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Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Solar Power Water Heater - Build Your Own DIY Solar Water Heater

Do you know that when you install a solar power water heater, you can actually reduce over 30% of your electrical expenses each month. The year 2009 wants the common man to be more alert and have awareness about global warming and the need to save energy.

First of all, you’ll have to learn how to make good use of the free energy from the sun which can be converted into free power and this gives you a lot of savings in your pocket every month.

There is lots of energy saving guides available in the store and online too. GreenEarth4Energy.com provides one such guide that consists of a set of plans which will direct you to build your very own DIY solar water heater.

The project requires a one time investment as less than $100 and from the first month onwards you will be start getting money in the form of savings. The making of a solar power water heater is very simple and with the clear cut instructions given in the guide one can finish the project in a couple of days. Most of the parts required for the project are readily available from any local store. This cost very small compared to those ready-made units that costs $1000 or more!

The energy saving guide provided in GreenEarth4Energy.com is able to help our environment in controlling global warming. The history of the concept of using solar power water heater dates back 100 years ago. Today it is still popular and has become a rage in global countries. Most of the countries are also giving rebates and other tax benefits to the common man who installs a solar power water heater at their homes.

With a very small investment, one can began with the very idea of generating power. Starting with solar water heaters is the best option as it costs very less and has long term benefits. By the time you reading this article, thousands of people are on the way installing those solar power water heaters at their home.

The DIY Guide has really helped people a lot and has been motivating them to take up more and more solar products to supply power for other appliances. So, why not plan to build your own solar power water heater today?

If you are interested to learn more about how to build your own solar power water heater, visit us at:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com/diy_water_heater.html
http://www.greenearth4energy.com/build_water_heater.html

To get your installation guide, proceed to:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com/diy_hot_water

Useful information GreenEarth4Energy.com:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com/


Monday, July 6, 2009

Solar Panels Do it Yourself

Solar Panels Do it Yourself - One of the best ways to save money on utility expenses is to use the sun's capability to generate free usable electricity. With the economy being as bad as it is right now, home solar power systems have become the most preferred alternative to save money and cut costs.

1. Solar Power is Cheap and Easy

Contrary to popular belief, going along with solar panels Do it Yourself is really easy and inexpensive. The same way you would follow the instructions or owner's manual to put together anything else, the same holds true for this as well. The materials that you need are available at your local hardware store and the whole project itself will cost no more than $200. So that essentially means that you are paying no more than $200 for homemade solar electricity that will get you a lifetime's worth of benefits.

2. You Can Slash Your Monthly Electrical Bills Plus Make Extra Cash For Yourself

Your electrical bills can be lowered nearly 80% just from tapping into solar panels Do it Yourself. That could easily mean $1000's in savings every year! And depending on which state you live in, you may have the opportunity to sell your extra electricity that you produce in excess. In these cases, the utility companies will pay you for the extra electricity that is produced because they are able to share it with other consumers that are on the grid.

3. Achieve Tax Incentives

By going along with solar panels Do it Yourself, you will receive tax credits from the government. This is their way of rewarding you for using clean and environment-
friendly energy.

4. No More Power Outage

Since the energy is coming directly from the sun, you will no longer need to deal with the inconvenience of power outage.

5. Protect Our Environment

Since solar power is clean, green energy, you are helping the environment in a good way. You are not receiving power from any fossil fuels, so there are not any pollutants that are being put back into the air.

You can install your solar panels Do it Yourself anywhere you see fit as long as they are exposed to an adequate amount of sunlight. Tens of thousands of homeowners are turning to renewable energy every day. Isn't it time that you also consider harnessing Do It Yourself solar power and its benefits?

If you are interested to learn more about how to build solar panels Do it Yourself, visit us at:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com

To get your solar installation guide, you may proceed to:
http://www.earthenergyguide.com

Useful information home solar power systems:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com/solar-panel-systems.html

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Do It Yourself Solar Panel

Do It Yourself Solar Panel - Are you looking forward to save more money on your electrical bills and planning to get all the government incentives by installing your very own solar panel?

