How to Make a Basic Home Solar Setup
Setting up a basic home solar system on your own can help you save money that you would otherwise be spending on hiring professional services for the job. Just about any homeowner can install one of the many do-it-yourself solar kits now on the market. A solar calculator (see Resources) will help you determine the number of solar panels you need for solar-powering your home. The risky part of the project is wiring solar panels to the inverter, and only a qualified electrician should perform this task. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Solar panel kit
- Stud finder
- Chalk
- Drill
- Lag bolts
- Roofing nails
- DC-to-AC inverter
Instructions
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Purchase a solar panel kit. The kit consists of solar panels along with other equipment required for installing your panels on your rooftop, such as mounting devices and roofing nails. Options for purchasing solar kits include Amazon.com, Solarhome.org, and Spheralsolar.com.
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Decide the location for the solar panels. Pick a spot that gets maximum sunlight to ensure maximum utility of solar panels. Also, make sure there aren't any obstructions hindering the flow of sunlight to the panels.
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Figure out the places where roof rafters are installed. Use a stud finder for this task. Installing the panels to the rafters will secure them firmly to your roof.
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Mark the spot on the rafters where the mounting device is to be fastened. You may use a chalk for this purpose.
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Pre-drill holes into the marked points on the rafters. Pre-drilling the holes prevents rafters from splitting due to faulty drilling.
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Insert roofing nails into the pre-drilled holes to secure the mounting device to the roof.
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Attach the solar panels to the mounting device. First, attach rails to the mounts and fasten the panels alongside these rails with the help of steel bolts.
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Have an electrician connect the panels to a solar inverter inside your house. The electrician will first wire the panels together. A conduit is then run from the panels to the inverter. An inverter converts direct current from panels to alternating current used by home appliances.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Solar image by Thomas Leiss from Fotolia.com
