Solar power for less than $500
Here are five ways to start using solar power without spending tens of thousands of dollars.
FUTURE'S SO BRIGHT: Residential solar power seems expensive to implement right now but here are some affordable ideas to get you started today. (Photo: Dept. of Energy/Flickr)) 
Comments
What about food production? This is probably the oldest use solar energy and something just about everyone can do.
Here in central Illinois a local inventor received some attention from the local press regarding his $200 solar collector for the home. The inventor was invited to my classroom and after doing a presentation to students in an Energy and Environment class was kind enough - and smart enough - to work with my class to build 2 of the 4' X 8' aluminum can-fueled collectors. After six weeks of cloudy weather we tested the 1st one on a sunny Thursday and over a six hour period in the sun the one we.... More
Just fill one gallon water bottles and set them in the window during the day and then move them into the room after sunset. The stored heat will radiate back into the room.
Each square meter of ground gets about 1 horsepower of solar energy (about 750 Watts). I sq m is about 1.2 sq yards. With a solar cell efficiency of 20% every sq yd (9 sq ft) of solar cells will collect about 125W in full sunshine.
So you'll need about 20 sq yds of solar cells to harvest 2.5Kw (when the sun shines and you have the optimum angle to the sun).
Last spring I built an inexpensive trellis along the west elevation of our Dallas home and planted bean vine along the bottom. By June, when the heat starts climbing in Texas, all the west exposure exterior walls are covered with vine... creating a scenic heat barrier on the brick veneer. The vine thrives all season long and blossoms with purple flowers. It dies off quickly in November after the first hard freeze and is easy to cut down and dispose of.
1st, I have been a preacher of cloths lines for decades. In Texas mid summer some items are dry before you finish hanging it. My line is in the shade because the sun can fade some colors.
I have one of those old homes with lots of windows (110 yo). I put heavy black fiberglass screen in the 13 windows on the south side on sheer rods under the curtains because the room was uncomfortably bright. On a cold sunny day this room will stay 3-4 degrees warmer than the rest of the house.
For recreation I have a wind-powered boat (sailboat), gets really good mileage. I also have my air-conditioning oak tree that shades my house until about noon, a south-facing foyer for solar heating, grape-vines on the west side-side to keep the wall cool, my wood-stove runs entirely on bio-fuel, and most importantly, my house is only 500 sq ft.
It is incredible how much light is eliminated in a room by lamp/fixture shades! The country could save $Billions in lighting expenses by using bare bulbs and/or shades engineered to block a minimum of light.
Is there a way to submit drawings of an easy to make, cheap solar device?
I do this for a living, Residential is about $8-10 per watt, commercial is down to $4-5 per watt. Certified Eneregy Manager
Burning lump charcoal is not only better for grilling and smoking, it's also carbon neutral as the wood it came from would eventually "rot'' giving off an almost equal amount of CO2.
Panels are lucky to get 20-30% of that during bright sunny days for about 6-8 hours per day. When the price of the panels hits 50 cents a watt, ($50 a 100watt panel) WITHOUT ANY GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY, I'll cover my roof with them. You can almost double the capacity of solar panels using mirrors to reflect more sunlight unto the panel.
Do you realize that gas/oil and coal companies get HUGE subsidies from the government, yet I bet you have electricity and a car you put gas in. What is the difference? Not to mention that coal and gas industry profit in the BILLIONS. Once more people buy into solar power the less subsidies will be needed.
Wholesale prices on 100 watt Chinese solar panels are right at $100.
$600 for a 60 watt system looks to me to me a bit of a ripoff. $10 a watt retail for a $100 product.
The cost of the panels is only a fraction of the cost of installing a solar power system. If you wanted 3 kw (about what you need to power a typical american home for a day), it'll take 30 panels. Then you need regulators and wiring that can handle that kind of power. Then you need a battery array... and a way to burn off the electricity when the batteries are fully charged (or connection to the grid to feed excess power to the grid). Then there's mounting infrastructure. Add to that the.... More
With a direct grid interconected set up, batteries are not needed and you supplement your energy needs with solar energy produced on site. With a UL listed inverter you can feed surplus energy not needed back into the grid and get a credit from the utility.
No You can't, in most areas.
The electrical companies do not buy back power at the same rate that they sell it., if at all. in most north American sites. You may be scammed
In Washington state the utilities are required to buy back extra electricity generated from solar panels. It is a big loss for the utilities, as we can generate electricity for $.02/kWh, and we have to pay the solar up to $.50/kWh. The state kicks in some money if the panels were manufactured within the state.
While we are at work and our house sits empty during the day our Solar Panels are generating 3kWh. Which I sell back to TXU for .075kWh. Then in the afternoon when I come home and the sun is down I buy back my energy from TXU for .105kWh. The electric companies get you no matter what you do.
A simple plywood box mounted in a window such that there is an intake section from the house with output back to the room. Southern and western exposure can be enough for the one room. The inside is painted black and the sun exposure side has tempered glass to allow the sun to hit the black inside. By using sheet foam insulation the heat is retained better and there need be no propulsion unit as the rising heat does it all.
Will definitely take a look at the first option for a pump house in need of some new energy source. Thanks.
I believe the technology already exists for solar power and electric companies are keeping it off the market. There is no reason a 2 foot by 8 foot panel is limited to 20 watts.