Well, you could hire contractors for the whole process, however, if you like to do things yourself, one of the simplest options is to get a Do It Yourself Solar Panel installation guide. The benefit of using such a guide is that you won't need to set up a battery bank; instead, your sun-powered system is connected right to your home's circuit box, and the energy generated by your solar modules is used to offset your electrical bills.

If you want to install your own Do It Yourself Solar Panel on the roof, you'll need to get your hands on the proper building permits and roofing materials. Since the solar modules will be installed on special rails or mounts, part of the roof will have to be removed to make some extra room. You'll probably want to have extra shingles, nails, and roofing caulk to make sure your roof is just as rain-proof after the process as it was before.

It is advisable to have a master electrician to be present during any wiring activity to ensure that it is safely and properly wired together. Electrical wiring and the safety precautions involved can get pretty complicated, so don't even think about skipping this step unless you happen to be a master electrician yourself.

Once you've got your Do It Yourself Solar Panel installation guide, you've made your plans, and you've got some construction experience under your belt. But do you have the proper tools? You'll need a ladder to get up on your roof, of course, as well as all the required roofing repair materials, a hammer and nails, a tool belt-you get the picture. You'll also need a good power drill for drilling and tightening fasterners. Check the installation guide for instructions or you may watch a video explanation provided along with a list of tools you need to complete the job.

If you have the proper experience, this is a no-brainer. You'll want to have eye protection, ear protection, gloves, and scaffolding or rope-and-harness system to guarantee that a slip won't lead you to an unfortunate and dangerous fall. Working on a roof puts you in a hazardous situation, and you want everything to be secure. Always ask for help if you're not sure if something is safe.

Many Do It Yourself Solar Panel installation guides come with some sort of instruction manual or video tutorials. But it's still a good idea to read up on the subject as much as possible before you get to work. Many books and websites offer basic instructions and advice on how to install a DIY solar panel. Make sure you completely understand what's going on, and then have fun making your very own DIY solar power!

If you are interested to learn more about Do It Yourself solar panel, visit us at:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com


You may want to get your Do It Yourself solar panel installation guide here:
http://www.earthenergyguide.com

Useful information solar panel:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com/solar-panel-systems.html

Homemade Solar Cells

If your have bee searching for a detailed step-by-step way to make your very own homemade solar cells, this is definitely the right place for you.

Solar cell is the key component that allows home solar power systems to generate electricity from the sun. With this knowledge of making your very own homemade solar cells, not only you can build your own solar panel, you can also explore into the fields of building DIY solar water heaters and many many more.

The very first step is to prepare some essential items. These items include the following:

• Copper Sheeting
• Clear Plexiglass/Perpex/Acrylic Sheeting
• Some Thin Wood Strip
• copper Wire
• Duct Tape
• Metal Guillotine
• Bandsaw
• Electric Ring Hob

Next, cut a square of the copper sheeting so that it is about 6-8 in. square in size. It is much easier to do with a metal guillotine, however, if you haven't got access to this sort of equipment, tin snips will work just fine.

After you've done this, wash your hands thoroughly and dry them. You need to remove any grease or oil from your hands that could cause problems with the next step of the process. Remove any grease or detritus from the copper sheeting. Next, take a piece of emery cloth and thoroughly sand down the piece of copper on both sides to remove the top layer of oxidized copper. This will leave you with nice bright shiny red copper underneath.

You now need to heat treat the copper, in order to form an oxide coating on top. It may sound counter intuitive that we have just removed all the oxide and now we are going to put oxide back on, but the oxide coating we will be applying will be a film of "cuprous oxide".

You need to turn the burner to the highest setting, with the sheet of copper just placed on top. Observe the changes to the copper carefully, they are very interesting. As you heat the copper, it takes on a lovely vivid patina of different colours.

If you have access to nitric acid, you can use this as a superior method for removing the upper cupric oxide layer.

