How to Lower Electric Bills Through Solar Energy

Installing solar panels on your home can be done three different ways. The panels can be installed on your roof where they will be of the most use during the summer months when the sun is higher in the sky, and they can also be installed on the side of the house where they will be most useful in the winter when the sun is lower. Or, you can make your own portable solar generator, which can be used at any time to produce electrical power.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Solar panel
• Battery
• Insulated wire
• DC meter
• DC input
• Inverter box (if needed)

How to Lower Electric Bills Through Solar Energy

1. Buy a small solar panel at an RV or boating supplies store. Try to get one with a sixteen volt capacity. This eight x 24 inch device is capable of powering virtually anything in your home while remaining off-grid.

2. Purchase a battery for your solar energy generator. Do not buy a car battery as it will not have the capacity to do what you need it for. You need to buy a deep cycle 12 volt lead/acid or gel battery. That kind is designed for continual usage.

3. Compare prices on 12 volt DC meters. You can get these wherever you normally buy your electronics. Next, you'll need to buy a DC input. This is enough to power appliances such as fans, lights, vacuum cleaners and hair dryers. There are many electrical appliances that are DC already and if you use the right cable they will run straight off the box.

4. Running AC appliances will require you to buy an inverter box. This will convert the DC power in the battery into AC. Count up the number of watts you'll be using before you make your purchase, so you will know what size inverter to buy.

5. Attach the meter and DC input to the proper place on the box. Use insulated wire to connect the meter to the terminals on the battery. Connect the negative (-) pole first and make sure you only touch one wire at a time. Connect the DC inlet to the battery. Then you need to connect the solar panel itself to the battery using the same method.

Tips & Warnings

• Solar panels continue to collect light even on overcast days, so as long as there is daylight your solar generator should work.
• Be very careful when handling electrical wires and batteries. Use tools with rubber handles only.

Resources

• www.rain.org/~philfear/how2solar

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