Build your own Solar Generator (under $300) - DIY Project

A solar generator is great for emergency power backup, remote sites and camping. But they can cost a bloody fortune. So why not build one yourself from parts you can find at your local hardware store?
This comprehensive video will walk you through the theory as well as the practical process to build your own small solar generator. You can also obtain a detailed book with step-by-step instructions at solarpvtrainin... if you are so inclined.
Blue Rock Station is a sustainable living center located in southern Ohio. It is a demonstration project, seeking to live with and demonstrate a number of ideas and theories around sustainable and resilient living. It features the first Earthship built east of the Mississippi - a dozen or so straw bale buildings, tiny house, homestead living (chickens, gardens, dairy goats, etc). We also provide solar PV certification training, as well as workshops on sustainable living. Visit us at www.bluerockstation.com or www.solarPVtraining.com

[@TxRiverElf]

Thank you, for passing along an excellent overview knowledge, that explains the general workings of solar electrical power, as relative to this handy project. Very appreciated.

[@ronb6182]

Your solar panel can be higher than 12 volts if you use a charge controler. As i was looking at panels most are around 18 volts. The charge controler will output a charge for a 12 volts 13.8 is what some charge at. Your alternator on your car could be as high as 14 volts which is ok for your battery. 73

[@bluerock58]

Yes. It is important to keep in mind the difference between a "nominal" 12 volt panel (or battery for that matter) and the actual voltage it produces. A solar panel that is considered a "nominal" 12-volt panel will produce voltage in a range from zero (no sun shining) to as high as 20 volts in bright sunlight if it is cold (temp affects voltage as well). A "nominal" 12-volt battery will generally operate in the range of 11 V to 13 V. So we just use the nominal shorthand to say that these items are compatible with each other.

[@ronb6182]

@@bluerock58 I was always told the charge controller will adjust the voltage so it won't damage the batteries. Special controllers are needed for Li-ion. type batteries. Thanks this is a new field for most people. 73

[@ronb6182]

Oh one other note the original harbor freight solar panels the Amorphous type as know as thin film will generate power on cloudy days better than mono or poly panels. Even a fluorescent light will generate power or street lights as well. But for cost they have a 100 watt monochystaline panel usually have a coupon on their website. I had a co worker that had the original solar panels 45 watt system and he ran his well on solar the energy was stored in a deep cycle battery. I guess he used a harbor freight inverter which I would never use. Pure sine wave and 240 volts is best for wells. 73

[@budmartin3344]

Good video. You should also factor in the inverter efficiency, 80% is typical, 100W of power draw from battery will get you about 80W of AC power, this will help calculating the run time. Also in the real world, you will get about 75 ~ 80% of solar panel Wattage rating.

[@MHLivestreams]

I would get an inverter rated at double the requirements, and have double required solar panels. Being in Britain we would probably be lucky to get 50% out of solar anyway!

[@Lewythefly]

Lots of charge controllers can handle a higher input solar voltage as many solar panels aren't 12v

[@seth2638]

This is really great, exactly what I was hoping to build. What is the size of the fuse protecting the inverter?

[@seth2638]

Also, can you use an SAE power socket for the input rather than the lighter plug, and then use a battery charger through the charge controller to charge the battery from AC power when youre home, etc?

[@bluerock58]

SAE socket should work fine (just used the cigarette plug because folks are more familiar with those). If using a battery charger from AC power I would just hook it up directly to the battery (not sure if the charge controller would get in the way).

[@Owl350]

Save more money by making your own free energy devices ,and then convert that to 110 . That way you can charge your batteries even at night are when it's cloudy .

[@johnwillenburg1586]

U made it?

[@lissaestes7017]

This is the best basic solar system explanation I have ever seen. I subbed. I am looking forward to watching your other videos, and will be recommending your channel to others. Thank you so much!

[@kennthbrowne7051]

nice build cool you should put switch between positive of wire so you shout off inverter they still power in inverter

[@johndias6614]

This is a an ok budget build. Prices have gone down on a lot of components. Go big. Over build. I'm planning my build...400 watt expandable PV panels. 2,000 or 3,000 watt 12 volt inverter. Bigger expandable controller. I want to be able to power a fridge and freezer. Pure sine wave inverters have come down in price. Li Time 3,000 pure sine wave inverter is just over $300.00. If you go to a 24 volt or 48 volt system you'll save a lot on wire. You can use smaller diameter wire (less amps).

