Home Solar Power
DIY Solar Panels

To spare you months of research, I have carefully reviewed every guide available on DIY solar panels and wind energy generators. And there are dozens that claim to show you how to do-it-yourself... After a close examination of each of these do-it yourself manuals, I chose the top three products to present here with my comments.  I hope you find it helpful. #1 Home Made Energy In our opinion this is the best product if you're interested in going green and saving money on your power bill. Building solar panels or a windmill to produce electricity will do just that. The instructions are very straight forward, easy to understand and to  follow. I really like the simplicity of this guide. It is clear, and quite complete. It  leaves no stone unturned. If your interest is to find simply the best guide for building DIY solar panels and wind energy generators, then look no further. You have found the perfect instruction manual for the project. Click Here To Get To The Home Made Energy Website #2 DIY Power System This product is our #2 choice only because it goes beyond our original topic. It covers not only solar and wind generators, but also how to build your own batteries to store the electricity and even covers building or designing your own solar home. Everything is clearly explained and you can start putting this guide to use immediately. If you want to go beyond building renewable energy generators to building batteries, making biofuel (for your car) or even building a solar home, this is a great product. Although this product is a bit more expensive, it delivers tremendous value for the price. It's highly recommended. Click Here To Get To The DIY Power System Website #3 Earth 4 Energy Earth4Energy is a very, very  popular product and for good reason: it gives great instructions for building solar and wind generators PLUS batteries. Although we are very comfortable recommending this product, it is not as comprehensive as "DIY Power System".  Also I feel that the "Earth 4 Energy" guide does lack the detail of "Home Made Energy" guide. Others might say it is simply less complicated. Although Earth4Energy is rated #3, It is a fine product and you can't go wrong with it. Click Here To Get To The Earth 4 Energy Website So there you have it; the three very best instruction manuals for DIY solar panels and wind power generators.  If by any chance you are feeling more confused than enlightened, I suggest you go with Home Made Energy.  That’s why it is #1.

Bob Cahill is a consumate researcher.  After a career as a public school teacher of 23 years, followed by 18 years as a computer trainer, work in direct sales, and investment management, his persistant intellectual curiousity lead him to work as a freelance writer, researcher and internet entrepreneur. Bob holds two degrees in education and one in computer science.   He lives near St. Louis. Phone number available on request.   green@GoCheckItOutNow.com ___________ I found the schematics and diagrams to be very clearly illustrated inside Home Made Energy and the instructions are very easy to follow. Most importantly, I was able to get the systems working and I am very pleased with the whole  Home Made Energy system.                         source: solar power forum I have spent a few hundred dollars on 4 different DIY solar panel kits. I did find one that was real good ... The name is Energy For Green. I have also purchased a lot of solar books off of amazon but none were as good as. this one.                         source: solar power forum

What Are the Basics of Solar Power for homes?

 Solar power is an alternative energy source with tremendous economic and environmental benefits. If you’re considering it for your home, here are the basics.

Let the Sun Shine In

 The boon of solar power is that it is a free source of energy. Historically, the cost of capturing and maintaining solar power was not inexpensive, but this has changed dramatically in the last ten years. Systems are now much more efficient, with the total cost usually involved in the purchase and installation. Depending on the system, there is nearly no maintenance cost and most systems have a 40 or 50 year life span. Not bad, eh?

 Going solar is also more attractive now because of laws passed by numerous states. At the outset, those who own their own homes can get a rebate of taxes for going solar. On top of this, more than half of the states now mandate a concept known as “net metering.”

 Net metering is all about saving considerable cash on your power bill. For all intents and purposes, you are now allowed to “sell” energy back to the utility companies at the same price they charge you. With solar power, this means you can simply feed your system into the utility grid during the day and then use regular energy at night. Since your utility meter runs backwards, this effectively means you will radically reduce, if not do away with, your power bills. This process alone can save you thousands of dollars a year and $40,000 to $100,000 over the life of the system, depending on your typical monthly bills. With such savings, you can see why solar energy is becoming more attractive.

