DIY panels- financial sense or a fun project?
 

My boyfriend is intent on making DIY panels, but I am for purchasing or leasing panels instead. Not that I think he's incapable of undertaking the project alone, but from all that I have read it seems to me that there is no real advantage to DIY panels. I've even read mixed opinions on whether DIY makes financial sense.

So my question is, can someone say definitely whether making your own solar panels is cheaper than buying them? Is there actual data out there to back up either argument?

If DIY is a money-saver or about the same price I guess I'm willing to let him run with it, but I just don't see how DIY is better from a financial perspective.

Jill
You are correct. I'm a habitual DIY-er living in Canada. Built many things including my home. I have seen the kits of solar panel cells for sale. To build them properly with the proper glass and encapsulation epoxy plus the cost of the cells a complete panel with warrantee can be purchased at less cost. Even going frame less and just sandwiching between glass their still cheaper to purchase. Its not possible to beat the high production efficiencies of the panel manufactures

I had the glass quoted by a few companies low iron tempered as need to be and in quantity and you cannot beat some prices for a completed panel.

I was under the assumption that duty and taxes bumped the price up significantly on imported panels here in Canada but still can't see any savings in DIY.

I think its better to maybe think of how to install DIY racking trackers inverters. Where on your house can you install them. I'm thinking a covered porch with a slight see through panel for shading. the more panels the better.

Best of luck
Randen

I agree with Randen. My panels cost less than $1/W (USD) delivered, out of a factory, tested and ready to go. I've been soldering things up for 30+ years, and regularly fabricate little projects up. No way I wanted to gather up all the pieces to build my own for the slight difference in cost. The final stop to the thought was the reality that my local power company and building inspectors want to see "certified" panels in order to let me use them.

In the United States you need UL listed panels to get connected to the grid. I know that EU and other parts of the word have their own requirements to fit the regulatory body. If this was off-grid you might be able to do it but if you are connecting your system to a house it might have to fit electrical codes/rules for your area that might not allow you to do it yourself even if you are off-grid. Before you start be sure to find out that they can be used. IMHO at the current price of solar modules today, there is little sense to do it financially, dealing with soldering together very thin and very fragile wafers that have a surface that can't be touched and trusting the soldering and encapsulation for decades is something that I wouldn't do myself, even though I'm confident in my soldering skills and ability to seal it from the elements. Your mileage may vary but I'd suggest buying the panels. The huge portion of the cost(usually more than the panels) is the rest of the project permitting, wiring, racking, inverter, etc. Be sure you know what needs to go together in the project when it is all said and done to know what the true cost is. In my area the panels are about 1/4 of the total cost for a professionally installed system.

For those who aren't the habitual DIY-er, like Randen, should consider purchasing a solar panel kit. I'm encouraging my boyfriend to do the same-- seems like a good option for someone who may not be the quintessential "handyman", and who is looking for a less expensive option for a smaller project that doesn't require a huge amount of energy.

Do some come more recommended than others?

Just look for name brand components. Here is a German site with metric tonnes of info.

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