Wow...there comes the sun again. Every time you look out the window, are you thinking "I would really like to start going solar...but....I just can't see how I can afford it?" There is a way. In fact, a huge benefit often overlooked by people considering solar is that it can be done...one small step at a time.

A good place to start in most households is with the hot water heater. The average household uses between four and five thousand kilowatts of power per year to heat water. If you start with a project like this, an entire solar power system won't seem so overwhelming, and you can get a pretty good idea of the costs and benefits of going solar.

You can go solar with your hot water heater, and not destroy your bank account. Look at the option of buying a solar hot water heater and having it installed, and also look at whether you might be able to build it and install it yourself.

There are a number of options here, so before you go buy, or start building a solar hot water heater, decide where you want to put it. You could have a batch hot water heater that sits by the side of the house to be pumped in. At http://www.byexample.com, you can find instructions (with photographs) on how to build your own batch hot water collector. You could also have your hot water heater with a solar photovoltaic (PV) cell panel on your roof. That's dependent, of course, on your own aesthetic preferences...or perhaps the neighborhood covenants. Another option is to put your collector on the rooftop, and have your hot water heater in the attic. At ByExample, you can find a good illustration of how everything for this system is connected and how it works.

Whether you decide on a solar hot water heater, or perhaps a solar energy panel, you can make it relatively inexpensive. If you want to start with a solar energy panel in your shop or garage, you'll need to assemble some equipment. The basics generally used are solar cells, wire to connect the solar cells, a piece of pegboard or some other similar substrate, a diode, a shallow box made of plywood or metal, a piece of glass or plexiglass to cover the box and protect the cells, some silicone caulk to seal the box from the elements, and a jones plug to connect the electrical wires.

The solar cells are connected (soldered together in a series) with a blocking diode mounted inside the panel, and a polarized two-pin jones plug is connected at the end of the wires. The solar cells must be connected and protected within the box, which is sealed with silicone caulk to prevent possible water damage. Get everything put together, properly sealed, then connect your panel to a battery bank/inverter and you've got the beginning of a solar energy system.

To see all construction details for a solar panel built as just described, you can visit http://www.mdpub.com. The author has good photographs and information on where you can find your material, and the exact list of supplies you'll need.

Check out your local bookstore, or go online for books on solar projects. With a little help from Google or the other search engines, you can find many ideas on how to build solar hot water heaters, solar panels and other projects.

Did you like your first project? Hot water heater, or solar panel, or whatever you started with, if you found you didn't have to make a huge investment in time or money putting it all together, keep building your system.

Maybe you're considering a total "off the grid" system. If so, look at how you can design a system to support running your whole house, and start moving slowly in that direction one piece at a time. To help you determine what you'll need to run an off-the-grid system, check out http://www.oksolar.com. They have great information and formulas to help you look at your current energy needs, and then what you would need for battery/inverter wattage to go to an off the grid system. Since they also carry premade solar panels, if you've already made one of your own, you can do some price comparisons, (don't forget to include some price element for your time), to see which option actually ends up being the most cost effective.

One of the best examples that I've come across, though, in terms of starting small and expanding your solar energy system, can be found at http://www.byexample.com/homestead/energy/current_system, where the author describes how they began their project with just a couple of 12V PV panels of various wattages, then upgraded their system, and plan to move to a 24 volt system soon.

The author describes how they used scrap material from around their home or area for construction, and how they found used parts, to build their solar energy system. Even the most budget-conscious individual can gain some good insight into how possible it is to achieve "off the grid" living.