Solar Do it Yourself Projects You Can Start on Today

If you're starting to feel the pinch of rising utility bills - just like everyone else - maybe you're ready to look into a solar do it yourself project for your home. In the history of the world, there is not a better time to get started with a project like this. A lot of governments all over the world are giving financial incentives to both homeowners and businesses for starting green energy programs - like solar and wind power. We're also now seeing potentially huge benefits for developing nations by using simple inventions like solar water purifiers and ovens. This might just be the start of the next big energy revolution. But where can you start?

Probably the best place to get started is with a simple solar do it yourself project that doesn't require a lot of time or money. Once you begin to see the benefits of alternative energy for yourself on a small scale, you can start moving up to bigger and bigger projects over time - like solar panel arrays, or even wind turbines.

If you're a camping enthusiast, this is one of the quickest and easiest ways for you to start making the sun work for you. For about $40, you can pickup a solar cooking system that will heat most foods - soups, hot dogs, hamburgers - in less than 60 minutes. Since the temperature is somewhat lower than a propane burner, the foods won't burn, and you can keep them warm until you're ready to eat them.

Solar showers are invaluable additions to many campers' backpacks, camping boxes, or popup campers. After a few hours in the sun, these simple plastic bags with a shower head attachment put out very warm water, and you can find them for only $10 or so at many department or camping stores.

Speaking of hot water, installing a solar water heating system on the roof of your house is another possible project. You don't have to use it as your sole source of hot water - it can simply save you money on gas or electric bills by supplementing your home's existing hot water heater. This project is a bit complex, primarily because you'll need to do some plumbing to integrate with your home's existing systems.

Let's get really basic for a minute. In the winter, be sure to open your home's blinds or curtains and let the sun simply heat up your house instead of your furnace! I'm sure you've felt how much heat comes in through your windows during the summer, so be sure and take advantage of that power in winter months too.

A solar do it yourself project that's not quite as complicated as the solar water heating system would be to make your own solar panels. Using parts you can find online or at your local hardware store, and for about $100-200, it's possible to make your own solar energy panel that puts out 18 volts of electricity at about 3 amps - that's 54 watts of power. If you were to build a few of these, you can probably see how you might be able to run a few appliances, supplement power to a porch or sunroom, or just store up energy in batteries to use later.

Last but not least, let's talk about another simple use for solar power - recharging your car's battery. If your automobile battery needs a little help sometimes, why not use the sun to keep it charged by getting a solar car battery charger, which adds power to your battery whenever there's some extra sunlight. The mini solar panel sits on your dashboard and might just give your battery that extra boost it needs to last another 6-12 months or more.

With these simple solar do it yourself projects, you can start right away and be one of the first people in your neighborhood to begin getting the most from one of the most powerful, free energy sources in the universe - the sun.