You will see a black crusty oxide from on top of the copper plate. If you leave the plate to cool slowly, the crusty layer should become fairly fragile and separate easily from the underlying copper. When you have allowed the plate to cool thoroughly, give the plate a firm bang edge-on to a hard surface. Some of the oxide will pop off. Rub the oxide gently with your fingers under a tap, and you will find most of the black layer od oxide comes off easily. If any bits are stubborn, do not under any circumstances scour them, as we do not want to damage the fragile surface.

Under this black layer of oxide, you will find another layer of a reddish orange rust colour. This is the layer which is "photosensitive" and will make out thin-film solar cell work.

Make a spacer now from some thin strips of wood. Use duct tape to join your pieces of wood together. Do not use metal fixings as they could react electrolytically with the other components of the cell.

We are now going to make another electrode. It has to have the property that it does not touch the other piece of the solar cell, and allows light to hit the surface. We are going to use salt water as our other electrode, making contact with the whole surface of the thin film cell, yet conducting electricity. We are then going to immerse another copper wire to make the connection. You could equally use another piece of copper plate around the outside of the thin-film cell, but not touching our oxidized copper.

In a commercial thin-film cell, tin oxide is commonly used as the other electrode, as it is clear and yet conducts electricity.

Now take a piece of Perspex to act as a cover plate, and stick a strip of duct tape on either side.

We are going to stick our other electrode wire to this piece of Perspex.

Use thickish wire for clarity, with few actual zigzags so that you can clearly see what is going on. To optimize the performance of your solar cell, you want to make the conductor large. To this end , you are better using lots of thinner gauge wire in a much finer zigzag pattern - this will still allow the light to get through, but at the same time gives a large conductor area.

You can experiment with different types of wire and copper - the trick is to try and maximize the surface area of the copper, while trying to block as little light as possible from reaching the solar cell.
Fold the duct tape over and stick the wire to the plate.

We are now going to combine the electrode plate with the space. Again, duct tape makes this a nice easy job.

Next, we are going to take the copper plate, and stick duct tape to one side, with the sticky side of the tape facing the same direction as the layer of red copper oxide.

Combine the plate and the front module to make the finished solar cell.

Now, take a little salt water, and fill the void between the Perspex front section and the copper plate. Seal the module with duct tape all round to prevent leakage.

Lastly, connect your module to a multimeter, find a bright light source, and explore some of the electrical properties of your solar cell.

If you are interested to learn how to make a solar panel or DIY solar water heater, visit us at:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com


You may want to get your solar panel installation guide here:
http://www.earthenergyguide.com

Learn how to DIY solar water heaters:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com/diy_water_heater.html

Friday, July 3, 2009

Build Your Own Solar Panel

When you build your own solar panel, you can reduce our dependency on imported fossil fuels.

Solar panels are one of the easiest and least expensive answers to our global need of reducing our dependency on fossil fuels. The United States itself accounts for over 25% of the global oil usage.

If more people were to build their own home solar power systems, the world could reduce it's dependency on fossil fuels by up to 50% or more. In a residential application, it's possible to generate up to 80% or more of your electrical needs using solar power panels.

Once you've acquired the parts you need, and accomplish building your solar panels, then the energy they produce is free for your use. Just imagine how much you'd save if you could cut your power use by half, and how quick the solar panels will pay for themselves. If your monthly electrical bill is $150, and you can cut it by half, saving $75/month, and it cost you $375 (usually less) to build it, then it will pay for itself in 5 months. From that point on, you'll be saving $75/month. What could you do with an extra $900/year? You may think that building a solar panel is complicated or too technically advanced for the average home owner, but if you are handy with common hand tools and can solder, then you can build your own solar panel in a weekend or two.

