Archive for January, 2010

Sunforce 50044 60-Watt Solar Charging Kit
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If you want to have solar power housing, you will have to either invest the money to have someone set up the system for you or you build the system yourself. It is possible to do that since the modern technology allows us to do many things on solar power.

There are many areas in the world that electricity is not available or the electricity is too expensive. You can use solar power as your alternative electricity source. It is clean energy and sun light will always be there. What you need is some upfront investment and some time if you want to make solar power for your house yourself.

The system can be bought from reputable companies within several thousand dollars. That can be an expensive investment and many may not want to do that. Alternatively, you can do your own home-built solar power. What you need for building your own solar power are some of the parts.

You will need solar panels or solar cells. You can get from the stores or you can buy online. This is the most expensive part of the system. You will also need charge controller. 12 Volt DC battery is also used as one of the important parts and lastly you will need an inverter. The inverter is used to convert the DC power to AC power.

These are simple systems that you can utilize to have your own solar power house. You can go for expensive way or you can go for an economical way but you will have to spend some time on it. You will have to source out where to find the parts and take some time to assemble them. With the right guide, you can do that without much problem.

Build your own solar power within the cost of 300 US $ and save a lot of money on electricity bills.

Check out Home Solar Power

If you want to have alternative energy by making your own electricity, you will need to learn the basics by knowing how many choices you have. It is possible to make your own electricity with the modern technology. Actually, some of the techniques used can be both economical and effective. We will discuss some of the choices available including:

- You can use electricity from batteries to replace some of the electricity you need. There are many types of battery that you can use. They can come with various voltages. It may be less expensive than what you are paying now. But using batteries requires some investment. You can check out if how many spots you need to use batteries and see how much you need to spend.

- You can use solar power for your home. It is now one of the most discussed energy sources. The energy is environmental friendly and easy to use. In addition, it is free to get this energy. However, you will need some upfront investment to buy the system. The initial investment can be several thousand dollars depending on how many voltages you plan to use.

- You can build your own solar system. With the right guide, you can acquire the ready-made panels and set up the system yourself. This is similar to the previous choice but is more economical. If your house is not too big, you can use this method to save your money.

- You can use your own electricity generator. In some occasion, you can use the generator which uses gasoline. Although this may not be cost effective, it can be used as emergency electricity source for home.

You still have many choices when it comes to electricity. The article lists some of the choices that can help you make your own electricity.

Tired of high electricity bills?

Learn now how to build your own solar system and save money.

5 Watt DIY Solar Trickle Charger Kit
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If you are thinking of applying solar power to your home, you may want to try it small first. One of the trials can be from using simple DIY solar panel kits. The Do-It-Yourself solar panels can give you experience in using solar energy before you go for a bigger scale of using this green energy for home.

You can go to a hardware store near your home and get one of these DIY solar panel kits. Alternatively, you can find many of them online. Normally, the products come in many watts to choose. The most standard one is 5 watt kit. It can be used to have your own solar trickle charger to maintain 12 V batteries.

It is perfect for keeping your RV, boat, ATV battery topped off when in storage or not in use. You can get wire, alligator clips, male lighter plug and female lighter socket along with the kit. In addition, you can use this solar panel to charge your cell phones, Ipods, Iphones, PDA or other small devices.

If you want to charge larger devices for example laptops or other PC devices, you will need to use 10 watt solar panel. The concept is the same but you will need to pay a little more.

Normally this DIY solar panel kit comes in a compact package. The dimension of the 5 watt kit is 7”x 11” x 7”. You can carry it around and have it installed wherever you want.

You may not be thrilled with this type of solar kit. However, it is a good first step to get to know sola power. In the near future, you will be able to apply the whole concept to your home and save significant amount of money on your electricity bills.

Want to apply solar power for your home right now? You can save a lot of money on your electricity bills.

Check out Home Solar Power

Manufacturer: Alpha
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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Solar Power for your Home, 2nd Edition
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The perfect source for solar power—fully illustrated.

Solar Power (photovoltaics) is now a one-billion-dollar industry, and it’s poised to grow rapidly in the near future as more pressure is placed on limited fossil fuel resources and as advances in solar technology drive down the costs of residential solar systems. This book helps readers understand the basics of solar power and other renewable energy sources, explore whether solar power makes sense for them, what their options are, and what’s involved with installing various on and off-grid systems.

