If you spend a lot of your hard earned dollars on electricity bills then solar energy could be the solution for you. Once installed, solar panels need little or no maintenance and give you all the energy you need. Of course, you need batteries – rechargeable ones – for storing the electricity generated for use in the night time and on cloudy days. Apart from cutting your electricity bills to nil, solar panels also enhance the value of your home – something that appeals to all home owners.

Though it appears to be easier to buy ready to use solar panels, if you are handy with tools you can build your own solar panels and save almost two-thirds of the cost. For this you need a few tools and a do it yourself manual. The manual is as essential as the tools are as you will need step by step guidance to build your own solar panel. If possible, opt for video instructions so that you know where all the components go.

Make a list of all the tools and components you need – you will find a ready to use list in the manual along with instructions on how to source the components cheaply. Use this information to cut costs dramatically.

You will need plywood, a roll of copper wire, sheets of glass, and photovoltaic cells. You will also need general tools such as drills, glue, and screwdrivers. It will take between one and two days to assemble a 100-watt solar panel that will be able to power a small home appliance. After the first panel is built, you will get the hang of it and from the next panel onward, you will need to spend only one day at assembling the panel.

One thing that you need to keep uppermost in your mind while building your own solar panel is that the photo voltaic cells are fragile and need to be handled carefully. They may appear rugged, but they are not. Do not let children or pets near them when you are on the project.

To build the solar panel you first need to build a shallow box. The box should be shallow to enable the sun’s rays to reach the photovoltaic cells even when the sun rays come at an angle. Next you need to cut two pieces of masonite peg board to fit inside the wells. These will form the substrate for the panels to be built on. To protect the solar cells from the weather you need to a plexiglass front. Remember that the photovoltaic cells are fragile. You do not want them damaged.

Next lay the cells out on the grid pattern upside down so that they can be soldered together. The panels and the cells need to be connected in series to get the desired voltage. You need to do the soldering delicately as the photovoltaic cells can be damaged easily. This is a point that you need to remember throughout the entire process of handling them.

You next need to attach the wires to discharging batteries for storage purposes during cloudy days and nights. That is all that is needed to produce your own electricity at home from the sunshine that is freely available.

New technology will soon allow homeowners to print solar cells with inexpensive home based inkjet printers. Consumers can then stick them to walls or roofs to make their own power stations and produce electricity at home for their own consumption.

Until this technology is still fully developed, home owners will have to stick to more conventional forms of solar energy.

There are a few things you need to check out before you opt for solar power for your home. First, you need to check the electrical wiring in your home to ensure that it can handle the solar power. The house should be strong enough to handle the weight of the panels and the wind shear potential that will come with them. If your house is not ready for these two things, get it ready for this first. A little investment now will save you a lot of money and bother later on.

It is best to use a solar finder to locate the best spot for your solar panels. This way, you will be able to capture the most solar energy and convert it into electricity.

The power inverter or rechargeable battery emits electromagnetic radiation. Find a good location for it away from human beings. Remember that you might want to install more panels in the future. Plan you location such that these can easily be added without extensive rewiring.

Once all this is done, go ahead and install your solar panels. All the maintenance they require is occasional cleaning to ensure that they are able to absorb the sun’s ray fully.

Besides, remember that the government gives grants and subsidies to those who use solar power. Capitalize on these to reduce the cost of your solar power station.  After all this, if you do the math, you will find that you have saved yourself a considerable amount of money.

Basically, to install your own solar power house you need to check the wiring and structure of your house. Next you need to find a good location for the panels and for the inverter.

After that get your tools ready and go ahead and build the panels yourself. Make a list of all the supplies you need and source them ob eBay or other auction houses to get them cheap. Give yourself a couple of days of free time to build your first panel. Do not underestimate the time it will take to build a panel as the cells are fragile and need to be handled carefully.

Last but certainly not the least important part is to get yourself a good book or set of instructions on how to make the panels. This is important as without detailed instructions you will be lost. You need to know exactly where each wire goes. Check out the instructions on the market and choose the best, not necessarily the cheapest. If you try to save money here you might end up ruing the day you started this project.