How to Set Up Home Solar Power

How you set up home solar power depends upon your energy needs. Replacing power hogs such as clothing dryers, electric heaters and electric stoves with propane appliances and wood heat will radically economize your solar needs and resulting start-up cost. Retail installation of a home solar system would cost tens of thousands of dollars. By minimizing, you can do it yourself for less than a thousand dollars.

Things You'll Need

• Solar panel BP 75 watt
• Four golf cart batteries (6VDC 220amp/hours each)
• Charge controller, industrial rated for 16 amps for additional solar panels
• 350 watt power inverter
• Digital multimeter or voltmeter
• Hand-held drill
• 7 feet of 1-inch aluminum
• 1-inch screws with matching washers and nuts

Instructions

Home Solar Power

1. Locate a new or used solar panel with at least a 75-watt capacity.

2. Wire four 6VDC 220/amp hour golf cart batteries parallel to each other with large insulated cable wires by stripping the end of the wires and wrapping them around the battery terminals--positive to positive, negative to negative--creating a battery bank with 440 amp-hours of storage, enough to handle a minimal load in a small house or cabin.

3. Connect the solar panel to an industrial 16-amp charge controller by splicing the wires from the solar panel and wrapping them around the input terminal of the charge controller.

4. Connect the positive outlet of a 350-watt power inverter to the negative terminal of the battery bank by splicing the main wire no more than 6 feet in length and wrapping it around the positive outlet on the inverter and the negative terminal of the battery bank.

5. Connect the solar panel to the battery bank by splicing a #10 Romex insulated cable wire and wrapping it around the main positive terminal of the battery and also the main cable to the solar panel.

6. Connect the positive DC outlet of the charge controller to the main positive terminal of the battery bank by splicing a cable wire and wrapping it around the positive DC charge controller outlet and the the main positive terminal of the battery bank.

7. Connect the positive outlet of the multimeter or voltmeter to the main positive terminal of the battery bank by splicing insulated wire and wrapping it around the positive outlet of the meter and the positive terminal of the battery bank.

Solar Panel Mount

1. Cut four pieces of 1-inch aluminum into a frame the same size as the solar panel.

2. Bolt together the four pieces of aluminum into what resembles a picture frame exactly the same size as the solar panel by screwing holes into the aluminum at the ends and bolting them together with 1-inch screws and matching washers and nuts.

3. Attach four 4-inch hinges in a row on one of longer sides of the frame mount by drilling holes into the frame and bolting on one half of each hinge equally spaced the length of the longer side with 1-inch screws.

4. Screw or nail in two two-by-fours four feet in length onto the roof parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ground. These supports should be spaced apart equally in distance the same length as the short side of the solar panel.

5. Mount the solar panel to the aluminum mount frame by drilling holes at the four most remote edges of the solar panel, being especially careful not to contact the solar cells. Secure the solar panel to the aluminum frame with 1-inch screws.

6. Secure the solar panel and mount onto the roof by screwing the four hinges on the mount to the two-by-four support on the same side as the hinges. The hinges allow for the panel to be adjusted seasonally for optimum radiation exposure. When the panel is raised, it will need a piece of aluminum or wood to support it in a raised position.

Tips & Warnings

• Try eBay or Craigslist to find a used solar panel.

• Use insulated wire.

• Keep trees and bushes trimmed away from the solar panel to avoid blocking the sun.

• Appliances can be plugged directly into the power inverter, or you can wire the power inverter to an AC breaker panel, which is more complex.

• You can increase energy input by adding more batteries and solar panels to the system.

• Use correctly sized and insulated cables and wires to prevent overheating and inefficient transfer of energy.

References

• Make Your Own Solar Panels and Save Money
• Ward's Cheap Solar Power System
• Build Your Own Solar Panel

Resources

• Free Sun Power
• Homemade Solar Panels