DIY Home & Garden

By Tony Summers

When considering ways of saving money and also helping the environment, Homemade Solar Cells may be the answer. Using solar power to supply your home or business is one of the most cost effective and environmentally friendly ways of generating power. Although the idea of carrying out a DIY Solar Energy project may seem daunting, it can save you $1000’s, and there is plenty of help out there to assist you.

One question that many people ask before starting their Homemade Solar Cells project is: “What do I need to complete the conversion?”. Let’s cover the basics of what you’ll need.

There are 7 main components that you will require for converting your home, less if you are only building a portable power system:

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By John J. Richmond

Electricity outages have been increasingly frequent in recent times and they usually occur during the night time when your in the middle of your favorite TV show. They could drag on for a few hours or many days dependant upon what triggered it. Once this happens, your gas powered generator immediately turns into your most treasured posession because after it gets up and running the lighting goes back on, you don’t have to worry about all your groceries spoiling and life begins to come back to normal once more. But what about people who do not own one? You can wager that a lot of those will be looking to get one quickly if they have the funds to do so.

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By Primoz J. Borovnik

With a little hard work and a few hours off your Saturday morning to dedicate on the project, creating a renewable energy source for your household through solar panels is easy. To make this, the only things you need are a good plan and some materials from your own garage or local hardware shop.

Working Knowledge

The first thing that you need to know in order to make your own homemade solar panels is a working knowledge of how energy and electricity can be harnessed from the sun. Solar panels work by concentrating light from the sun into a generator. This can be done in several ways. The easiest is through the use of photovoltaic cells, which are the same things that you find on calculators. This is the direct conversion process that will immediately transform light into energy. With enough solar cells on a solar panel, an entire household’s electricity needs can actually be met.

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An overview of home wind turbines.

Video by http://2windturbine.blogspot.com

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By Goldome

Wind power and the use of wind power turbines for is one of the fastest growing areas of renewable, home energy systems in the United States today. This easy to install, cost effective home wind system uses a small wind power turbine to convert the energy in wind into usable electricity. Basically, wind is a form of solar energy.

As the sun heats the earth’s surface, hot air rises and cooler air moves in to fill the gap. This movement of the cold air is wind. Installing a windmill like turbine for your home harnesses the power of this wind and turns a small generator to produce electricity.

Wind power turbines can easily be added to almost any home without the need or expense of professional installation and without having to change any wiring or add any expensive devices. In most cases, Federal regulations require utilities to connect with and purchase excess power from small wind energy systems. To accomplish this, the utility will install a second utility meter to measure how much surplus electricity it is purchasing from the homeowner.

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By Melanie Hogeveen

When it comes to home repairs, undertaking DIY electrical projects constitute one of the most important aspects which have to be carried out with the utmost caution. If you are a home owner you must be facing minor electrical defaults in your house periodically which is why it is important to have a sound knowledge of safety guidelines when undertaking DIY electrical repair tasks.

While fixing small DIY electrical repair work around the house is very cost efficient home owners need to be very careful when undertaking such projects. Listed below are some important safety guidelines to keep in mind in order to ensure a safe and successful DIY electrical repair work by the home owner:
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By Marly Kester

Whether your house is well fit for a DIY solar system depends on four elements:

Hours of Sunshine

The number of DIY solar panels that you would need depends on the amount of sunshine your area receives. On the site of the National Renewable Energy Lab you can find a map which is showing you how much electricity (in kilowatt per hour) one square meter your south facing DIY Solar Panels can generate. This is essential information to determine the number of panels you need to generate sufficient electricity for your daily need.

South-Facing Roof Area

Your DIY solar panels should be facing south. Do you have sufficient roof space available to install a solar system? You would need a south facing roof area of 8 to 10 m2 (86 to 105 ft2) per kilowatt of installed solar panel power. As a typical household requires a 3kW system, you would need a south facing roof space available of 24-30 m2 (250 to 315 ft2).

Many people assume that DIY solar panels have to be placed on roof tops. That´s certainly not true! They can be placed on the ground as well as long as they are south facing.

Is your home made solar system directed towards the sun?

Trees and nearby houses often are obstacles that hinder the sunlight to reach your solar panels. Unobstructed sunlight is important, especially between 12 and 4pm when the sun provides most of its energy. Take this into consideration when planning for a right position of your DIY Solar Panels.

