solar electric energy
When a friend of mine started talking to me about his idea of building a solar power kit for his home I laughed. I knew he didn’t have the know-how to get that done. Heck, he could barely change the furnace filter (just kidding). The more we talked about it the more intrigued I became.
His big plan was to build his own solar panels to power some of the stuff in his garage. He was thinking along the lines of powering the garage lights, a fan, and maybe even some small power tools. When I asked him how much it was going to cost to get that done he wasn’t too sure.
We did some shopping around and found the kits you could buy at the store were pretty expensive. I knew we didn’t want to spend that kind of money. Next we decided to start searching the internet for some solar power kits. Sure, there were some ready made kits you basically just had to plug in. We were looking for something we could build ourselves without spending too much money.
We found several guides you could purchase online that would walk you through the entire process from what solar panels were, to what you would need to buy, and finally how to actually assemble our own and get them hooked up. It didn’t seem too hard with the two of us working on it.
We finally settled on one of the guides and surprisingly enough it was fairly easy to get it all built. All told we were able to build a nice solar panel for under $190. It wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world but it worked! We were pretty stoked at what we had created. Here we were powering the workbench lights and a fan with a solar power kit we had built with our own two hands. The wives were actually impressed with what we had accomplished.Â
In the span of a couple of days we had built our own solar power kit and were actually successfully using it. And the kicker is, none of the power we were using was coming from the electric company. It was totally self sustainable. That is pretty cool. Of course we immediately started looking at the bigger picture. Yep, we could really reduce our electric bill by a significant amount, even up to a 50% savings if we kept at it.
We are proud that our do it yourself solar power kit is reducing our family’s monthly expenses. We are also proud that we’re doing a small part to reduce our impact on the environment. It has been a rewarding experience for all of us and has inspired some of our neighbors to see what changes they can make.Â
With the economy the way it is today, any reduction in our monthly expenses is welcome relief. We’re glad we found a solar panel guide that was easy to follow and produced real results.
Derrek Buttron is an Internet Marketer and IT Consultant who’s passions include helping people, spending time with family, good food, the mountains and recently solar power kits and saving on energy bills.
Solar Power Kits
Alternative Solar Energy Mountain Cabin Project
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True Induction Energy Efficient Single Burner Induction Cooktop (P3D)
$149.99 Try induction cooking today risk-free for 60 days! Read more http://wdbmedia.com/TRUE-INDUCTION/DOCUMENTS/True-Confidence-in-True-Induction.pdf TRUE Induction is energy efficient portable induction cooking that offers the prefect union of sleek design and advanced technology. With quick response times, even heating and instant heat adjustments-TRUE Induction offers a state of the art cooking exper... |
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P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor
$29.99 Empowers You to Save Hundreds on Electric Bills Electricity bills are rising. Now you can cut down on costs and find out what appliances are actually worth keeping plugged in. Simply connect these appliances to the Kill A Watt, and it will assess how efficient they really are. The large LCD display counts consumption by the kilowatt-hour, the same as your local utility. You can calculate your elec... |
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Westek SLC6CFL 100W Programmable Screw-In Light Control, White
$6.50 Adds safety security and convenience. Programmable off-timer from 2,5,8 hours random off timer deters intruders. Contact plunger allows adjustment of sensor window direction for optimum performance. Works with incandescent and compact fluorescent bulb. Digital microprocessor for full brightness and no flicker operation. Turn lights on at dusk and off at programmed time.... |
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Aube by Honeywell TI033/U 7-Day Programmable Timer Switch, White
$23.00 2400-watt programmable timer features 7 different programmable sequences. Don't come home to a dark house. Program your lights to turn on automatically at specific times with the Aube 7-Day, 2400W Timer, an attractive high-capacity programmable timer that works with motors as well as all types of lighting, including electronic ballasts, compact fluorescent lights and tungsten lights up to 5A. U... |
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Who Killed the Electric Car?
