Green DIY Energy – Review… #2 Rated
Rating: 9.5/10
Green DIY Energy is a downloadable product which will show you how to make your own solar panels for under $200. This guide to making your wind power and home solar energy system is made for beginners so all skill levels will be comfortable using it. All you need are just some basic hand tools and the motivation.
As with all the others guides reviewed here no building materials are supplied, these are strictly instructional courses. You can purchase some of the materials you need at your local hardware store and get the rest over the internet.
The Good…
Green DIY Energy is a combination of many different guides. The first guide is mostly informational in content which may be a bit boring for some, especially for those who are eager to get started right away. Here you will find out how solar energy is produced and the components of an on-grid and off-grid home solar energy system. Towards the end of the guide you will to learn how to find free solar panels, how to wire them and how to maintain them.
The second guide is the fun and juicy part. This is where you will find directions for building solar panels from scratch. You can build a single solar panel or you can build an array of panels to power your entire home. You begin by making one solar panel at a time, able to power some appliances, and then add on at your leisure.
Other Green DIY Energy manuals include your wiring and installation guide. You will learn how to hook up multiple solar panels, how and where to install them and how to store the power for your home solar energy system. The installation guide is general in nature, there are no detailed instructions just a bunch of pictures. This is fine as you do not want to mess around with hooking up the solar panels to your electric panel, do you? Besides, your local municipality would probably require that you retain the services of a qualified electrician for this part, which may not be a bad idea anyway.
But the heart of this system are the videos. These are very well done and informative and takes you through each step of building your own wind power and home solar energy system. They begin by showing you what tools and materials you will need. You then move on to building the frame, soldering the solar cells to each other, putting everything together and finally testing the panel. I think you’ll be surprised how simple it really is.
Below is an example of the video quality.
If solar power isn’t your thing, there are two bonus guides on building you own wind generator. These are the most comprehensive guides we have come across. It also includes a wind map and references to sites that will help you determine if a wind power system is feasible for your area.
The NOT So Good…
The solar power videos should have included segments on sizing and putting together your wood panel and how to hook up the completed solar panel to charge your battery. If you are going to make the videos then why not make them complete?
There are no videos on building a wind turbine.
The Bottom Line
Overall, however, Green DIY Energy is professionally compiled and covers everything you need to know in order to build you own wind power and home solar energy system. It contains very good written instructions and truly excellent videos. These videos are of better quality than the ones for HomeMadeEnergy, but lag behind slightly in the amount of detail provided.
You also get excellent customer service, just in case you ever get stuck. It also comes with a 60 day money back guarantee if it doesn’t live up to your expectations, though I think that’s unlikely.
