DIY Solar Panels

Installing solar panels can be super expensive. But to get just a little boost for your home electrical system, you’ll be able to DIY next year!

Armagedden Energy (I’m not so keen on the name) is working on the prototype now – a 10-12 lb silicon hexagonal panels that can be easily snapped together and (maybe not so easily) installed on your roof.  Three of these panels together can provide as much as 400 watts of power!

They plan to release commercially in June 2010. The purchase price will be about $6,000 for a single 1kW AC system (i.e. three clovers). The website should be up July 2009.

When to not DIY:

  • When you live in a diverse climate. Though Armagedden Energy says their panels withstand snow, ice, and wind, I’m skeptical about how well they’d hold up in major winters.
  • When you’d like to sell back the unused power to the electric company – you’ll need a professional and an electric company rep to set this up.
  • If your house isn’t totally immersed in sun 12 hours/day. Many solar panels can be rotated as the sun moves across the sky giving you more watts for your money.

Via Fast Company.

~ by iloveOrange on May 20, 2009.

Posted in Electric

4 Responses to “DIY Solar Panels”

  1. Hey Hailey, this is very interesting. How much do these things cost and how much can I expect to save? 400 watts seem like a good amount of energy, huh

    Just stumbled and submitted your site to Viralogy. Hope you get some great traffic from it.

    - Jun

    Jun Loayza said this on May 22, 2009 at 11 am | Reply

    • Hi Jun,

      Thanks for the comment! I’m not sure how much they cost, but I’m going to try to find out. Hang tight…

      iloveOrange said this on June 4, 2009 at 6 pm | Reply

    • Hi Jun,

      Here’s the scoop (I updated the post, too).

      Armaggeden Energy plans to release commercially one year from now, and the purchase price will be about $6,000 for a single 1kW AC system (which is three of the clovers).

      Also, the system should be fine in snow, ice and wind — lightweight doesn’t have to mean that it can’t take the cold.

      And the website should be up in late July.

      iloveOrange said this on June 6, 2009 at 2 pm | Reply

  2. How long until people are saving off their initial investment of the panels?

    greenyourkitchen said this on September 16, 2009 at 2 pm | Reply

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