Are you thinking about a DIY PV system for your home? Fabulous and absolutely doable. It is critical though, that you follow the 5 essential steps to success a for DIY PV system for your home. You might already have done some of them. Be as detailed in your investigations and in your data collection as possible and write it all down. You will need that information when the time comes for the details of the design and building of the solar PV system.

1. What is your goal? Do you want to be totally off the grid and self-sufficient? That will require a fairly large system and a big battery bank. I don’t want to discourage you, just be aware of it. Do you want to install just enough solar PV capacity to reduce your electric bill by 40%, 50%, or more? To achieve the optimal combination between reducing your electric bill and having an affordable system is going to take a few iterations between size, cost, tax credits. Are you interested in a DIY solar kit to quickly and easily install at your remote cabin? Then you might not need to read this entire article, unless you are new to solar PV systems. Instead, do some research online, specifically searching for kits for cabins, maybe even RVs . Call the manufacturers and distributors and ask them lots of questions. Come back here if you get stuck.

2. The number and sizes of PV panels you will need for the solar system depends on your total electric load. And the more panels you need, the more expensive your system. It makes sense, therefore, to lower your home’s electric requirements. The price for a PV system is in the range of $6 per W to $10 per W, installed. If you reduce your electric requirement by say 300W, by replacing incandescent light bulbs with LED lights as an example, you will be able to reduce the cost of your PV system by $1,800 to $3,000.

3. Does the roof or yard where you intend to install the PV panels receive sufficient sunlight? PV panels can make electricity even with diffuse sunlight. However, the system is more efficient and will give you a higher output if you have maximum direct incident sunlight. You can use one of the many free tool available online to calculate the solar radiation at your site. For all of them you will need to make allowance for any trees or neighboring buildings that cause shading on your photovoltaic panels. PV panel manufacturers will also help you with these calculations.

4. To help you finance your system, you can still take advantage of federal tax credits for solar photovoltaic systems and maybe even use the state tax credits for solar systems. And to top it off, in many states you can find utility incentives for solar systems. It is also important to find out what you must do to be able to have your electric utility meter spin backwards so you can sell electric power back to the utility when you are not using it. Some utilities also require special equipment to be put between their meter and your solar system.

5. In addition to the steps listed above, educate yourself. Watch videos, read books, talk to installers, attend a class or two. The more you know about how PV solar systems work, the easier it will be for you design and build the DIY photovoltaic system for your home. Investing time and money in your education will save you lots of money and some headaches during the installation and afterwards. An excellent source is the government’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy site (www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/), where you can find really excellent information for free. For those of you who are visual, a set of videos on how to design and build a DIY solar PV system can be very useful.

Get ready for the fun part. Making it real. Look at all the notes and books, and maybe videos that you have studied. You can move forward ,knowing that you are well prepared. What you have learned will help you to work with a photovoltaic panel manufacturer or supplier to select the perfect DIY solar PV system for your home.

Before you tackle a DIY solar photovoltaic system for your home, complete the five steps and learn about the secrets of how to successfully build your own solar photovoltaic system.