How to DIY Solar Panel Installation (And When to Call the Pros)

Solar power isn’t only for a select fringe group. Any homeowner today can power their home with clean, green energy sourced from the light of the sun. Not only has the cost come down over the last few years, but solar panel installation makes a fantastic DIY project.

That said, it pays to do a little due diligence before you grab your tools.

Take a minute and explore this short guide to DIY solar panels. When you finish, you’ll have a basic understanding of the installation process. You’ll also know when it’s time to hire a professional.

First Things First

You don’t find too many home improvement projects that don’t require at least a few pre-planning minutes. If you’re considering adding a solar panel system to your home, there are a few things you should take care of before you even buy your supplies.

How much power do you need?

First, determine your home’s energy demand. An easy way to assess your power needs is to analyze your current monthly energy costs. Once you know more about your average usage, you can determine whether you want to offset a portion or all of your energy costs by switching to solar power.

How Much Sun Does Your Area Get?

Before you can take the next step toward green energy, you need to know how many hours of sun your location receives. If you live in an area with a lot of sunlight, you’ll generate more energy with fewer solar panels. Cloudy climates may require more panels.

What Size Is Your Roof?

You’ve likely noticed most people install solar panels on the roof. The larger the roof, the more panels you can install. Roof design also determines whether or not you can install the panels facing the direction of the sun.

Don’t fret if you come up with less than ideal answers to these questions. If the roof is too small, you can install panels at ground-level. If you don’t get much sun, you can still power your solar panels with indirect sunlight.

DIY Solar Panel Installation

Once you know how many panels you’ll need and you’ve chosen a spot that gets the most sun, you’re ready to start the installation. Here are the basic steps:

Construct the platform.
Run solar conduits.
Mount the solar panels to the platform.
Wire the solar panels together.
Connect the exterior wiring to the control panels inside the house.
Make sure you ground the panels and the mounting platform.
Be careful to connect the electrical components correctly.

After you’ve completed the installation steps, you must test your work. A test run gives you the peace of mind that you’ve installed your solar panel system safely.

Call in the Pros

Mastering home improvement projects makes any girl (or guy) feel proud. There’s nothing wrong with patting yourself on the back! But what do you do when you’re in over your head?

You probably noticed there aren’t many details about wiring. Electricity and DIYers sometimes tangle, and things happen.

Unless you’re a qualified technician, the solar energy experts at SunGrid Solar recommend contacting a professional installer. Professionals understand wiring, which means they know how to avoid damaging the solar panels and themselves.

Ready to Tackle Your Project?

After reading this post, you may feel confident enough to study further the art of solar panel installation. You may also feel ready to call the professionals to check out solar panel installation cost and schedule your install.

If you’ve enjoyed the blog so far, don’t stop browsing now! You’ll find plenty more articles here to inspire more DIY projects.