Have you ever wondered how much it cost to build a small DIY solar power system? As a matter of fact, you will probably not be spending more than $99 for the entire setup. If you're building a really small solar panel, you'll probably be coughing out less than $29. The small solar energy generator I'm referring to allows us to run practical 12V equipment around the house, especially the garden. An example of this is a popular 10-Watt personal solar power system. This can power small electronics such as garden sprinklers, automatic gate openers, garage lamps or fishpond aeration & filtration systems. I recently came across a 10-Watt solar power kit at a DIY store on sale for more than two hundred dollars. I was curious and I picked up the box to see what is in the package. Immediately I thought, "Anyone can build these stuff in half a day and will only spend less than $99!" In fact any beginner hobbyist can easily build a small solar energy project within this budget. You may be pretty familiar with the major components that hangs together to make a small, personal solar energy power generator. If you are already building DIY solar panels, you will recognize this list: 1. 10-Watt solar panel 2. Charge controller 3. 12V Rechargeable battery 4. Switches and Fuse 5. Diodes 6. Wires If you hop over to eBay, you can see that on most days, a solar panel costs less than $35, charge controllers costs less than $25 each, and a 12V battery costs less than $20. Components such as Switches, fuses and diodes only cost a few bucks at most. The total cost reflected is less than $90. You may also want to check out the prices for yourself on eBay by searching their keywords. Check it out and see if I'm telling you the truth. Your local electronics component store can also be a haven for cheap components. Every now and then, drop by their stores to see if they any solar panels or batteries on sale. Many hobbyists know that retailers have to slash prices to get rid of their old inventory so as to make space for newer, more popular ones. If you are thinking of scaling up your DIY solar power project to supply your household appliances, you will need more components than what's listed above. For example, you will need an inverter that converts the direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC) to fit your household power specification. In general, the more you scale up your project, the increase in cost is more than a linear relationship. Therefore make sure you have proper plans before starting anything so you know how much you'll require to see the project to completion.
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