Things You Need:

• Wire crimping tool
• Wire cutters
• Solder, 60/40 or silver
• Soldering iron, or soldering station
• Drill
• Screwdriver
• Cobalt steel jobbers' twist drill bit, heavy duty, wire gauge size 26, 3" L, 1c" L flute
• Machine screw size high-speed steel hand tap taper, 10-24, H3 pitch diameter, 4 flute
• 7/32 drill bit
• Plastic sheet cutter
• Reamer
• Pliers
• Hacksaw or cutoff saw
• Triple beam scale (optional)

Once you have your tools together, you'll need to find your materials, most of which you can probably find on eBay for a really good price.

We all need to be more aware of our impact on the ecology on a global scale and take steps in reducing our carbon output by a drastic amount, if we want our grandchildren to have a place to live. Just imagine how much cleaner the air would be, not to mention how much lower your electric bill will be. Learning how to build your own solar panel isn't really a difficult task when you know how to get started along with the right tools work with.

Source From: How To Build Your Own Solar Power Panels To Save On Electricity

If you are interested to learn more on how to build your own solar panel, visit us at:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com

To get your installation guide, proceed to:
http://www.earthenergyguide.com

Useful information home solar power systems:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com/solar-panel-systems.html

Learn how to build Your Own Solar Power Panels To Save On Electricity:
http://www.prlog.org/10268882-how-to-build-your-own-solar-power-panels-to-save-on-electricity.html

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Solar Hot Water Heaters

By learning the relatively easy method of making your very own solar hot water heaters, you can make this expense unbelievably minimal and learn a lot about the application of these systems at the same time.

Using the sun to heat domestic hot water is the most practical application of solar energy at this time. While vast improvements to design and a reduction in the cost of photovoltaic cells are making other solar systems very practical as well, heating water for your home is the easiest and least expensive way to get involved in a solar energy solution for your home.

The DIY solar hot water heaters of today are as equally effective as hot water heaters powered by more conventional power sources, namely: gas and electric. A solar hot water panel can heat your home’s water to temperatures of up as much as 140° F.

Generally, there are two kinds of solar hot water heater – passive and active. Both collect radiant heat from the sun into a solar hot water panel, and both can serve much of any household’s hot water needs, while at the same time, both can cut back considerably on energy costs.

An active system circulates water (or other heat-transferring fluids) through a solar water pump, while a passive system circulates the liquid(s) through use of a process called natural convection.

Whichever type of solar hot water heater system one uses, both utilize certain similar components, most notably: a collector and a storage tank.

The most common type of collector is a “flat plate” solar hot water panel – a weatherproof, insulated box made of aluminum or other metals that holds, beneath one or more transparent covers, an absorber plate.

When sunlight streams into the box, its heat passes through the transparent cover or covers and is soaked up by the dark plate which then transfers that collected heat through the heat-transferring fluids that flow through or past it.

A more expensive but often more powerful alternative to the flat plate solar hot water panel is a concentrating collector. These have the potential to produce much higher temperatures than flat plate panel solar water heater systems, although on cloudier days they can actually be less effective than their more economical counterparts.

Though storage tanks are not a required component of solar hot water heaters, without them one can only utilize the solar power available in that given moment. With a storage tank, on the other hand, the solar water heater preheats the water and the tank maintains its temperature until the hot water is needed. A typical storage tank will hold enough heated water to provide for a single day’s supply.

There are both 1- and 2-tank solar hot water heater storage tanks, the first housing its own backup electric heating element to reheat cooled water on cloudy days and during the nighttime, the second feeding into a conventional electric or gas water heater.

If you’re considering installing a solar hot water heater of your own, you may be able to get a free energy audit to determine the potential cost savings you could reap. Whether you conduct one yourself or have it done for you, the energy audit must take certain factors into consideration, including:

1. The ease or difficulty you’ll have routing ducts or pipes from the ground floor or basement to the roof;

2. Whether sections of the wall will need to be opened up;

3. If there’s room on your ground floor or in your basement for a storage tank and how you’ll be able to load it in (ie the width of stairwells and doorways) and set it in place;

4. If your roof is accessible enough to install a panel on it and, if not, whether you have an appropriate site on the ground to put it;