I agree... if every house in America was equipped with solar, where would they make they're money at? Now it's a battle of them wanting to hold their foot in the market, as opposed to Tesla's idea of free energy, which EVERYONE wants now and know it's possible. They overcharge on their rates anyways and make too many mistakes on the bills. I encourage the use of solar.
We all tire of Liberal Arts majors reading about something, and then blabbing about it. Learn a little of the technology and do the math. Then argue your point. Until then, it's just meaningless dribble.
I built a "Tesla type device" when I was a teen, before I had heard of him. In a area with strong RF signals in the air it is easy. The problem? Only very small amounts of power can be extracted. I used a simple 1N34 diode on a wide_band receiver to rectify the RF dropping the resultant across a series of resisters, tapping them to bias a transistor which amplified my tunable crystal set enough to power a speaker. Power to operate a home is not possible using simple Tesla technology.
I have seen pool owners run lengths of black pipe along their South facing fence to allow the early Spring sun to warm the water and open the pool earlier. There is no reason a similar setup wouldn't work to preheat water going into their house water heater.
maybe i'm stating the obvious, (in which case, sorry, just trying to help!), but this is only a good idea if you're not in a zone that freezes, otherwise you would easily bust a pipe. It works for a pool anywhere since you drain it before the freezing comes anyway.
You can do very effective pool heating in warm climates (Sunny) with black polyethylene pipe on the roof or ground.
Best in cooler climates is a heat pump , but for you folks in warm areas, the black pipe is a given.
Do not make it complicated and do not use automatic valves etc. Switch by hand.
Exactly, those pvc pipes have been tried out years ago, and found to work quite well.
"A system capable... will run into tens of thousands of dollars. This assumes you're a homeowner." Brilliant. Like I'm gonna spend tens of thousands of dollars on an apartment.
No. No. No. use polyethylene black pipe at a low circulation rate. will transfer heat and virtually never wear out. 0.5 to 1.0 gpm
You quoted that "This assumes you're a homeowner", then you criticized the article because you're an apartment renter. What the heck is your point?
Great article. Love the insight. And the comments
We owe it to mother earth
P.S. I just wrote one too Solar Cell Home
I have a very keen interest in this space.
In fact, I have recently posted an article that speaks to this.
Check it out here:
The Basics of Homemade Electricity
Thanks,
Bruce
I googled 99 cent solar panels to see what blue7053 might be talking about, and all I could come up with is the technology created at nanosolar. It's is a type of paint application of the photovoltaic cells, making it very cheap. It is currently being sold to POWER PLANTS, and I found no indication that a home installation or DIY version of the product was available. It is specifically being labeled as 99 cents/ watt though, so I think this might be where the mistaken info came.... More
i built a solar water heater and i love it, its really a pre heater that feeds solar heated water into my electric water heater.It saves me about $50 monthly on average.
Go to http://www.builditsolar.com for DIY solar projects that don't cost an arm and a leg. There is also the Beer Can Solar Heater (google it and Youtube it): materials cost around $300.
Where are these sold? Most are much much much more expensive, and none of that includes the charge controller, inverter, storage batteries, etc.
My dad's home was built in 1976-77 and used roof-mounted solar heater panels to provide warm water for the swimming pool.
Solar panels are selling for $.99 cents a watt:
(1) 3 panels are enough to run your lights, TV, fans, chargers, (2) about one of your fuse blocks; just run things one at a time.
(3) a 12 volt solar pump to circulate water through your solar water heater (2 coils of PVC hose, $40)
(4) a tank in the basement filled with water and rocks (circulate air through it in the summer (air conditioning)
(5) again in the winter (heating) Goggle: Seasonal Energy Storage
(6) window.... More
Only if you have sun light and tracking panels that follow it all day. Clouds stop all solar panel charging.
They will still produce some charge even with ambient light. I personally have 8 KW of high efficient Sanyo panels. Whether cloudy or when the sun has completely passed by them they still produce some electric. I can see it on the meter and on the software installed to monitor the system
Only if you have sun light and tracking panels that follow it all day. Clouds stop all solar panel charging.
I was at Costco today and saw each of the items listed here on sale there. Is there any relationship between the author and that august and entirely above reproach institution?
Search Youtube for pop can solar, all you need to know how to build collectors for room heating. One using gutters with the cans tested out an out put of over 200 degrees F with full sun, fall temps. Free heat!
How about simple solar heaters either on the outside of the home and ducted inside or installed in windows facing the South? Last year I had heaters in 5 of my 7 south facing windows. The help a lot! I have not settled on a design but have a couple that are strong.
First is a 4 or 5 inch deep box that stands as tall as will fit in your window and about as wide. Plywood back, Inside of box painted black, some kind of defusers to disrupt the air flow and a clear plastic face. You put a.... More
I have done something similar with mine. The downside is I live in an area that doesn't get a lot of sun. However, I have found the tube versions of the panels to work the best. The curve of the tube(s) allows for more exposed surface area in a given space. Also, a small fan to help move the air vs relying on convective air movement helps too.
Great list of different ways you can tap into solar for less than $500, but one thing you left off your list is leasing or renting a home solar system. I work at SunRun, the nation's largest home solar financing company, and the way we work is that we own and maintain your home solar system, and you simply pay for the solar electricity. We install and buy your system, so you can get solar for as low as $0 (we operate in CA, AZ, CO, MA, and NJ currently), and we also take complete care of your.... More
