How do I build a solar system to power my house? I would like to DIY it.?
113216
One assumes that you are speaking about a house that is powered by solar source energy, and not a proper solar system, with a star and attendant gases and planets.  However, this questions is under physics for some reason.\n\nIf that is so, I wouldn't advise a DIY project unless you are an electrician.  There are several ways to convert a house to solar-source power.  First of all, you want to do an assessment of your geographic location and the number of average solar access hours per year.  If you are in Minnesota, for example, it might be very difficult to get enough exposure.  You also will want to check the exposure to sunlight that you housing lot has and any obstacles caused by vegetation or buildings.  There are just some things you can't change, like your neighbors 50-foot tall eucalyptus trees that are between your lot and the path of the sun.\n\nSome people use passive solar design to achieve lower energy bills, rather than go to the expense and trouble of buying and installing a solar-powered system.  This can mean insulating your house more efficiently, improving R factors through the intelligent use of batting, windows, materials, etc.  You can also try installing zone HVAC systems.  Additionally, using any local winds or planting vegetation to help cool your house helps.\n\nPassive solar can lower your dependence on electrical or gas source powered, but you will still need electricity.  IF you get enough sun, or have enough acreage and money, you can install photovoltaic solar panels (think sky lab) to capture energy which you would store in fixed batteries (a lot of them, even today).  For example, a 20W flexible solar panel costs about 300 dollars (you can charge a 12V battery or use some minor DC appliances (as long as you have sunlight).  So to run a stereo, you might need about 20 of these, and while the fleixble kind are more expensive (but portable), you are looking at 6000 dollars.  Of course, accumulated in batteries, this might not be so bad.  There are also low-light panels available, too.\n\nThere are all kinds of different ways to do what you have in mind.  The type of method will depend on the desired outcome.  Heating water, for example, will be different.\n\nGood luck, while there are DIY kits for mobile homes (which are plug and play) I don't advise messing with your wiring system unless you know what you are doing.
232244
Yes, this can be done. The cost will be about US$50,000 to $100,000. \n\nShell Solar markets a 1 kW system for US$19,277. That includes an assist from their personnel for installation, but probably does not include all installation, especially if you are in an area where building regulations will require licensed electricians to install it. \nhttp://www.solargysystems.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=225\nShell Solar can be found here:\nhttp://www.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=shellsolar\n\nBP Solar (the other big solar manufacterer besides Shell) is much more evasive about a price. However doing some searching I found an estimate for a 5 kW system of about $50,000.  Since this was done on a website calculator I am skeptical of the price. \nHere is the site:\nhttp://www.bp.com/genericsection.do?categoryId=4323&contentId=3060171
774198
i'm not sure mabey u can do a model of the solar system and show haow it works
707563
The only home-brew solar cells that I know will work are of the copper oxide type.  Try the site below or do a search on "CuO solar cells":
1083201
I don't have a solution for you, but there are tons of people out there that have the same ambitions that you have.  I'd suggest going to www.motherearthnews.com and go to the forums.  Do you want to build?  If so there are tons of kits and do it yourself books out there.  In the forums I have seen off grid (no electricity) cabins on 10 acres for 25 k.  Thats pretty cheap.  If you need something less expensive, the forums are the place to look.
117670
A method for making really cheap solarcells from sand and a way to transport the elctricity the generate without any loss. The amount of energy that falls on the Sahara during a year could cover the worlds entire energy needs 50 times over even using standard photocells that convert only a few percent of the light to electricity. With such an abundant and cheap energy source we could replace ALL other energysources as electricity can be converted to any other form of energy and fuel. We could even keep gasoline cars because gasoline could be manufactured from CO2 (from the air) and hydrogen (from water). There would be alot less pollution if I could invent these things.
405671
I assume you mean electrolysis?  I don't know the exact ratio of energy out to energy in, but I do know that it's not very efficient.  There will be a lot of lost energy.  What kind of H2 on demand system?  Are you trying to run an automobile?  If so, you'd need more than about 10 kilowatts of electricity.  Might as well just build an electric car if you have that much electricity to waste.
417548
You could, but there would need to be an efficicent and cost-effective way to do it. There are very large Uninterruptible Power Supplies out there that can be there, in-line, that would act like a buffer.\n\nIt is possible to reverse electricity to an electrical utility. In fact, you can 'farm' electricity and make money doing it.  You simply need a power switch, and some compliance switching devices to feed it back. Its been done with the solar power industry for years.
723548
There is a website that sells a solar powered charger. We got one for my brother. It charges his cell phone, ipod, pda, anything.
239071
get a solar panel and hook it up to your car.
908174
When I ride a bike at the gym it says I generate about 100-150 watts.  Now that is enough to power a couple light-bulbs, or a computer, but only as long as you keep peddling.  It probably isn't worth researching or looking into since not enough power is being generated to be worth it.  I'm sure the ISS gets plenty of power from its solar panels.
308968
if you are referring to creating electricity from uv light then any standard photovoltaic panel will do the job.  Depending on what photovoltaic material you use the efficiency will change, but because much UV is fairly close to the visible spectrum most will give you decent collection.
484249
With ground based solar:\nPositives:\nOnce you build the panels the power is free\nLittle environmental impact\nAppeases the luddites\nNegatives:\nDownright expensive\nToo unreliable to be a major player in a power grid\nDoesn't work at night\nReduced power when skies aren't clear\nReduced power in winter and at high latitudes\n\nNow putting the solar power plant in space and beaming the power down to earth is another matter.\nPositives:\nVery clean, possibly cleaner than doing it on the ground (trade off is between making the semiconductors on Earth and dumping the waste from that or launching rockets)\nPotentially very cheap if space resources are used\nActually has a possibility of competing with fossil fuels and nuclear power for dominant power supplier\nNegatives:\nNot yet deployed so we only know of it in theory and limited tests of the microwave power transmission\nEvery year at the equinoxes there is a IIRC 74 minute blackout (not as bad as a 12 hour one though and that's only on two days)\nLuddites will probably oppose it despite the microwave beam being perfectly safe
790374
Not unless you can figure out a way to produce a semi-conductor at home.  Basically a solar cell (photovoltaic cell) is a couple of layers of silicon  P type and N type.  Electrons become excited when light quanta penetrates into the P layer. The excited electrons move to the N type and (very oversimplified) create electricity.\n\nI doubt you would have the facilities to create the materials at home.
599950
Are you looking for something like this, a homemade wind turbine to generate electricity?\n\nhttp://www.otherpower.com/17page1.html
83397
You can provide your own electricity with a generator, solar panels, etc. But you don't get to choose your electric utility. Sorry.
561560
lets just start using hydrogen and solar energy....