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John sat down at his computer and punched in “How to build solar panels for power.” With energy prices going up everyday and the RRSP checks barely making ends meet John was looking for a way to cut down on his electricity bill and maybe even learn a new skill while he was at it.

Are you somewhat in John’s shoes? Looking for a way to save some money on electricity? Or, maybe just want to see if you can actually build a working solar panel on your own? You’ve tried every new energy saving device and all your results seem to be minimal at best. Well, let me tell you 2 things that you will need to get started with building your own solar power and get you started on the right foot.

1. Find Some Good Solar Cells – The most important component of your Solar Power system is, of course, the solar panel. So one of the first things that you should look for is some good solar cells.

You should look for Solar cells that measure 3″ x 6″ and are rated for about 3 amps each. In order to get these for a decent price you may need to do a little shopping around but you should be able to buy around 36 cells (the amt you will need for one panel) for under $70 on E-Bay. News cells will cost you a whole lot more than that!

Another option is to try and get them for free. All you do is give your local solar company a call and see if they have any used or slightly damaged cells that you could use, you maybe surprised at what there response will be!

2. Plywood/Acrylic – This will be used to hold all of the cells as a backing for the solar panel. You don’t need to go out and buy any expensive wood as this will be protected anyway.

Although using plywood is cheaper Acrylic is recommended as it will be more durable and long lasting.

Building your own solar panels for power can be very rewarding especially when you know what you are doing. So go ahead, get started Today!