—Fully illustrated
—Covers every conceivable solar-power topic and concern, including updated information on the increasing number of state rebate and incentive programs

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  • ISBN13: 9781592576432
  • Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
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Solar
 
Review Date: May 18, 2007
Reviewer: Diego Martinez, Colorado, USA
This is a great book on solar, lots of great references. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in solar. Its a bit lean on actually installing a solar power system on your home. But It is very adequate for anyone interested in having someone install solar on their home.
Great guide, saved me a lot of money...
 
Review Date: February 9, 2009
Reviewer: Ryan Barnhart, Cincinnati, OH USA
...because it basically talked me out of converting my house to solar power. I'll convert eventually, or better yet build a solar home from scratch. But using the information in this guide I discovered that the electricity rates in the Midwest make solar or wind power pretty unattractive in 2009. This guide also helped me to reduce my energy bill, and has paid for itself time and time again. Highly recommended.
Not Just for Idiots!
 
Review Date: June 12, 2008
Reviewer: Kenneth Clive, Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
The title is disparaging but the contents are excellent! Anyone considering attempting to learn about Solar Power should read this book. It has an excellent chart for determining what you should consider before you start your project. It is written in easy to understand language that a lay person can easily understand. I highly recommend it.
To be fair...(REVISED - I HAVE READ IT...same...2 stars)
 
Review Date: May 1, 2008
Reviewer: A. Evangelista, Chicago (Naperville), IL
Sept 08, 2008 Revision: After borrrowing this book from a friend to read it thoroughly, I still give it 2 stars BUT...
- the book is fairly thorough, concise, and comprehensive in its coverage of residential solar. It does cover nearly every introductory topic and question a home owner new to solar energy might ask.
- it goes into topics such as the history of solar, developments past present and future, batteries, Do-It-Yourself issues and concerns, inverter operation and general info, identifying and hiring a contractor, inspection issues, brief mention of the NEC (Natl Electric Code), federal and state solar incentives, and so much more.
And it does this in a very few short pages - don't let the 336 pages fool you. The meat of the book is actually in less than 200 pages of writing.

Given that it covers nearly ALL the topics in one book - in ONE PLACE - in a VERY QUICK read of 200+ pages - FOR LESS THAN $15.00, I actually give this 5 STARS for VALUE AND TIME well spent. (If you have ANY technical background, you'll cover the entire book in one night of reading.) But why 2 stars then? Well, if you are serious about installing solar, after reading this book you will come to realize that you still need to know so much more. Inevitably, you WILL have to talk to your municipal inspector, spend some time researching solar contractors, and quite a bit of time understanding the requirements of the incentives offered by your utility/city/state/federal govt - in all, that's at least another 10-24 hours of research, discussion, and reading. A book costing 2-3 times as much with much more detail might therefore be more beneficial. Or simply following the FREE links, as I originally espoused below, might still be the best approach since either way it is going to take time to understand it all - but only if you really are serious about installing residential solar. Otherwise, if you simply want to gain enough insights to evaluate solar, and determine its prospects for your home and situation, then this is a very good book for you.

BTW, this book is very similar to the other "Dummies" Book - "Solar Power Your Home For Dummies (For Dummies Series)".

ORIGINAL REVIEW COMMENTS ON MAY 1, 2008: To be fair, I have not read this book. Why 5 stars? The book is a for-profit venture by the author, so recovery of time, effort, & energy is important for revenue reasons. So why write this review? After spending nearly 12-18 hours perusing AMAZON's book list on solar energy and photovoltaic systems, I was frustrated! None of the reviews on any single book seemed to be convincing enough to make me want to buy. For instance, none of the reviews mention how the books address the National Electric Code, specific wiring and disconnect installation information, electrical and other safety hazards, inspection issues, etc. For a DIY'er, these books seemed a waste of time, never mind the fact that some reviewers insisted they actually DIY'ed just from the book. It then occurred to me that dozens of resources that I had used over the past 10 years - with the exception of 2007 due to extenuating circumstances - many resources are available for free from our fantastic .GOV, .ORG, and .EDU sites like Sandia Nat'l Labs, NREL, NMSU, and CA.GOV. Folks, before you start buying books on PV left & right, be smart and leverage what your fine tax dollars paid for! I have to admit - I believe it's just stupid searching for good PV technical, installation, and detailed literature on a For-Profit Bookstore when so much is already available online for Free. Folks, use your head - our government and academic labs pioneered this from federal tax dollars. Hence, much of it is public domain! (REPLACE all "?" with "." in the following website links.) nabcep?org nmsu?edu/~tdi/index?html photovoltaics?sandia?gov and energy?ca?gov - just to name a few! Of course, if you're just not Internet savvy, not an engineer/analytical A-type personality, and highly resourceful, plus you'd rather prefer to kill trees buying a book instead of leveraging online resources that are 100 times more than what's on AMAZON, and most likely don't have the wherewithal to DIY, go ahead. It will be amazing to see how many are simply duped by the thousands of new "get rich quick" companies and businessmen entering the renewable energy markets.
Solar Power For Dummies
 
Review Date: June 4, 2008
Reviewer: Vicky L. Pierce, Pensacola, FL
The future is here. Solar Power is the answer. The book is plain and simple.

