With the huge success of Twitter and it's realtime capabilities, I've decided to slow down on my blog posts and move my thoughts/reviews onto Twitter. You can follow me via http://www.Twitter.com/greentoolman.
See you there!
ARE YOU AFFECTED BY THE DOWNTURN OF THE ECONOMY? ISN'T IT TIME YOU SAVED SOME OF YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY?
Hi folks, as promised in my Wind Turbine Review last month, I have finally found the time to sit down and write a review on the Solar Panel blueprints from Earth 4 Energy. After building the Wind Turbine and finding the experience to be much easier than I had originally thought, I was really excited about taking on the Solar Panel Project. Not to mention the Wind Turbine is saving me so much on energy bills I couldn’t wait to go out and start finding the materials for the Solar Panel project so I could cut my energy bill even further!
One of the great things about the Solar Panel project is it can be done very cheaply provided you know where to find the materials. The Earth 4 Energy book has a number of great tips on how to save money on materials and in some cases get materials for free! That being said, getting inexpensive or even free materials takes a bit longer and requires a lot more searching in places like your local solar supply company, construction sign supplier or even ebay. The savings from taking this approach are well worth the time and effort. Overall my costs were roughly $190 to create a functioning solar power system, which in my opinion is an amazing price if you consider it typically costs 10 to 15 times that much to buy manufactured solar panels and have them professionally installed.
CAN A SOLAR PANEL REALLY BE ASSEMBLED FOR LESS THAN $200?
It's important to point out that Earth 4 Energy provides plans for both a Basic Portable Solar Power Generator and a Grid Inter-tied Solar Power System. I chose to build the portable system because I plan on taking it up to the cottage during the summer months. The portable system is a little less complicated to build than the grid-tied system as there is not untility to tie in to. All you need is a charge controller, a deep cycle battery and an inverter and you are all set. This system is powerful enough to run a laptop and most other household electronics. The Earth 4 Energy book recommends using it to power you refrigerator as this is where you will see the most significant reduction to your energy bill.
The solar power system took me roughly two days to build, which I think is pretty good. Building a solar power system involved a little more in the way of actual construction compared to building the wind turbine. You have to cut and prime the materials for the panel, then solder the wiring in place and then attach them to the panel before you can actually start the installation process. Each step is pretty straightforward but requires time in between. To give the panel a professional look I painted the frame with three coats of weather resistant paint to ensure it doesn't break down due to the elements. The end result is a great looking solar panel that will last for many, many years.
Once I completed the first panel I tested it by attaching it to a stand in my backyard and oriented it so it would recieve the maximum amount of direct sunlight. I then wired the panel to the charge controller then attached the controller to the battery and the batter to the inverter and the system was ready to go. To test the system I plugged my television into the inverter and it worked just like it was hooked into my home's electrical system. My single panel system is generating about 140 watts of power, which is about what I was hoping for out of a single panel with 100 solar cells in it.
After confirming the system worked I built six more panels that I have installed on my roof. The steps for installing a multi panel system are pretty much the same as a single panel system, so the only real work involved was building the panels. Having gotten the hang of the steps involved by building the first panel I was able to speed up the process by building three panels at a time. This system is working great and outputting about 780 watts of power, which is plenty to run many of my household appliances and electronics.
GRID-TIED VERSUS BASIC PORTABLE SYSTEM
I have chosen to stick with the basic, portable system rather than going with the grid-tied system as I plan on moving the system to other locations at different times of the year. The grid-tied system does have one advantage over the portable system, that being if you generate more power than you consume you can sell the extra power back to your local energy company (consult your local utility company for more information). The drawback in the grid-tied system is it ties into your home's existing electricical system, so in order to install you will have to hire a qualified electrician to do the work. This will require an extra expense over the basic system
MY CONCLUSION OF THE EARTH 4 ENERGY SOLAR PANEL BLUEPRINTS
I certainly hope Michael does not increase the price, but including video instructions to his Earth 4 Energy blueprints is quite a steal. This clearly has pushed Earth 4 Energy into a league of it's own when it comes to DIY solar and wind blueprints as no other blueprint on the market provides this level of detail. Those procrastinators should jump on this soon before any price adjustments are made.
One other note about those weary about purchasing over the internet. I did some research into "Clickbank" as I had no previous experience with making a purchase over the internet, and was weary about giving out my credit card number. After reading more about their payment processor, I have found that Clickbank is a world-class payment network. They are approved by VeriSign and McAfee, the highest form of internet security (128 bit SSL), which is equivalent to banking standards. I hope this helps give a bit of peace of mind for those who are first time internet purchasers.
Not a Handy Person? Perhaps the Home Made Energy Blueprints are your answer for DIY Solar Panels and Wind Turbines!
I know many of you have read my previous reviews on building your own solar panels and wind turbines. Some of you have gone out and actually implemented your own DIY green energy system, while others have sat on the fence and debated whether it is actually possible to build a green solution for so cheap. Here is a letter I received from one of my readers. His friends laughed at him when he said he was going to generate his own electricity! I hope his story can give you another perspective on how possible it is for even the Average Joe to actually build their own green solution for their home! Also don't forget to apply for a Home Energy Grant if you do indeed build (or plan on building) your own green solution.
