It's been rough going in our world for the past year, during this recession. Millions of people are out of work and trying to cut down on costs and save their money. Fortunately, there's an opportunity knocking at the door, do it yourself green energy projects! Believe it or not, there are hundreds of ways to reduce your electric bill and go green at home. Could you imagine; no electric bill, no power outages, and best of all, affordable green energy for your own home!



First things first... What is solar energy?

Solar energy is the capture and use of the sun's rays and radiation. Solar cells are strung together within a full solar panel and convert up to 35% of the sun's rays into pure electricity. The electricity can be used as its generated, stored in batteries for use at later times, or if you are not using it or storing it, it can be sent out onto the utility grid for use by other people. In this case, you're credited by the utility company for providing that electricity to others.

But wait... Isn't going green expensive?

Many people believe that it's very expensive to go green and although this may be true to a point, it's not completely the case. Professionally built and installed solar power or wind generator systems can cost upwards of $100,000 for a large house to go off-grid. However, there are new products available today that show and teach you how to create your own solar power or wind turbine systems. You can build anywhere from a few solar panels to help cut your energy costs or an entire roof-full to go off-grid and completely eliminate your power bill. The best part of all is how simple it is to find and read through the information you need to know, especially with the guides available today that include free video instructions.

Isn't solar technology a little too complex to "do it yourself?"

Although solar and wind turbine energy may sound complex and difficult, you have nothing to fear. It's actually very simple to build your own solar panels. One of the most difficult parts of the projects involved "stringing" the solar cells together. This involves the art of soldering, not as tough as you thought, right? Other than soldering you will need to have a small bit of experience with electrical wiring. This is also quite simple, just be careful and turn off the power! The best part of all is if you're new to soldering or electrical wiring you have nothing to fear. These are easy skills to learn and the tools are inexpensive. You should have no problem with such a project. There are guides available that make these tasks very easy to understand and accomplish.

If this little article caught your interest and you'd like to look into a do it yourself solar panel project or wind turbine system there are many guides available that can teach you all about solar and wind energy, show you exactly how to build and install a system, and make it very simple. I would recommend such a project only for those familiar with DIY experience, but with the simplicity of the instructions and considering I did it, I'm confident anybody can do this.