$8.70 It begins with a solemn funeral…for a car. By the end of Chris Paine's lively and informative documentary, the idea doesn't seem quite so strange. As narrator Martin Sheen notes, "They were quiet and fast, produced no exhaust and ran without gasoline." Paine proceeds to show how this unique vehicle came into being and why General Motors ended up reclaiming its once-prized creation less than a... |
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A Complete Guide to the Installation of Off-Grid PV Solar Power Systems
$55.00 This DVD set is a 4 hour, 16 chapter comprehensive course on the installation of Off-Grid photovoltaic solar power electric systems. It is designed to take the complete beginner to full competency. The course is taught by Bob Nagy who is the teacher in over 40 videos on high-tech subjects. Bob's bio includes 20 years at the University of Texas, ABC TV, and NASA. His clear and friendly style bri... |
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The Evolution of Light Bulbs: Light Of Your Life (1950s) [DVD]
$9.99 Light of Your Life shows the role of light bulbs in the lives of everyday people and covers the evolution of light bulbs through time. The film starts with Nancy and an animated miniature professor from a light bulb who lectures her about the significance of light bulbs. The professor gives a lecture on the development of light bulbs, its parts like coils and filament inside and how these parts br... |
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ReVIVE Series Solar ReStore External Battery Pack with Universal USB Charging Port for Portable Smartphones / E-readers / MP3 Players and More USB Powered Devices
$27.99 Portable Extended Battery Charge Pack This easy-to-use, multi-functional charger let's you take charging on-the-go. It's equipped with a universal USB charging port & a powerful internal backup battery that stores backup power for when you are away from outlets. Charge it up by the power of the Sun, USB or an AC outlet to provide a full-charge to most mobile devices. It's also designed with a conv... |
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PowerCost Monitor TM
$99.99 As unobtrusive as a small electric clock, the PowerCost MonitorTM is a powerful real-time direct feedback display device that measures home electricity usage. It tells at a glance, in real-time, how much electricity your home is using in dollars and cents and in kW. Domestic energy use studies have demonstrated that real-time feedback yields energy savings anywhere between 10 and 20 percent. The ... |
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Goal Zero Elite Nomad 7-Watt Mono-Crystalline Solar Panel W/ Usb Combo W/ Rock-Out Speakers
$83.99 Rock Out charges directly from Nomad 7 or USB in 4 hours. mad 7 charges your cell phone in 1 - 2 hours. Rock Out charges directly from Nomad 7 or USB in 4 hours. What's in the Box: 1 x Nomad 7 Solar Panel, 1 x Rock Out Portable Speaker, 1 x USB to mini-USB cord, 1 x Chaining Cord, 1 x 12V cigarette adapter .... |
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New Solar Comfort Metal Infrared Electric Space Heater
$0 Heat your home with an energy efficient New Solar Comfort Metal infrared electric space heaterHouseware item offers metal finishHeater features thermostat |
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Solar Electricity Basics (Paperback)
$10.26 The future will be powered by renewables. As we transition away from finite and polluting fossil fuels, clean, reliable, and affordable renewable technologies such as solar electricity will become the mainstay of our energy supply.  |
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Solar Technology (Hardcover)
$57.65 Description not available. |
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Grid Integration and Dynamic Impact of Solar and Wind Energy (Hardcover)
$107.99 Grid Integration and Dynamic Impact of Solar and Wind Energy details the integration of solar and wind energy resources to the electric grid worldwide. The book includes detailed coverage of the power converters and control used in interfacing solar ph... |
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Got Sun? Go Solar (Paperback)
$12.82 This straight-talking book cuts through the green energy hype and explains how grid-connected homeowners can be smart about their energy future. Solar and wind-generated electricity, solar water heating, passive solar techniques and geothermal heating/... |
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Photovoltaics Design And Installation Manual (Paperback)
$31.61 Producing electricity from the sun using photovoltaic (PV) systems has become a major industry worldwide. But designing, installing and maintaining such systems requires knowledge and training, and there have been few easily accessible, compreh... |
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Solar Energy (Hardcover)
$18.48 "Describes the many uses and powers of the Sun`s energy - weather patterns, creating electricity, and more. As readers use scientific inquiry to learn about how to capture and use the power of solar energy, an activity based on real world situations ch... |
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Optimisation of Photovoltaic Power Systems (Hardcover)
$107.99 Photovoltaic generation is one of the cleanest forms of energy conversion available. One of the advantages offered by solar energy is its potential to provide sustainable electricity in areas not served by the conventional power grid. Optimisation of ... |
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Solar Collectors (Hardcover)
$149.62 Engineers report on various aspects of devices designed to harness the energy in sunlight for various purposes, with no particular emphasis on generating electricity. Among the discussions are a discrete-time adaptive scheme for temperature control in ... |
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Harnessing Power from the Sun
$8.86 Describes the different ways that energy from the sun can be harnessed to make electricity, and explains the advantages and disadvantages of using solar energy. |