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Jan 16th, 2009
Dear James,
I am just writing to let you know that I have taken your advice from your DIY Wind Turbine review and built my own system that's running in my backyard (I've enclosed actual pictures of my windmill in this email). I would like to provide you with a summary of what I have done, and hope to inspire others to "take the plunge" and go green. I am currently saving $142 per month in electricity savings, and plan on saving more once I build the solar panels that you mentioned in your reviews.
I like so many other people are fed up with rising energy prices (especially with today's economy), and I spent months desperately trying to find ways to cut my electric bills.
I have a pretty average home near San Diego. Nothing too fancy, but we love the area and we've been here for over 20 years. But over the last few years, our electricity costs have gone through the roof. As if outrageous gas prices weren't enough (argh!), I started to get outrageous power bills even though we're still using about the same amount of electricity as we had before. You read about rising energy costs in the newspaper, but let me tell you, it's a whole different thing when you see it coming out of your pocket every time your electric bill arrives each month.
I phoned around to determine how much it would cost into having a professional install a wind turbine. My jaw dropped when I found out how much one of these things would cost. We’re not talking 100s of dollars, we’re not talking 1000s of dollars, we’re talking $10,000 plus! And, oh yeah, the soonest they could put one in his three months from now. I ran the numbers and figured it would take me just about 9 years to make back the initial investment. No thanks!
And so that was the point where I found your Green Toolman blog. Hallelujah!
I consider myself pretty handy around the house, I enjoy doing small scale do-it-yourself projects and figured that I would at lease inquire what sort of expertise would be required to build this wind turbine. That is when I decided to email you, and I'm really thankful that you took the time to answer all my questions. You really gave me the confidence to go ahead and build the wind turbine.
But from there I wasn't exactly sure which blueprint I should purchase? There are so many out there. I decided to go with your recommendation and purchased Earth 4 Energy, but I found these instructions to be a little bit hard to understand and I wasn't able to complete the project. I got about 3/4 of the way through and threw in the towel, and was pretty much ready to give up.
I then decided to give Home Made Energy a try, something that I felt I should have done originally. I figured that since I had already purchased a majority of the parts, it would be an even bigger waste to give up at that point. I found Home Made Energy a little more "simpler" for a guy with myself with limited skills, and was able to successfully complete the wind turbine in about 5 days total. I still can't believe this thing is actually running in my backyard (I had to request a permit from the city), it's truly an amazing accomplishment and I'm pretty proud that I was actually able to put this together!
As I mentioned, I’ve saved quite a bit of money. So far, my electricity bill last month was $142 lower than the previous month! I’m hopeful that I can get those kind of savings each and every month, which would amount to saving about $1,700 per year (we'll see!). And I invested less than $250 to build the entire wind turbine system, which includes the Home Made Energy blueprints and all the required parts. This cost versus the $10,000 plus it would have taken for a "professional" to build is a no brainer. If you can use a hammer, a power drill, a socket set, and a mitre saw, you can easily complete this project!
I also know what it's like to be generating power from renewable sources, and how good of a feeling it is to be off the grid. Hey, I’ve never considered myself to be a “tree hugger” or anything, but I do have a greater passion about leaving the Earth in better shape for our children.
I also want to note that it was actually a pretty fun project to put together, and much easier than I thought. My friends laughed when I told then that I was thinking of generating my own electricity. You should have seen their faces when I had them over for a beer, only for them to see this fully functioning wind turbine running in my backyard. Let's just say I spent the next two hours answering questions about how I did it and how they could do the same themselves (I pointed them to your Green Toolman website and to the Home Made Energy websites).
One thing worth mentioning, I don't quite generate as much power as it says on the Home Made Energy manual. For example, they said the wind turbine could generate up to 1000 watts, but I’ve only hit about 800 on most days since we’ve got trees that block some of the wind. I did manage to make enough electricity in total to power almost of our household appliances. We’re able to run our computers, TVs and a few other appliances, and lighting essentially for free, which I'm sure you'll agree is pretty astonishing. I can't even imagine what kind of savings I'll have once I build and install some solar panels to my roof!
In my opinion, I would recommend Home Made Energy over Earth 4 Energy. Obviously everyone has a different opinion, but this is what worked extremely well for me. Don't get me wrong, Earth 4 Energy is a great guide but I think it is more geared to a more "experienced" audience. Home Made Energy is more geared towards a more "causual" DIY crowd (if that makes any sense!). I did love how both blueprints carry a 60 day guarantee, which gave me alot of confidence with my purchase (who offers this type of guarantee nowadays?). Best part is, you can download and read the guide right away, no waiting for it to arrive by mail (which normally takes weeks). What could be simpler?
Anyway, I just want to personally thank you for inspiring me to go green and also for allowing me to put a bit of money in my pocket each month. If you require any further details about my installation, please don't hesitate to ask.
Sincerely,
Tony Yeager
