Well, you may be able to build a solar panel for under $200, assuming you can find inexpensive supplies, particularly solar cells. But unless you live in a 200 square foot home, it is unlikely that this panel will supply much of the power for your home. For this price, you will build a small solar panel that can power a single device, such as a small portable air conditioner.
Furthermore, in order to incorporate this solar panel into your home’s electrical system requires some sophisticated wiring, best done by a licensed electrician. In fact, anytime that you are tapping into your home’s electrical system, you should use a licensed electrician to ensure that you are following the electrical codes.
In order to supply enough power with these solar panels to actually supply your home with all the required power, you would need to build many of these $200 solar panels. At this point you would have a hodge podge of solar cells, not necessarily meant to work together. Getting all of this tied to your electrical system would require some serious creativity.
This is not meant to discourage you from building one of these solar panels. It is a great way for you to understand the technology and see it work first hand. Use it to power a portable or standalone device. This will at least reduce your electrical needs for that device, and hopefully take some of the mysticism of this technology away.
But if you plan to power your entire home with solar technology, then you are best served by laying out the expense for professionally designed and installed Solar Panels. If you happen to have the electrical skills and the ability to assemble your own solar panels, great, but you should use quality parts, not cheap, broken solar cells by bulk over the internet. You would want solar cells that are matched and can easily be integrated together.
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