-You’re probably well aware that the cost of energy is always on the increase, in terms of cost to your bank account, as well as the cost to the environment; but is it practical to build your own solar panel?

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In this article we’ll have a look at three things you need to think about when deciding if building your own solar panels is the right option for you. To start with we’ll have a brief overview of what solar power is; then we’ll see what the benefits are of having solar panels; and finally we’ll see if building one is going to be cost effective.

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Solar Power: What is it?

Ok, you may already know what it is, but do you have any idea of how it actually works? Surprisingly few people do, and if you want to build your own solar panel, it’s helpful to know how it actually works.

For this example we’ll look at solar panels for heating water, as it’s going to be the easiest and most practical choice when making a solar panel.

You’ve probably noticed, if you’re of the gardening persuasion, that if you pick up a hose pipe that’s been sitting in the sun, and you start to water your plants, the water that comes out of it to start with is going to be warm; if not hot. Do you know why that is?

If you said it’s because the rubber pipe has been absorbing the heat, and that heat has been passed through to the water that’s already in the pipe then, well done; this is also the idea behind the solar water heater that you’ll make when you build your own solar panel. If you gave any other sort of answer then yes, it is still possible for you to start making a solar panel, the idea behind it isn’t always important to know.

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Solar Energy: The benefits

Apart from the obvious benefits of the money that you’re going to save each month on your water heating bill, there are a number of other benefits that you should take into account, too.

Building your own solar panels is cheap; in fact, you may be able to get most of the parts that you need without spending any money at all; what you do have to spend will be far less than the cost of your water heating for a month, too.

Now, aside from the money that you’ll be saving in building your own solar panels, and the money you’ll save each month on your heating, there’s also the saving of the Earth’s natural resources.

Sure, that may sound a little ‘hippie’ but just think about it for a moment; the population of the Earth is higher than it has ever been in the past, and there are far more ‘advanced’ countries than there have ever been, too. What does that mean? These countries are starting to use far more of the Earth’s natural resources to power their economies; it’s up to countries like ours to show them that there’s a cleaner, greener way to go about it.

You can help to start a movement, just by making a solar panel, and save money at the same time; not a bad benefit, is it?

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Is deciding to build your own solar panel cost effective?

Even though we’re only talking about tackling making a solar panel to heat your water, the answer still has to be yes.

The cost to heat your water may be a relatively small part of your overall electricity bill, but any money saved is still money in your pocket. Prices are always on the rise, so what may be a small saving today, could be a bigger saving if the price of electricity goes up by as little as 1% in the near future; based on recent price increases, a 1% rise would be a welcome relief for most homes.

The cost to build your own solar panel is minimal, and it doesn’t even require a lot of sun to start producing your hot water, so it would have paid for itself in less than a month, and the money saved after that can be used for the family essentials.

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How to build your own solar panel

Here’s the bit where you discover just how to begin making a solar panel, and start saving money.

To start with you’re going to need a thoroughly cleaned out pipe, one from the back of an old fridge would work well; a shallow wooden box to hold everything in; a piece of glass to cover the front of the box; a black rubber mat – without any holes in it; and some silver paper.

Start by putting the silver paper in the bottom of the box; put the pipe on top of the silver paper; cover the pipe with the rubber mat; then ‘close’ the box with the glass.

What happens is: the water flows through the pipe and stays there for some time, because it’s a reasonably long and bent bit of pipe; the sun goes through the glass and heats up the rubber mat; the rubber mat traps the heat and transfers it to the pipe; the silver paper reflects back heat that hasn’t passed into the pipe; you now have hot water.

Gravity feed the water in one end, and the hot water should start to come out the other end.

So there you have it; how realistic is it to build your own solar panel?

The answer is that it’s very realistic. You’re going to have hot water on tap, no matter how often the electricity prices go up in the future. The money you’ll spend on building your own solar panels is nothing compared to the money you save once it’s done.

So, not only can you build your own solar panel, you can help to build a better future for the planet’s resources.

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