Build Your Own Solar Panel

Image created using images from Flickr: Houses / Solar Panels

One Block Off The Grid is an organization that is striving to increase the number of homes using solar. They do this by facilitating volunteer organizers within US cities. They step in once they have a list of 100 interested homeowners in any given area.

What do homeowners get from the deal? First and foremost, they save money because 1BOG negotiates with local contractors to get bulk discounts. The other major advantage is that 1BOG has a depth of knowledge of the process that no individual homeowner is likely to pick up when they go it alone.

You don’t have to involve 1BOG in your group venture, but it seems to me that it makes a lot of sense to get help from people who already know the process rather than rely on someone within your community to learn it all from scratch. I have heard of one HOA that was successful in getting the community to go in for a community wide solar project. The guy who spearheaded that project says that individual homeowners paid 30% less than they would have had to pay to get solar for themselves.

I personally think that the potential savings from building you own solar panels is greater. The DIY solar route does involve a lot of self education.

If you were wondering whether 1BOG is a non-profit, the answer is no. They are in the business of collecting referral fees from from contractors.

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