Solar Panels for the Home: Myths You Shouldn’t Believe

With the popularity of green energy and especially solar power lately, more people than ever before are becoming interested in making their own solar panels and going “off the grid.” But there are a lot of myths and misinformation out there about what you can really do with these solar panels, how much they cost, and how much in dollars they can shave off your electricity bill.

The first, and largest, myth of all is that solar panels are extremely expensive. This is only right if you buy them through a large company and get a professional installation service – if you do that, it might cost over $20,000 to take your house completely “off the grid”!

Assuming you do it yourself, though, you can get the same fantastic results at a fraction of the price with 2 different but equally viable approaches.

Method #1: Buy broken or not 100% functional solar panels, either on eBay, from solar manufacturing companies, or by calling local places like your hardware store or even the highway patrol.

Why highway patrol? Well, solar panels are used along many highways in the US, and traffic accidents often result in broken solar panels – so this can be a fantastic source for making your home 100% green. And it’s something not too many people know about.

Another method: you can buy the individual solar cells from eBay or from your local hardware store, and then assemble everything yourself. These cells are very cheap, but they don’t function at 100% – and it will take a few days to assemble everything.

The second huge myth about solar panels for the home is that you can completely eliminate your electric bill with them, all the time. This is nice to reckon about, but the truth is more complicated than that.

One huge problem with this is that not everyone lives in the ideal area for solar power – if you’re in Alaska, or your house is in the shade, you’ll have a tough time extracting much power from your solar panels.

But even without that, the average house would require solar panels with the capacity for thousands of kilowatts to go 100% “off the grid.” And if you use air-conditioning, you’ll need double what the typical home would require.

But, even if you don’t make your electric bill vanish, you can still greatly reduce it. And if you build multiple solar panels or also use wind turbines, you really can take your bill to $0.

The third myth is that do-it-yourself solar panels will fall apart easily, or are very fragile. Don’t get me incorrect – nothing lasts forever, and solar panels are no exception.

It starts with proper construction: prevent moisture from getting in by using silicone, and then use flexi-glass on the outside to prevent water, dust, and debris from settling on top.

And then there’s maintenance – you need to clean your panels, check the wiring, and clean out moisture at least once a year. Do this, and your solar panels will last for years and power your house long into the future.