This video shows how I used the 45 watt solar panel kits from Harbor Freight and also their single 15 watt solar panels to create a array of 28 panel delivering 420 watts. During the summer and fall in Texas I can count on a solid 8-9 hours of good sunlight so solar power makes sense to augment my wind turbines. Solar panels are easier to install and require less upfront work than wind turbines. In this video I show you the hardware you need and how to assemble and wire the solar panels for quick production.
Fourteen Harbor Freight individual solar panels from their 45 Watt kits. They are mounted on 2×4 frames with seven panels each giving 210 Watts of power for all fourteen. In the next couple of weeks we’ll install the other 14 panels for a total of 420 Watts, which combined with the previous 1600 of solar gives me 2Kw of solar power. I also have 2Kw of wind power which I’m going to raise the tower to a total of 100 to 150 feet depending on cost. I expect the added height should produce 1Kw constant if not more.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
49 Responses
Home Made Energy called Xobotano Home Energy (search on google) kept showing up here on a lot of youtube and I thought they were scam. However after my cooworker follow it, and finally save a large amount of his electric bills by using it, I’m persuaded. Don’t take my word for it, search for Xobotano Home Energy on the internet.
BY THE WAY,WHAT PART OF TEXAS ARE YOU IN,I GO OFTEN TO HOUSTON,FROM MEXICO,I CAN GO EITHER, VIA LAREDO TEXAS OR MC ALLEN TX. ARE YOU ANYWAY CLOSE TO THIS PLACES.
VERY NICE JOB,ANY IDEA ON HOW MUCH HAVE YOU SPEND IN THIS PROJECT,AND HOW MUCH WATTS DO YOU GET FROM THE SOLAR PANELS ONLY. THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS MANUEL I. CAVAZOS ALLENDE MEXICO.
Rather then use a junction box for the 3 different sets of 24 why not link all the panels as one for 84 volts? Would that work?
@Doug3445 Correct, I used 10 AWG to tie strings of four together in the final implementation (which raised my voltage to 80 vdc) and then ran the 10 AWG cables to the charge controller. I’m not losing any voltage with this setup.
Not sure I understand your question. I finally ended up connecting my panels in sets of four so that four panels were in series and then those would be in parallel with the next set of four. If you connect the positives to positives and all the negatives to negatives you will have a parallel connection which does not raise your voltage.
Hi Al,
Thanks for your videos…..I have a question about how you connected the HF panels in series. In the video you connected just 2 panels then another 2 panels and then another 2. Can’t you connect all the panels in the group, positive to negative, one right after the other the same way solar cells are tabbed in series inside the panel??? Thanks.
Hi Al,
Could you speak a bit about mixing and matching, panels, batteries, etc. 
Hi Al,
You videos are great…..in one of the videos where you are talking about your batteries and you mentioned a device that extends the life of the batteries but I couldn’t catch the name of it. It is yellow (gold) in color and it was on the side of the rack holding the baterries, what was it’s name again??
I appreciate your comments and you’re right. I was adding some more panels today and cleaned it up, got rid of the screws and bus bars and used wire nuts instead. Check out the channel tomorrow for the new video. Thanks and God bless you.
I really like your videos, thxs for posting them.I am worried about your combiner box shorting all of your panels if water gets to those two screws going through your bus bars.It might help to insulate the screws before inserting them into the bus bars.Again thxs for taking the time to do the videos.
Good, I thought about that but they would have been too inclined so I wen with the existing roof pitch. Good idea to tie them to the boards as they are too flimsy without the wood frame.
I just did something similair but i kept the metal brackets that came with the kits and incorporated them with the wood frame and worked out great check out my new vid, thanks great info
I’m glad they are useful to you. Let me know when you post the videos.
Thanks
Hey my name is Lamar Tosh I think you have made the best videos it has helped me so much I have 12panels now. I’m working on more I will put a new video on soon thanks for the videos keep the good work up job bless you
hello..sorry but i didn’t hear it clearly the tool you use on the junction box that will connect your wires…TIA
Thanks!
Glad to hear the out put is doing the job. Nice work Al.. Looks really good.
My roof is steel, I don’t have shingles to worry about but your cumment is useful to those who do. Thanks for sharing your knowlege.
I dont know if you are familliar with roofing but if you are handy with a metal break you could bend flashing around the frame sort of like skylight flashing or chimney flashing. running the pan flashing in the back under the shingles at least 3 courses of shingles. step flash the sides and counter flash the front. That way the whole unit can remain there for as long as the pannels are guarinteed for aprox 20 years. Unless you have a new roof, changing the roof after will be a nightmare.
Nice! I just watched your video, it looks like we had the same basic ideal two years apart. :-)
Nice combiner box, I think that I have seen that somewhere before……..(check out my video). Actually, if you use some 2 part epoxy to glue the bus bars down to the interior of the box you will not need to screw them down. My original ones are super glued and have lasted over 2 years with no problems at all.
