• Best Do It Yourself Solar Electric info?

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  • I tend to think that it is best to leave solar electricity to the pros right now. The panels are still expensive, changing every month, and the layout and installation, hookup, etc very tricky. But this also might be a time for DIY-ers to leap ahead. Looking around I've not seen any reliable guide to offer practical advice about what exactly to buy today (2012), and how to install it on your house or yard. A lot of this info for sale is 5 to 10 years old. Is there a source that you have used yourself that you'd recommend?

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    Question by kevin kelly
    03/01/2012

P.S> I know about Backwoods Solar website and Home Power magazine (previously reviewed), but I was looking more for a step-by-step systematic tutorial or manual for setting up a system.

Answer by kevin kelly
03/01/2012

Build It Solar is a wonderful resource. http://www.builditsolar.com/

Since each site/system is fairly unique, you're probably not going to find many step-by-step sites. Your best bet is to learn the basic system components and go from there.

Answer by derek murawsky
03/11/2012

Hi, The grid-tied PV systems that use micro-inverters make good DIY systems -- they are straight forward to put together.
There are three detailed descriptions of micro-inverter PV systems here: http://www.builditsolar.com/References/Pumps/PumpCurves.htm

The first one is my system and the how-to build it is VERY detailed -- it was also in Mother Earth News a couple months back.

Gary

Answer by garygary
03/12/2012
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