Manufacturer: Code Green Publishing
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Product Description

The Solar Electricity Handbook is a practical and straightforward guide to using electric solar panels.

Assuming no previous knowledge of solar panels, the book explains how solar panels work, how they can be used and explains the steps you need to take to successfully design and install a solar electric system from scratch using photovoltaic solar panels.

Accompanying this book is a solar resource website containing lots of useful information, lists of suppliers and on-line solar energy calculators that will simplify the cost analysis and design processes.

Why buy the Solar Electricity Handbook?

* The Handbook is a simple, practical guide to using electric photovoltaic panels.
* The book is suitable for enthusiastic novices and professionals.
* Clear examples, diagrams and example projects are given to demonstrate the true capabilities of these systems.
* The Handbook is updated yearly, providing a up-to-date reference for anyone planning to use electric photovoltaic technology.
* It is the most comprehensive book on solar electric systems available today.
* It is backed up by the most powerful online calculator tools available, to make your design and calculations as straightforward as possible.
* With comprehensive detail in the book for both North America and Europe, the Handbook provides you with information that is relevant to you and your project - whereever you live.

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Bird-X SOLPAN5W 5-Watt Solar Power Panel

Manufacturer: Bird-X
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Bird-X SOLPAN5W 5-Watt Solar Power Panel
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List Price: $160.00
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Product Description

Features Powers 12V DC Batteries 0.3 Amps Rated Power - 5 Watts Solar Power Panels convert sunlight into electricity Wire sequentially conducts the electricity to batteries Electricity is then used directly from batteries to power DC - direct current - appliances like your repeller from Bird-X Dimensions - 20 x 9 x 1 inches

Product Details

  • Economic
  • Energy-efficient
  • Green solution
  • Cost saving
  • Solar energized

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Manufacturer: Designers Edge
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Designers Edge L-949 10 LED Rechargeable Solar Panel Shed Light Model
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Bring light to your dark shed, without having to connect to your local power grid. This LED shed light features 10 bright LED's that are powered via a solar panel. The panel can be placed in direct sunshine with the included 20-foot extension cord. Mount the light on the ceiling or wall for maximum flexibility, or use it as a utility light for a work bench. A pull chain allows easy on and off. A switch on the body lets you select between 10 LED's that last 2 hours, or 5 LED's that last 4 hours. The LED's have an average rated life of 100,000 hours, ensuring years of continuous use. The solar panel has a glass cover for protection in wet locations. Includes three AA rechargeable batteries and all mounting hardware. This fixture is approved for damp location use as defined by the National Electric Code. Please consult your local electrical code for details. DL # 274093.

Product Details

  • Super bright 100,000 hour LEDs
  • Glass protected multi crystal solar panel designed for outdoor applications
  • 20-Foot Extension cord allows solar panel to be placed in direct sunlight
  • Features two power settings
  • Can be wall or pole mounted up to 20 feet away from fixture

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Manufacturer: For Dummies
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Product Description

The bestselling alternative energy reference book in North America?now in an updated edition

Want to take advantage of solar power in your home? Whether you?re looking to save on your energy costs by adding a few solar components or you want to build a solar-powered house from the ground up, Solar Power For Dummies, 2nd Edition takes the mystery out of this energy source and shows you how to put it to work for you!

This new edition gives you hands-on tips and techniques for making your home more energy-efficient though solar power?and helping the planet at the same time. Plus, you?ll get all the latest information on changes to federal, state, and local regulations, laws, and tax incentives that seek to make solar-power adoption more feasible.

  • Expanded coverage of the technology that underpins full-scale solar-power systems for the home
  • New small- and mid-sized solar products, projects, and applications
  • Rik DeGunther is a design engineer who started his own energy consulting firm

Featuring ten of the easiest and cheapest DIY solar projects, Solar Power For Dummies, 2nd Edition is the fun and easy way to meet your energy needs with this clean power source!

Product Details

  • ISBN13: 9780470596784
  • Condition: NEW
  • Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

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