All access holes are sealed with silocone sealant, the mounting screws go into 2×4, on the low side of the box (as the roof is pitched) I drilled a small hole in each corner so that if any water got in it would immediately drain out of the low end. Boxes have been dry every time I have inspected them.
Since you drilled through the back of the junction box to mount the buss bars, how did you insulate the screws or seal the box so that water won’t get behind the box and cause a short between the two mounting screws?
No problem, the junction box is a 4″ junction box. You could also grab the yellow pages and see if you can also find it at a local electrical supply store.
Good luck with your project, make sure to post a video for us if you can! God bless you.
You would be FAR better off in the end going with more conventional commercial solar panels like those made by SunPower, Mitsubishi, and others. Harbor Freight products are routinely of inferior quality. I spoke with one gentleman who purchased a set of these (sold in trios) and they only lasted 9 months before dying. My experience with other HF products has not been any better, in fact, much worse. I purchased a DMM and it was defective. Took it back, every DMM in stock had the same defect
nice setup. 150 feet wow I wish I could get up to 40 feet were I’m at now. but 150 feet even 100 should get you above most of the trees defently 150 would and you bet much better clean wind up there also. I like how you have your tower setup how hight is it now. looks like maby 50 or 60 was tring to count the tower parts I know each one is about 10 feet.  I will need to get and old antena tower would work great for this. thanks for the video.
Thanks for the encouragement. God bless you and yours.
he could likely keep his house going with electricity without the grid for a day or two once he gets his full system put in on batteries alone and then more as long as he still has his wind and solar collectors. I sure anyone whose experienced a extended blackout would appreciate this.
100 feet is golden. That is a 10 story building. 100 ft is higher than you think.
If you get the material cheap enough and the Money is in the Bank go for it.
First of all, you and your family do deserve to be blessed. I like how you think about your projects and I believe you are on the right track. Keep on reading and researching and you will wind up with a great system. I want to thank you for taking the time to show us your system. You have given me some practical ideas and I thank you for them.
doubt it,,but hey you green idiots will buy into anything..lol
Do you know what it costs to raise a tower 300 feet?? The tower itself has to be much larger and stronger, the concrete and rebar for the anchors alone would be prohibitive in price and they guy wires themselves would be an inch thick and cover about an acre in area. You’d also have to have a permit and inspection for strobes to warn aircraft.It would cost about $30K or more to raise such tower. Get real.
You need 300ft to get maxim out put!
That’s my boy!!! :-)
Actually with the amount of power hes putting out, I think he MIGHT be able to power your mom’s vibrator for a minute or two before he depletes that battery bank…
You don’t know what you’re talking about friend. Build aluminum frames, buy the tempered glass, buy electric terminal box for the back, waterproof the box to not leak for 25 years and you think you can save money including the hourly wage your time is worth?? Nuts. There is no such thing as “Polymorphic”, they are called polycrystalline and show me data you think shows it outlasts thin film amorphous silicon, I bet you can’t find it. All silicon panels are expected to last 30-35 years.
This Harbor freight junk is not even close to a good deal. You’re paying $3.33 per watt for cheap amorphous panels that will start to degenerate in just a few years. You can buy good quality polymorphic solar cells on the web for as little as $.35 per watt. You would have to build the frames and solder all of the leads yourself but for what you paid for those you could have bought over 3kw of solar cells. Also the polymorphic cells will outlast the harbor freight panels by 10-15 years.
you obviously have NO understanding of solar power stupid ass
THNX for the panel info.
Look on the internet and find the cheapest one. I buy from Northern Arizona Wind and Sun and ul-solar. At ul-solar one 45 watt panel (what HF 3 panels are) delivered is $116.99 85 watt is delivered is $173.99 (nice place to buy from due to free shipping).
Oh, if you look at HF they changed the panels and they are no longer made by Chicago Electric and the flimsy stand is now extra ($8.95) and instead comes one one big leg you put in the middle. They are really really bad now.
So where do you get these better panels?
Nice!

Each panel costs $60. As a 15watt panel, that’s $4 a watt, which is incredibly expensive! These are late 80’s early 90’s prices for solar panels. You can get high quality panels from between $1.00 to $2.10 a watt! I am not raining on your parade, but I can’t for the life of me understand why anyone would spend $4 a watt for cheap Chinese panels?
Blessings..
Why did you go with the HF panels? I almost feel like I am turning vigilante against them when I post telling people that you can get more wattage, less cost, lighter weight, and a better built panel than the HF ones. The only time I tell people to get those is if I hate them OR they are putting them where a lot of shade and extreme (55c) happens all of the time.
Nice setup, its eco friendly too :D you just have to clean the sh*t from the wind mills
Very good work econew,, and as for wogdog Why must you be an asswipe , and give the man a hard time , just cause you have no knowledge of solar or wind power you don’t have to be a stupid troll it’s assholes like you that turn youtube into crap, go find a childrens channel and troll all you want , and grow up
Nice video , but why use 2 by 4s for the frames? ,why not aluminum angle? ,it’s much lighter and won’t have to worry about wood rotting from rain and moisture