HomeMadeEnergy.org offers customers information on how to build high quality solar panels and wind turbines on a budget. The handbook includes simple instruction manuals, videos and blueprints that guide the user through the process of constructing their own renewable energy sources. No previous technical or electrical experience is required. It is claimed that the solar panels and wind turbines made by using the Home Made Energy package could save customers between 50% and 110% of their electricity bills.

Solar

Home Made Energy provides advice and instructions on to how construct commercial-quality solar panels at a fraction of the cost. The pack includes the following information:

• How to buy ‘top notch’ solar cells at bargain prices;
• How to build a solar panel in only 2 ½ hours;
• How to ‘scale’ your solar panels to generate as much electricity as you want;
• How to avoid and solve common solar panel mistakes;
• How to store energy for use at night; and
• A list of tools used by professionals to build an A-grade solar panel.

Transcripts for all the instruction videos, along with pictures, shopping lists and color blueprints are included in each pack.

Wind

In an additional bonus package, entitled ‘DIY Wind Power’, Home Made Energy provides instructions on how to harness wind energy to generate free electricity. The pack provides information on how to construct a wind turbine for less than US$200. The advantage of combining wind power with solar power is that it can prevent power failure because of long periods of poor weather. Working together the two systems can double the energy generated by your ‘homemade power plant’.

Bonuses

In addition to the bonus ‘DIY Wind Power’ package, the site also offers a second bonus course. The ‘Green Solar Backup’ package explains how to build a portable solar panel that will provide emergency power in the event of an extended energy blackout. The video course explains how to build the back-up generator using inexpensive parts, making a saving of more than US$1300.00 compared with a similar commercial product.

Price

The price of the Home Made Energy package, including the two bonus packages, is US$47.00. In addition to the cost of the pack, the author estimates that the cost of component parts for the solar panel should be under US$97.00, and the cost of the wind turbine should be under US$200.00.The ‘DIY Wind Energy’ package, and the ‘Green Solar Backup’ package are each available separately for US$27.00.

Website

The domain name homemadeenergy.org has been registered since July 31, 2008 with an IP address in Grand Lodge, Michigan USA. Liquid Web Inc runs the domain host server. The site’s registration expires on July 31, 2014.

Author

Ben Ford is an electrical energy consultant from California who has spent some time researching and building cheap renewable energy. He began looking for an alternative to buying electricity from the main grid when his electricity bills suddenly increased without warning. The information he found through this work is summarized in the Home Made Energy package.

Reviews

The reviews of this product on review websites have been positive overall, although some reviewers have been less enthusiastic about the ‘DIY Wind Power’ package than the main solar panel packages. There have also been reports that some ebook products had problems with formatting and arrived to customers blank.