Home Made Power Plant: The Truth

Intro

At first glance we thought we would be in for a struggle, but once we started reading Home Made Power Plant, the information was solid. DIY fanatics will love this guide - you will definitely learn as you go along, since customer support may be quick, but it is not very helpful.

Likes

* The best diagrams

Home Made Power Plant had by far the best diagrams. They were well-labeled for the solar plans, easy to follow, colorful, and mostly to scale. And most importantly they were large enough to see what was going on in them.

* Great free extras

The information on the maintaining the systems, and getting the legal aspects of the systems sorted out was comprehensive and useful. We particularly liked the strategies of saving power - they were so simple, yet most of us overlook them. And the best part is, these tips have already helped us save hundreds of dollars over the past 4 months.

* Adds value to your home

Okay, this actually applies to any of the top 3 guides, but we thought it is worth mentioning. We had heard that installing renewable energy systems at home adds value to your property. So, we put this to the test by getting a valuation done before and after installation. The results were quite astonishing! With just 2 solar panel systems and 2 wind turbines our house had increased in value by almost $6,000. In fact, the valuer actually thought we had hired a professional to install our systems - but we didn't tell him that :)

Dislikes

* Miscommunication with customer support

We had a small concern on the best way to get the wiring for the solar panel system done. Although customer support was quick to reply, they simply said, "Go back and look in the guide, since it is all there." What they did not understand was that our situation was different to what is explained in the guide. Since they were no help, we eventually figured it out ourselves.

Verdict

With great diagrams, and interesting additional information, Home Made Power Plant is a well-written guide that even a non-technical person can understand. The plans were fairly easy to follow, and although we never had a good experience with customer support, at least they were quick to reply.