[@ProdigyAnesthesia-qe9vc]

You explained this in a way that even I could understand. Well done.

[@jbazan11]

Very simple explanation and understood 👍

[@earthenergyhex]

You should be a Professor

[@motomuto3313]

He served as my instructor during my college years.

[@niiotoo9779]

Very helpful tutorial for a layman. Much appreciated

[@douglaswindsor120]

So far non of the panels I've bought have had mc4 connectors the smaller ones had cigarette lighter plug designed to sit on the dash plug into the lighter socket to keep your vehicle battery maintained they were also great if you had a dead battery plug it in and in about an hour start the vehicle 2 45 watt 75 watt Colman with charge controller and 2 100 watt panels all just had wires so no mc4 connectors although I did buy a solar generator and I did buy a mc4 connector kill with crimpers and connectors and also a Anderson kit as for buying modified versus pure sine wave yes modified is cheaper to buy but it isn't in the long run most electronic devices run hot enough to melt solder connection killed my Dewalt cordless battery charger and since I was out where there wasn't power and when I finally got to power I couldn't afford a new charger my 6 batteries left dead for so long wouldn't take a charge it also killed my battery maintainer once I found this out I took them apart and one joint on each had a solder connection melt so adding all of what I had to replace it would have been cheaper to buy a pure sine wave inverter unfortunately back then solar and inverters were something new and before I found utube I recommend my brother buy one and I inherited it and i had one given to me so now I have 3 1750 watt modified sine wave inverters for those in the states there is a cheap solution buy a triplite 180LC line conditioner apparently it'll take that modified sine wave and and make it pute and you can get it for under a hundred dollars US unfortunately shipping and dollar conversion is around 400 Canadian dollars so it's cheaper for me to buy a pure sine wave inverter I'm thinking about a separate set up for my lower voltage appliances and the modified sine wave for my coffee pot toaster electric frying pan they don't get hurt by modified sine wave just lose some heating capacity

[@MaritimeUnprepared]

I've charged makita batteries hundreds of times using a modified inverter. I didn't realize the charger could be harmed by the inverter

[@DougBernitt]

4/0 is costly! 2 AWG s big enough for a 35ah 12v battery! Good example though!

[@Zerpersande]

It’s not the size of the battery that determines the size of the wire that you need. I have a 230Ah battery and I’m using what is basically 2.5 awg. This is safe because I’m not going to draw a lot of current out of my battery at one time. The size of cable you need is is determined by how much current you’re gonna be running through those wires. Notice the size of the wires running from the solar panels. I have three 175 W solar panels and they’re running through. 10 awg cables to my battery.

[@Curtis-i6o]

I was going to give up on building a solar station as it to me is very complicated but after seeing your video here makes me want to give it a try. You have made the BEST and CLEAREST video on this subject that i have seen. One question. On your office example.....if you use a solar panel while doing your office shores will you be able to extend the amount of time you can use the system before the battery runs out? Great video, thank you.

[@bluerockstation]

Thanks for the kind words. Quick answer is that if the panel is attached and in the sun, the system will run longer. For example, if you have a 35 Ah 12 V battery (420 Wh) and a 100 W panel, if the panel is in the sun while in use for four hours and generating 100 W at the time - there will be an additional 400 Wh of energy available (these are very rough approximations - but you hopefully get the idea). So there would be 820 Wh of energy available (sunlight + battery) rather than just the 420 Wh from the battery.

[@Curtis-i6o]

Thank you for educating me on that.@@bluerockstation

[@larrybell4599]

Nice, well explained system. However in future videos please explain the importance of hooking the battery to the charge controller before the panels to prevent damage to the charge controller. Also I’m confused, you said that you hook the battery to the load of the charge controller. Do you also connect the controller to the battery using the terminals marked battery?

[@bluerockstation]

Good practice to hook the battery to the controller first - but for this system the output of the panel is so low it will not make a difference. More of a trickle charge. You do, of course, hook the charge controller to the battery and the solar panel (that is its main job). As to load connections - you generally hook the battery to the inverter for AC loads. You can hook any DC loads up to the battery directly as well, but most charge controllers have a port where you can hook DC loads there. Just a bit easier for wire management.

[@Ms.Frankenbuilder]

Nice compact system, built one with 2 100 amp hour batteries.

[@Zbee167]

Great video! Thanks for sharing.

[@RollingSpices]

I appreciate your knowledge and the way you teach. Excellent job!

