Thanks to modern technology supplying electrical power to remote areas of your farm, or emergency power for your shop or home, is so much easier and more efficient than it used to be. In recent years manufacturers have developed solar cells that will pump out reliable electrical energy for years, and they are now really affordable if you buy them right. The solar cells that are available by just searching the Internet are designed to put out a small amount of electricity when they see the sun, and simply by wiring them together you can produce enough power to run a pump, emergency lighting, fence charger or have the ability to run power tools in remote areas. How about powering heating mats or lamps for chicks or puppies out in the barn?
There are lots of solar panels kits for sale on the Internet, but they have one problem in common; they are too expensive and cost too much to ship. Also, you may not get enough information about how to assemble, install and use the panels once you get them. For small jobs or intermittent duty it only takes a panel big enough to produce 18-24 volts DC, a battery and a small inverter, if you want AC power. A panel of this size uses 36 solar cells or so, and you'll soon find that they can be ordered online for very little cost, and shipping might even be free. The rest of the materials needed to assemble a working solar panel can be bought right down town, so it just doesn't make sense to order a complete kit and pay 3-4 times as much to get a panel that does exactly the same thing.
The fact is you can get everything you need to build your own solar panel for around 0 that will be just as good as one you might order as a kit, and with some good instructions just about anyone who knows how to use basic hand tools can build a panel right in the garage or on the kitchen table, if you prefer. Once you assemble a solar panel the lead wire is attached to a 12V battery; it's best to use a deep cycle type like a marine battery because a standard car battery is not made to be discharged repeatedly like your system will require. Then an inverter is used to pull from the battery power and produce 110 volts AC power to run your tools or appliances, and again you can get one right in town that will work just fine.
If you find that your project requires more power than one solar panel will handle, you can simply build more and wire the solar panels together in parallel to produce more wattage. A nice little system for backup or emergency power can be built for a few hundred dollars instead of a few thousand dollars that pre-made kits will cost, and you will find a DIY solar panel project to be fun and easy.
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