Make Cheap Solar Panels and Cut Your Electricity Bill by 75%?

Phil Paine

Well – Yes and No!  – Let me explain.

YES. Yes you can build cheap solar panels and make a fully functioning 60watt solar panel for around $175.  NO.  You won’t cut your electricity bills with just a couple of solar panels.  You will need dozens of panels.

The best “how to make solar panels” guides / kits do a really excellent job of showing you how to do it.  But, not all the kits/manuals reviewed were that clear or helpful.  Some left too many questions unanswered, were confusing or did not pay enough attention to safety. After a very thorough assessment, one product stood out as being the most comprehensive and provided the most complete package: HomeMadeEnergy (see review below)

If you want 2 or 3 cheap solar panels to provide lighting and some power for an outbuilding or shed, then making your own cheap solar panels can be an enjoyable and satisfying science or DIY project to undertake.  Just remember that if you search, you should find cheap solar panels retail for the same cost of making them yourself.

These DIY guides / kits take you step by step through the complete build process.  The top 3 kits reviewed include excellent manuals/instructions and videos.  They clearly show you what to do and how to do it, and the techniques are easy to learn.  With the quality and thoroughness of the leading products even an outright DIY novice should be able to build their own cheap solar panels and make a good job of it.  Just take your time and become competent at soldering before starting soldering tab wires to solar cells.  (If you get stuck the leading suppliers provide customer support so you always have someone to turn to for advice).

After a very thorough assessment, one product stood out as being the most comprehensive and provided the most rounded package:

HomeMadeEnergy

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Two other products are also very good and are highly recommended:

GreenDIYenergy

Earth4Energy

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HomeMadeEnergy – No. 1 Choice

Price                                    $47.00

Instructions & Videos:
Renewable Energy Info:
How Easy to Build:
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Overall Verdict:

HomeMadeEnergy has produced an excellent package for making solar panels.  It does a very thorough job, covering all aspects of making cheap solar panels and does not assume any prior knowledge or expertise.  There is a good manual and seven videos (almost 3 hours) that go through in detail all the steps to making a solar panel.  In addition there are another 3 hours of video presentations that lay a foundation of knowledge covering solar energy systems, terminology, system components, system sizing, batteries, on grid / off grid configurations and the fundamentals of electricity. This kit is ideal for both the novice or experienced DIYer who wants to make their own solar panels.  At the time of review this HomeMadeEnergy product is the most complete and best instructional guide for making solar panels.  Our No. 1 choice.

Click here for our in-depth review of the HomeMadeEnergy package.

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GreenDIYenergy - Highly Recommended

Price                                $49.97

Instructions & Videos:
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Overall Verdict:

The GreenDIYenergy package is very impressive.  There are four good manuals and some really excellent quality videos.  The videos have been produced in high resolution and cover the making of cheap solar panels and the materials & tools used.  These are the best quality instructional videos we have reviewed.  As with Home Made Energy, the videos complement the manuals and together provide excellent step by step instructions.  Green DIY Energy gets edged into 2^nd place because it’s coverage of the additional background information on solar energy, on grid/off grid system configurations, batteries, etc. lacks dept and breadth.  The instructional videos are also aimed at those who have bought pre-tabbed solar cells, if you buy non-tabbed cells you will have to rely on the manual for an explanation of how to solder the tab wires to the front of the cells. However, all in all the GreenDIYenergy product is a first class instructional guide and would suit both the novice and experienced DIY person.  Highly Recommended.

Click here for our in-depth review of the GreenDIYenergy package.

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Earth4Energy - Highly Recommended

Price                                $49.97

Instructions & Videos:
Renewable Energy Info:
How Easy to Build:
Value for Money:
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Overall Verdict:

This is a very good product.  Earth4Energy has produced one of the best “how to make” cheap solar panels guides available.  The manuals are very good.  The only reason that this kit does not get top billing is that the instructional videos only cover some of the initial steps in building a solar panel.  Earth 4 Energy has recently produced four excellent videos (and more are in the pipeline) that cover the wider aspects of using and configuring solar panel systems, covering terminology, different types of on grid/off grid configurations, building codes/regulations etc.  As well as a a number of bonuses (all available free off the Internet) the package includes a manual for making bio-diesel from used cooking oil. Overall, this is a very good package on how to make cheap solar panels and a wind turbine, and one that is continually being improved.  Earth4Energy rightly deserves joint 2nd place with Green DIY Energy. Highly Recommended.

Click here for our in-depth review of the Earth4Energy package.

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For the full evaluation of all 5 DIY guides and comparison table, please see our in-depth review.

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