[@johnwillenburg1586]

Why not use lithium batts?

[@bluerockstation]

You can for sure. But will need to make sure the charge controller works with Li-Ion. Would be lighter also. But at the time of making this - they were not widely available at an affordable price. This is intended to be pretty inexpensive. Now there are more inexpensive lithium batteries available.

[@rodolphealmaguer8711]

Good videos building my system on my rv. Watched a ton of videos on UTube, and you have to make sure not to use those wires from cheap inverter that are made of aluminum clad copper and they will burn out in instant.

[@h.wayneb3495]

Pretty Simple explanation of system and operation. Thank you

[@larrybell4599]

You have done a good job of explaining the basic concepts of a solar system.

[@MAD450r2]

If the box you chose was slightly bigger could u run either a larger more amphour 12volt battery? Or maybe run 2 of the smaller ones. Do you recommend where to buy most of pieces needed? Im looking to assemble a backup for my mobile home. Id need to build either a covered porch or carport to build my solar array on. Here in CT you cant put them on a mobile homes roof. Can you do a video on doing a larger one? Wouldvlove to replace my 3.5k gas generator with one of these if just to make my electric bill very low or gone

[@bluerockstation]

The concepts can be expanded, for sure. If you need more time from your storage, add a larger battery. If you need more power to run loads, put in a larger inverter. If you want to recharge the battery faster, make the solar panel larger or add more panels. I have created larger units that will run a 20 amp circuit and used it for remote construction projects.

[@bernied9415]

Fuses?

[@bluerockstation]

Yes - typically I place a fuse in the line between the battery and the inverter.

[@ronniemoore8592]

Can you pug into crude power to recharge the battery?

[@yubi4291]

Amazing video, thank you very much for explaining Watt-Ampere-Volt relation so clearly. One question: Is it possible to also include an alternative source of charging the battery in the configuration, like a 12v battery charger? Also, perhaps it would be a good idea to include the material needed in the description because many viewers live in different countries and they may not be always able to buy the hard copy of the book. Again, thanks a lot.

[@bluerockstation]

Not a problem to hook up a battery charger. If you can keep the solar panel in the sun and hooked up, it serves in that capacity. But if you have to store the unit indoors and use it occasionally (like for camping), then you will want to hook up a trickle charger to keep the battery fully charged and healthy.

[@KiwanisGaming]

Great video. Very informative

[@VictorMGonzalez-h9e]

Very helpful thanks,

[@mcscheck2000]

Nice set of "Watts" there....5:48

[@BrettBoyle-eo5io]

Amazing explanation!!!

[@leeeagle5994]

400.20 ?? W.H

[@st3v338]

that call ohm's law

[@holafon76]

Merci..good course ...

[@shep6123]

Beautiful I love it

[@kennethfredriksen2555]

Why do people keep calling these fracking GENERATORS? they are not!

[@ernieschatz3783]

Caaaaaaalm. Take some deep breaths. Solar generators have solar panels, storage batteried, and usually an inverter plus some DC outlets to use the stored energy that you 'generated' with solar panels. I know, I'm a very bad man for saying that 😂

[@ronb6182]

No your not that was a stupid comment. If you look up the word generate that applies to all power sources. Sound can be generated so you have a sound generator. In electronics we used RF generators to align RF coils. I bought a box that had a battery and inverter inside and it was called a generator. Sam's club sold them because the deep cell battery's didn't last and they were cheap. I went to harbor freight and replaced the battery. It's nice when you have nothing else to give you power. Back when a hurricane came around Florida I used it to get a weather report I hooked up dish and a TV. There was no power anywhere else. 73​@@ernieschatz3783

[@vladimus9749]

Generator implies a mechanical means of making electricity, OP is correct.

[@johnhubbs7240]

Found comment on must use DEEP cycle battery interesting . How about Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries. Much lighter for portable system

[@bluerockstation]

When I made the video Lithium Ion batteries were still too expensive for a small project like this. They are now much more widely available and affordable - so I would swap out lithium for sure (if the price was right). They are much more energy dense (lighter for the same amount of power). If you do that - just make sure the charge controller works with lithium batteries as they charge differently than deep cycle lead acid.

[@ronb6182]

@@bluerockstation another battery which most people don't even think of which works better than deep cycle is golf cart battery's but you need two for 12 volts . Some are 8 volts so you would need 3 for a 24 volt system. I'm sure there are lithium ion batteries for golf carts now. 73