Photo credit: Veranda Solar

Almost a year ago we explored the world of DIY solar projects. At that time we found an array of projects, from solar ovens to solar wood kilns. Since that time there has been a superabundance of solar inventions, investments, and innovations. I myself have linked to or reported on well over a hundred solar developments and gadgets.

Yet even though we’ve covered anything from 3D solar cells to solar golf carts, do-it-yourself solar projects have remained under the radar. So I decided to have another look-see into the DIY solar panel, just to see if there was any news. Well it seems that backyard industrialists and solar panel designers have been quite busy over the last year, churning out some very interesting products.

How-To

As used solar panels begin to pop up more and more, a lot of clever DIY’ers have found ways to build their own using parts from broken or damaged panels, which you can find on eBay, Craigslist, and other such sites (Here’s one example). In fact, in about two seconds you can find an instructional video on YouTube that’ll spell the whole process out for you.

DIY Kits

Here’s the most fascinating part, and this is fresh news. For some time now, manufacturers such as Silicon Solar have been selling solar kits that you can use to power an entire home or a few devices around the home.

Yet these kits, while not as cost prohibitive as professional systems, were still very expensive. Now a few companies have developed, and are planning to produce, some easier, lighter, and more powerful solar kits for the home. Here are two examples:

1. Armageddon Energy has come up with a new prefab panel that is really something. Their “clover” design consists of hexagonal panels, weighing 10-12 pounds each, a triangular frame, and a micro-inverter. With some relatively basic DIY knowledge you could fasten them to the roof and plug them into your home power. Three of these panels will produce 400 watts…Not bad. Yet for $6 per watt they may not compete with conventional systems for much longer.



2. The second kit is even simpler. Coming from Veranda Solar, this nifty little invention requires, get this, only a screwdriver and a standard power outlet to install. You can snap these clever panels to a gutter, windowsill, railing, even on the veranda (it’s not just a clever name), then just plug it in. It’s what Veranda is calling “plug and play” solar panels.So far it looks like 60 watts per panel with each inverter able to handle 600 watt loads. The panels simply snap together (These may not be best for folks in windy climates). While still in development, Veranda Solar did just win a $100,000 prize that they plan to use on production and hopes to have panels on the market by the end of the year. Veranda’s starting prices are to be between $600 to $800 per system, including inverter. You can then add more panels at $450 each.

Posted on May 19th in Going Solar by Dan.