DIY Solar Panels
Courtesy of DOE/NREL
Cutting Costs?
If you’re considering PV solar energy as an alternative to your existing electrical power, cost is probably your deciding factor. Solar panels/modules make up approximately 50-60% of the installed cost of a solar electric system and fortunately, prices are steadily declining. As an approximation, you can expect to pay a retail price1 anywhere from $2.00-$4.50 per peak watt for a single solar module, with discounts available on volume. This weeks average retail price2 for all brands was about $2.70 per watt. At that price, the retail cost for a 200 watt module would average about $540 (200 watt x $2.70/watt). Considering that a 2000-5000 watt (2-5 kw) solar electric system would require a minimum of 10-25 modules, it’s understandable that there has been a deluge of DIY solar panel guides/manuals coming out of the woodwork.
What I’m talking about are those DIY guides3 that claim to help you build your own solar panel for less than $200 by following their easy to use step-by-step instructions. The idea of saving $340 per module ($540-$200) by building your own solar panel does arouse interest, but is this the right place to cut costs.
Unless your an extremely dedicated DIY’er with plenty of time and energy, I wouldn’t recommend entertaining the idea of cutting costs by building your own panels4. It’s not realistic to think you can manufacture quality and reliable PV panel’s in the garage to power your home. A DIY “Build Your Own Solar Panel” guide could be helpful to the hobbyist or someone engaged in an educational project, where you could get enough power from it to run a fan or charge a battery, but don’t expect to build quality solar panels that you can use to power your home.
Most solar panels now have a 2-6 year limited warranty for material defects and a 20-25 year limited warranty for power output that is less than 80% of the modules minimum specified output. Since the average solar panel’s life expectancy5 now exceeds 30 years, does it make cents to build your own.
1. Solarbuzz’s “Solar Module Price Highlights: March 2010″
2.120W+ Weekly Retailer Price at PVinsights.com
3. diysolar.com
