GreenDIYEnergy

GreenDIYEnergy is the best and most complete DIY solar guide. Included in the package are 17 different components: ebooks, spreadsheets and videos. The videos are what really separate GreenDIYEnergy from the other guides.

GreenDIYEnergy covers the entire solar panel build process in 6 videos. All of them are mp4 videos at a resolution of 852x480. They are much larger and higher quality than the videos in the other DIY solar panel guides. The videos cover the entire process step-by-step, all the way from start to finish, and look really good. The large size and high resolution let you see everything.

To start, the videos show you what tools and parts are required to build the solar panel. Then they move on to getting and connecting the solar cells. The videos also cover the physical construction of the container for the solar panel and how to attached the solar cells to the container. Then they show final wiring of the panel and finishing. Finally the solar panel is connected to a volt meter and you can see it actually producing electricity.

GreenDIYEnergy also includes ebooks on topics like DIY solar power, solar electrical, solar installation and solar tax credits. The ebooks are very comprehensive, with over 200 total pages. There are also spreadsheets you can use to figure out how much electricity your appliances use, how many solar panels you’ll need and sizing for power inverter, charge controller and batteries.

While preparing to build a solar panel for my electric bike, I bought a reviewed quite a few DIY solar guides and GreenDIYEnergy is the most complete, highest quality DIY solar guide I have seen. For a more comprehensive review, visit my review of GreenDIYEnergy.

Homemade Energy

Another very good DIY solar guide is Homemade Energy. It also includes videos, in fact more videos than any other guide. It includes ebooks, though fewer than GreenDIYEnergy, and similar spreadsheets.

There are more videos in Homemade Energy than in any other guide. The entire process from start to finish is covered in detail. You get to see everything – parts and tools, connecting the solar cells, constructing the box and cover, affixing the cells and final finish. While they are not quite as large and high quality as the GreenDIYEnergy videos, they are still quite good.

The ebook included with Homemade Energy is pretty comprehensive and covers all facets of solar panel construction. My suggestion would be to watch the videos all the way through and then use the ebook as a reference. The calculator spreadsheets are really close to what you get with GreenDIYEnergy.

GreenDIYEnergy includes more ebooks and has higher quality video so I would give it the nod over Homemade Energy, but Homemade Energy is also quite good and does have more video than GreenDIYEnergy. Homemade Energy is also a very good package, though, and you do get your money’s worth.

For a more complete review, check out my review of HomemadeEnergy.