5. How well and how sturdily you can fasten your collector’s supports to your roofing materials (for example, clay tile and slate can be more difficult to work with);

6. How well you’ll like the aesthetics of the system once it’s in place.
To achieve better results with your solar water heater:

7. Aim the solar hot water panel “true south” (as opposed to compass south);

8. Tilt it upward at a right angle to the sun;

9. Avoid shade (particularly between 9 am and 3 pm when the sun’s rays are usually hottest);

10. Always have a backup system in place for periods of excessive use and for off-peak solar accessibility hours.

A solar hot water panel installed properly should perform well for 15 to 20 years. And a solar water heater requires far less maintenance than its more conventional counterparts.

You might think that it would be extremely difficult to build a solar hot water heater, however it is not at all. All you need are the right instructions by your side and a little time and money. And by a little money, that is exactly what I mean. Many people are astonished by the small initial outlay that is required when you are prepared to build your own solar hot water heaters. In these times of increasing environmental pollution and rising energy bills, it makes more sense than ever before to become a part of the solution to the global energy crisis and take responsibility for at least a part of your energy needs.

Even for those people who are dedicated to building or buying a dedicated solar electricity system for their homes, constructing a solar heating system makes perfect sense as a first step. If you can heat your water with the power of the sun, you will have less need for a large and cumbersome electrical system and can get the size and scale of your photovoltaic panels right from the very beginning. There is a fantastic ratio of savings for the initial money spent on a solar heating system, and for only a few hundred dollars on materials and a little on professional instructions you can be enjoying the benefits of solar hot water heaters for years to come.

Source From: Solar Water Heater - How To Build Solar Water Heater

If you are interested to learn more about how to build your very own solar hot water heaters, visit us at:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com

To get your DIY solar hot water heater guide, proceed to:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com/diy_hot_water

Learn how to DIY solar hot water heaters:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com/diy_water_heater.html

Useful information hot water heaters:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com/hot_water_heaters.html

Useful information Solar Water Heater - How To Build Solar Water Heater:
http://www.prlog.org/10269887-solar-water-heater-how-to-build-solar-water-heater.html

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Do It Yourself Solar Power For Homes

Do It Yourself solar power systems are popular for two primary reasons. First of all, you save money, and lots of it. If you're in an area that gets plenty of sun year-round then you're truly missing out. The other reason is to save our precious environment for our kids, grandchildren, and many more of our generations to come.

The first thing people turn toward when looking for Do It Yourself solar power systems is a professionally built and installed system. However, these systems literally cost thousands upon thousands of dollars. The typical green energy go-getter (or family for that matter) cannot afford such a system. Not only are they expensive, but the services are hard to come by in some areas. But, what if you could build your own solar panels for a fraction of the cost?

It may sound impractical for Do It Yourself solar power systems because they are newer technologies and sound complex. Besides, where would you buy the materials or kits? Well, I've stumbled upon an online guide for DIY solar power systems. Little to my knowledge, there are many available for purchase online and I'll share that information with you shortly. First, I'd like to talk about these guides a bit.

Do It Yourself Solar Power guides show you exactly how to build a solar panel from materials most people can find at their local hardware stores. Some people even get into the hobby of building these for fun or for neighbors. Although a DIY project still costs money, it's far cheaper than a professional job, and they easily pay for themselves over time. If you're a craftsman, your work can be as professional as a purchased solar panel system.

Considering you don't have a surplus of cash sitting in the bank for a professional solar power system, but you're interested in the continued effort to convert to green energy, save money in the long run, and increase the value of your house, give a Do It Yourself solar power project a try, or at least a look, before pouring thousands into a professional system.

If you are interested to learn more about Do It Yourself solar power systems, visit us at:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com
http://www.earthenergyguide.com

Learn How to build your own solar panels:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com/

Learn How to build a solar panel:
http://www.greenearth4energy.com/build_solar_panel.html

Useful Information Do It Yourself Solar Panels For Homes:
http://www.prlog.org/10268404-do-it-yourself-solar-panels-for-homes.html
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