Make your own solar power generator for less than $300

Whether you live off grid or just want backup power for emergencies, having a small solar generator at home can definitely come in handy. While most store-bought solar generators can be pretty pricey, you can actually create your own with parts easily acquired through the internet or at local stores for $200 to $300 – and you don’t have to be an engineer to do it. An online tutorial created by Phil Heiple features easy-to-follow instructions with amusing illustrations that guide you through each of the eight steps. Once you obtain the parts, which include a small solar panel, a battery, a DC input and an AC inverter, assembly takes about an hour to complete. When you're done assembling your new DIY solar power generator, place the solar panel in the sun for five to eight hours to charge the battery the first time. The finished product is small enough to tote on camping trips, on the boat, out in the field or while traveling in the third world.

solar Solar cells What to look for, what to look out for When it comes down to buying solar cells, most of your decisions will come down to trading off a number of factors -- primarily: Price Oftentimes, you get what you pay for ; sometimes, you get more; other times you get less. You really need to do your math before you decide that a higher-priced cell is too expensive (given its performance), or that a cheap cell is a good buy. I've pulled together comparison data in large part to help the BEAM community decide what is and isn't a good deal. Availability You can often find really good deals on solar cells from surplus houses -- but when their supply is gone, it's gone. To start with, I tabulated advertised data on solar cells sold by all the small-cell vendors I could find (including some surplus houses). In order to compare cells of various voltages, sizes, and costs, I had to construct some performance metrics. What can we deduce from this?