Thanks for your comment, it’s great to hear from a student interested in renewable power!

It is possible to have the power company pay you for excess power that you generate — it’s called “net metering”. There are a couple issues however… the system needs to be pretty robust (so that there’s excess power) and “grid-tied” into the home’s AC breaker (which is a job done by an electrician or the power company). And, the power company has to offer “net metering”.

As for cost, it ranges from a couple hundred dollars to make your own wind turbine up to $10,000+ for a robust, pre-fab & professionally installed system. There are tax credits that can help offset the cost of the latter.

Will it actually help? I think it’s great to generate 100% clean power and I love saving money as well. Those are the positives. Building your own wind turbine does take some “handiness” and ingenuity, so keep that in mind.

One last thing: I wouldn’t recommend you purchase the DIY manual that I recommend without checking with your parents first, though. Here’s some good free info on the internet to get you started: http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_wind.html and http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-1000-watt-wind-turbine/

Good luck!
Frank Bates

*Will the power company pay for the power we don’t use?
*How much will it cost to make or get one?
*Will it really actually help?

Thank you so much,
Maranda

Thanks for you comments! I’m looking to add more photos to the site soon, and maybe even video if I can get my wife to take some (she’s the camera expert). Good luck with your project, it can be a lot of fun!

Frank Bates

just came across your site. would love to see what you have. would like to add solar and wind, if possible.

tom bell

Frank Bates

Thanks for your comment and for stopping by the blog!

I think this sort of project does require a certain level of “handiness”, since it involves (in the case of building a solar panel) some soldering/wiring of the cells together, creating a wooden frame, connecting to a battery, etc. Frankly, I would probably not undertake it if you feel particularly unskilled in these types of tasks.

I did just find out a nice surprise piece of news when I logged into my Earth4Energy account today — they just released some VIDEOS showing how to do a couple of the tasks. I thought these were pretty cool and are easier to follow than the manual. But I’d say my comments still stand in that even with the clear instructions & videos, it does take a decent level of “handiness”.

Good luck!
Frank Bates

PS One other option is to hire somebody to build it for you, but this can cut into the cost advantage versus prefab.

I just came across your website and it does sound very intriguing. Almost too good to be true but then I read about buying damaged and chipped panels.

I live near Salt Lake and am very interested considering the amount of days we have sunshine here.

I do have a draw back, I can follow directions well but I am not particularly handy, but I think I could learn. Do you think this would be simple enough for a dummy in home improvement?

Lori

@ Jim:
Thanks for your comment! The step-by-step manual that we used is called Earth4Energy. I’m not the author/seller, I’m just a normal guy who used it successfully. If you’d like to see about getting your own copy, their website is over at http://www.solarandwind4me.com/recommends/solarpower.

@ Dave:
Thanks for your excellent question and for stopping by the blog! You’re absolutely right in that the solar cells/panels themselves are the most expensive part of this DIY project. The other materials, like a wood frame, glass cover, copper wire, etc. are cheap and easily available at a local hardware store. he key here is to obtain discounted or even free cells for the project, since we’re building this ourselves rather than paying for a pre-fab and installation.

Here’s how to get discounted and/or free cells both from my project and what they say in the Earth4Energy manual (I hope I don’t get in trouble by sharing…):

- the key is to look for chipped or damaged cells…if they’re not too damaged, you can repair cracks with clear silicone and re-wire with solder…otherwise look for discounted/used cells…new cells at retail would likely break your $200 budget

- contact local traffic sign vendors…solar cells are used in lots of roadside towers/lights and construction signs, and these vendors can have lots of damaged/chipped cells that you can pick up on the cheap

- contact local solar power installers…the vendors that do the pre-fab installations often have damaged cells or perfectly good used cells that were taken out when customers get upgrades

- ebay…this was a weird one for me but there are actually lots of people selling solar cells on eBay…try searching for “chipped solar panels” and terms like that

One last thing to keep in mind on expectations… a $200 budget is doable in my experience for making your own solar panels, but depending on your conditions and electrical load, you may need multiple panels or the addition of a wind turbine (like I did) to meet your power needs/goals.

Thanks everybody for your comments — it’s just great to see so many other good folks interested in making their own 100% clean power!

Frank Bates