The structure of your roof

Besides its high price, branded solar panels (for example those of Sanyo or Sharp) often have another disadvantage. Together with their installation brackets, they are too heavy. As these manufacturers have to guarantee the panels for a lifetime of 25 years, the construction of the panels itself, but especially their supportive structure, has to be very sturdy. A panel together with their heavy metal mounting brackets can weigh up to 20 kilos. As you would need about 23 solar panels for a 3kW system, the total weight of the panels and brackets could total 400 kilos. Can your roof support this? There are not many roofs which can hold this kind of weight without additional bracing. The substantial cost of these alterations to your house together with the high cost of branded systems, make a professionally installed solar system often not economically feasible.

Due to the simplified and lighter wooden structure of DIY Solar Panels these additional roof enforcements are not required, and therefore financially justifying the use of DIY Solar Panels versus professionally installed panels even more.

When your roof is facing south, you can install your DIY solar panels on the roof without difficulty. Is your roof is not south facing you would need some brackets though to be able to turn your panels towards the sun.

You might think that you aren´t capable of making and installing these panels. But I think you are. Making these DIY Solar Panels is not too difficult. If you read the testimonials of people that have made their own solar panels, many acknowledge that it´s very doable, especially with the help of existing DIY Solar Panels manuals. Some of those guides are really great!! We reviewed a couple of them and the best ones are really high-quality with excellent step-by-step instructions and even supportive video material.

Read our review for the best guides on DIY solar panels and start reducing your electricity bill and carbon footprint now.

Marly Kester is an expert in renewable energies and energy efficiency for ENERFY. ENERFY is an energy consultancy company advising their business customers on energy and ESCo contracts.

Via http://www.bestenergysaving.net ENERFY provides energy efficiency and renewable energy tips and tools to DIY-ers, interested in reducing their energy bill and their carbon footprint.

Check the review for best manuals: http://bestenergysaving.net/review-of-best-manuals-to-homemade-solar-panels

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/DIY-solar-panels-–-they-reduce-your-energy-bill-and-your-carbon-footprint/1172517

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By Michael Del Greco

Use of Portable Generators

Some people use emergency generators to provide back-up power. While generators can be used in a safe manner, improper use of a generator can pose significant hazards to you and your family. Hazards include electric shock, carbon monoxide poisoning, explosion and fire.

Prevention of Electrical Shock

• It is extremely important to insure that your generator does not feed electricity back into the power distribution system. You should consult with a qualified electrician to insure that your generator installation is safe.
• Since the generator must be operated outside your home, it is important for it to be equipped with a ground fault interrupter.
• Only use grounded type extension cords that have the rated capacity to handle the given electrical load.
• Inspect all extension cords prior to use and never use a damaged cord.
• Do not run extension cords through water or across wet surfaces.

Prevention of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

You cannot see, smell or taste carbon monoxide (CO), but at high levels it can kill a person within minutes. Carbon monoxide is produced whenever any fuel such as gas, oil, kerosene, wood, or charcoal is burned. Know the symptoms of CO poisoning. At moderate levels you or your family can get severe headaches, become dizzy, mentally confused, nauseated, or faint. Low levels can cause shortness of breath, mild nausea, and mild headaches. Since many of these symptoms are similar to those of the flu, food poisoning, or other illnesses, you may not think that CO poisoning could be the cause. Never operate a generator in an enclosed place including your garage or near an open door or window.

Gasoline safety tips

• Always store gasoline in containers approved for the storage of gasoline.
• Never store gasoline in your home. Keep it in a detached garage or tool shed.
• Never fill your generator when it is running or when it is hot. Wait until it is cool before filling.
• Always refuel your generator outside away from any source of ignition.
• When refilling gasoline cans, always place the cans on the ground. Never fill a can that is in the bed of a truck or in a vehicle.
• Never transport gasoline in the trunk of your car.
• Only store a reasonable amount of gasoline. The maximum quantity of gasoline stored should not exceed (10) gallons.

Hazards of Gasoline

• Gasoline vapors burn not the liquid.
• Gasoline will produce sufficient vapors to burn at any temperature above -44 Fahrenheit.
• The vapors are heavier than air and can travel a considerable distance before finding an ignition source.
• Static electricity will ignite gasoline vapors.
• Gasoline is lighter than water. Using water on a gasoline fire will spread the fire.
• Gasoline is poisonous and can be fatal if swallowed.

Michael Del Greco – New Jersey Home Inspector Lic GI 0121, President of Accurate Inspections, Inc, a New Jersey home inspection company.

Buying a home in New Jersey? www.NewJerseyHomeInspection.com has a listing of home inspectors in all counties of new Jersey. New Jersey Home Inspections are performed by the author of this artical Michael Del Greco in Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic Counties.

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