Do it Yourself Residential Solar Power

Purchase the appropriate quantity of solar panels to power your home; you can find solar panels, producing a variety of power levels and in a variety of price ranges, online. To compare the value of solar panels, compare the price per watt. As of March 2011, the best deals on solar panels are about $4.30 per watt.

Locate your panels on a portion of the roof that receives full sunlight for as long as possible every day. Orient the panels toward the south if you can. If they face east or west, you may need twice as many solar panels to obtain the same amount of sunlight. Do not orient them to the north.

Use the stud finder to locate rafters in your roof. Drill holes in the rafters with a drill bit.

Insert stainless steel mounts into the holes and bolt them in place with stainless steel bolts. Align your solar panels on top of the stainless steel mounts according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Wire your panels, with 12-gauge AWG cable, to a blocking diode. The blocking diode ensures that charge flows in only one direction, from the solar panels to the battery bank.

Wire the blocking diode to a charge controller with 12-gauge AWG cable. Wire the charge controller to the battery bank, consisting of deep cycle batteries that will store charge from your solar panels.

Wire your battery bank to the AC power inverter. The power inverter makes it possible for you to plug your home appliances into the solar power system.