insure you are elligible for the Solar Tax Rebates and / or benefits you have applied for.

9. You Utility Company will be Sending you your Solar Rebate Check 6 to 8 Weeks after Inspection of System.

10. Enjoy decades of environmentally friendly and maintenance-free electricity solar power while adding value to your home! Give yourself a "good job" for saving money AND the planet.
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how to build a solar panel for electricity: how to build a solar panel generator

how to build a solar panel for electricity: how to build a solar panel generator

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How to Build Solar Panel for Electricity Cooking Using an Easy Box Solar Cooker

I don't remember for sure exactly how this project got started but I was over at Brad and Gina Shaw's house here in Cotahuasi, Peru, where we work as missionaries. Brad was talking about trying to make solar cookers to help the people here. One of our church members was looking for a new burro to replace his mother's burro that had died. She needed the burro to haul firewood for cooking. Because Cotahuasi is a large village and a majority of people still use wood cooking fires, the nearby sources of firewood have been depleted. It takes her a full day every week to go and get a week's worth of firewood. Without a burro, for more details visit to www.chow-chows-secrets.com she would have to go oftener and bring back less wood each time; only what she could carry on her back. Our area usually gets eight to nine months of sunshine a year so solar seems like a good option for a supplemental cooking source. Brad also mentioned the need for more fuel-efficient wood stoves, rather than just a fire on the ground with three stones to support the pot.

Brad had seen a large parabolic solar cooker in Tomepampa, a village about 20 minutes away. He suggested we go look at it so we hopped in the car and went right away. The cooker wasn't at the home where he had previously seen it, but they told us where it currently was and we were able to go and look at it. It was about five feet in diameter, for more details visit to www.cooking-groundbeef.com made of shiny sheet metal attached to a framework of angle iron and a parabolic dish made of one-inch wide metal bars. We were told that it cooked quite rapidly and worked well, so we took measurements and lots of pictures to guide us in making one. However we knew it wouldn't be an immediate solution to the mother's problem because the shiny metal wasn't available here in Cotahuasi.

That evening I did some research on the Web to learn as much as possible about solar cookers and hopefully find some plans for building one. I did see a photo of one that looked very similar to the one we saw, but there were no plans for making it. One of the best sites I found was that of Solar Cookers International, based in Sacramento, CA. Their website is included below; they have many different types of cookers and the plans to make them available as downloadable PDF files. I was anxious to make one right away, rather than waiting until after my next trip to Arequipa where I could hopefully find the materials for the large one we had looked at.

They had smaller parabolic ones, some of them using an umbrella for the parabolic form; others required building your own out of cardboard or wood. The plans that caught my eye were for a box cooker, lined on the inside with aluminum foil and using a piece of glass on top to trap the heat inside of the box. That appeared to be the easiest to build with the limited materials I had available, especially as I could see a large box on a pile of stuff on the other side of the room from where I was sitting at the computer. I excitedly went through the list of materials to see what else was needed. I soon found a big problem; I didn't have any aluminum foil. They didn't recommend using glass mirrors, which I knew I could get in Cotahuasi, and aluminum foil wasn't available. The mission of Solar Cookers International is to promote solar cooking in third world and developing nations, where many people are still dependent on wood fires. The plans had a section on substitute materials that could be used in areas that don't have access to all of the normally used items. Instead of aluminum foil, it said that aluminized polyester film (Mylar??) could be used, although I didn't notice the warning until after I had built the cooker. It said not to use it on the inside of a box cooker because it could melt and give off fumes, but neither of those has been a problem.
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