 When it comes to solar energy, the question is not whether you should use it. The real question is why you aren’t using it already!

Financing Solar Power for Homes Photovoltaics


Although competition has driven down the cost of a home solar system, the initial investment associated with installing a solar energy system in homes can still be a concern initially. Fortunately for all, the mortgage industry wants to help.

{If you are considering improving your home with a solar panel system or the hot new thin solar roofing systems, you will need to learn three little letters - E…E…M. EEM stands for energy efficient mortgage. {It also stands for avoiding out of pocket costs to improve your home with photovoltaics.

{Energy efficient mortgages came to be because of a nudge from the government of lenders in an effort to promote the use of solar energy as a power source. Put another way, the government told lenders to do it and do it now. So, what exactly is an energy efficient mortgage? Glad you asked.

An energy efficient mortgage is a loan that allows you to incorporate the cost of your solar improvements into your mortgage loan. The improvements can cost up to 15 percent of the total value of your home. With an EEM, The lender will calculate the energy savings for you home because of the new solar system and will add that to the total loan value, letting you borrow more than normal. In other words, it doesn’t matter how much equity you currently have in your home}, the solar financing is added on top of the loan. This, of course, lets you get a solar system while significantly reducing the initial cost plus you will also recover a good chunk of the cost through an increased mortgage interest deduction. Throw in tax credits, rebates and net metering incentives, and the cost of solar energy for homes is getting quite competitive with traditional energy sources if you know how to work the system.

You can get energy efficient mortgages for new construction of for existing homes. The can be issued for single family residents, duplexes, condos and so on. 

Can Going Green Actually Save You Money?

Clearly energy prices are going up and up. . The good news is that now using solar power can save your bank account, particularly with the new financial incentives becoming available.

Personal Tax Credit and Deductions

If anything is more worrisome than exploding energy costs, it’s your taxes. New and established government programs let you better handle both by going solar. The first method is by simply saving money on taxes. If you install solar panels on your home you will receive a tax credit from the federal government, of up to $2,000.

With a tax credit the amount of tax you owe is reduced dollar for dollar, unlike deductions where the amount is simply subtracted from the amount you must pay taxes on or your gross income. More than 50% of states now also offer tax credits you can use when paying state taxes. Each state handles the matter differently, but you can expect to get either a credit for a fixed dollar or in many cases, a percentage of your installation cost.

Net Metering

The concept of net metering has resulted in ever increasing sales for the solar energy industry. Net metering refers to state laws that require utilities to purchase power generated from your residential solar system at the same price the utilities would otherwise charge you for electricity. In effect, net metering lets you use the utility company a way to store the energy you produce for a later time if you don’t need to use it when it is created.

For instance, while you are at work during the day, your solar system sends energy to the utility and your power meter actually runs backwards. Then when you come home at night and use power, the power meter runs forward. This means that net metering will either seriously slash or completely eliminate your utility bill.

With solar panel systems having a life of 40 years, think how much money you’ll save! While currently a majority of states have net metering laws, some others do not. You will want to check if your state does.

You will save even more if you choose to build and install the solar panels yourself using one of the many instruction manuals available. See http://homesolarpower.gocheckitoutnow.com

Property Tax Incentives

We all hate paying property taxes, however many states now provide exemptions, exclusions or credits for homes with solar power. Each state may handle this somewhat differently, so you will want to investigate the potential savings in yours.

Rebate Programs

In order to encourage the use of solar energy, rebate programs are offered to those who own their own home by the federal and state government, and by utilities. Again, the characteristics of such programs vary considerably, but typically come in the form of rebates ranging from a couple hundred bucks to $4,000 or more.

With your utility bills going through the roof, now is the time to consider the steps you can take to save money. The economic benefits of going solar have never been greater--which makes now the time to convert.

Bob Cahill is an freelance writer and internet entrepreneur.  For more information on Home Solar Power check out http://HomeSolarPower.GoCheckItOutNOW.com