Welcome To Build-It-Solar

The renewable energy site for do-it-yourselfers

Plans, tools and information  to help you build  renewable energy and conservation projects.

Hundreds of projects -- from changing a light bulb to building a solar home.

Design information and tools  for building renewable energy projects.

An Experimental section for backyard inventors.

Nothing For Sale here -- just free ideas, plans, and information.

  New On the Blog


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  A Few Example Projects (from a thousand or so)
DIY solar pool heating collectors

Tom's Solar Pool Heating System

Lots of solar pool heater designs you can build... 

 

 DIY solar space and water heating system

Solar Space + Water for $2K

Solar space and water heating from a single, simple, low cost system. 

More on solar space and solar water heating.

New Content

Last update January 30, 2012  

The Deep Mesh solar air collector design...

 

Heating water with a solar air heating collector...

 

Wet spray cellulose insulation...

 

RootSimple -- good DIY gardening etc. site...

 

An easy/good DIY LED can light retrofit...

 

Extensive R Values table...

Using stored solar heat to cook after sunset...

MAJOR updates on our thermosyphon solar shop heating collector...

Unique new heliostat design...


Restoring an Elec-Trak tractor and integrating it with our grid-tied PV system...

Older new projects...
Deep energy retrofit of schoolhouse converted to home

A Deep Energy Retrofit Project

Gordon's outstanding retrofit of a drafty old schoolhouse into a VERY energy efficient home...

 

 $1000 DIY solar water heating system 

Solar Water Heating for $1000

Build a reliable, 4 season solar water heating system for $1K instead or $10K!. 

Building a solar shower

9 Fun Summer Solar Shower Designs

Try building one of these nine fun solar showers. They range from very simple to really elegant.... 

 
Mooney wall high r value 

High R Value Walls - Good DIY

 

The Mooney Wall -- high R Value walls for retrofit or new construction.  For lots more good construction ideas...

 solar clothes dryer 

Solar Clothes Drying Rack

 

Save 4+ KWH each dryer load! 
Many other conservation and efficiency projects...

 Our solar dinosaur

Dozens of Solar Projects for Kids