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How Much Does A Small DIY Solar Power System Cost?

By John Greenspan

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Published: 01Nov2009
Word count: 453
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Are you planning to build a small DIY solar power system and are wondering how much it would cost? As a rough guide, you should be spending less than $99 for the entire project. Of course, if you are merely building a small little cell phone charger, less than $29 will do the job.

The small solar energy generator I'm referring to allows us to run practical 12V equipment around the house, especially the garden. An example of this is the commonly found 10-Watt personal solar energy system. This can power small electronics like garden sprinklers, an automatic gate opener, garage lamps or a fishpond aeration & filtration system.

I recently came across a 10-Watt solar power kit at a DIY store on sale for more than two hundred dollars. Out of curiosity, I picked up the box to see what is included in the package. And I thought, "Anyone can put these kind of stuff together in half a day for less than $99!" The fact is any beginner DIY hobbyist can easily build a small solar power project at this budget.

You may be pretty familiar with the major components that hangs together to make a small, personal solar energy power generator. If you are already building DIY solar panels, you will recognize this list:

1. 10-Watt solar panel
2. Charge controller
3. 12V Rechargeable battery
4. Switches and Fuse
5. Diodes
6. Wires

If you hop over to eBay, you can see that on most days, a solar panel costs less than $35, charge controllers costs less than $25 each, and a 12V battery costs less than $20. Switches, fuses, diodes and other small components only cost a few bucks at most. The total cost reflected is less than $90.

You may also want to check out the prices for yourself on eBay by searching their keywords. See if I'm telling you the truth.

Your local electronics component store can also be a haven for cheap components. Every now and then, drop by their stores to see if they any solar panels or batteries on sale. My personal experience tells me that retailers often slash prices to move their old inventory so that they can make space for newer or more popular components.

If you are thinking of scaling up your DIY solar power project to supply your household appliances, you will need more components than what's listed above. For example, you will need an inverter to convert the direct current into alternating current so that it fits the household power specifications.

In general, the more you scale up your project, the increase in cost is more than a linear relationship. Therefore make sure you have proper plans before starting anything so you know how much you'll require to see the project to completion.

John Greenspan is an avid do-it-yourself solar panels hobbyist and has had much experience building his own DIY solar power systems as a hobby. Do you want to build your own solar panels too? Pick up a FREE eBook titled "How To Build Solar Panels" at => http://www.diysolarpanelsworld.com

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