How I Built a Solar Battery Box for less than $50

Solar battery enclosures can range in price from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. The price depends mostly on the size of the enclosure and the manufacturer. But, if you are a DIY kind of person, you can save yourself a considerable amount of money. This is what I did. I used some spare lumber and other materials I had on the homestead and I built a solar battery enclosure for less than $50.

First, I leveled out an area under the eave on the North side of the cabin. Then I place some left over landscaping brick on the ground for the battery enclosure to sit on. At this point, the solar panels have been mounted but of course none of the electrical work has been connected.  You can see the AC loads panel for the cabin in the upper left of this photo.

The next step was to build the base and make sure that was level. For this part, i used some heavy duty rough cut timber that was left over from re-surfacing a bridge.

Then I framed in the back, then the top and side panels. Again most of this lumber was sitting under my storage shed.  I did have to purchase a few 2 x 4's. You can still see some of the tags on the lumber.

The next step was to mount the doors and put in insulation.

After framing the top, I put down felt paper for waterproofing. Then I sealed all corners.

Now the battery enclosure is complete. Batteries are installed.

The wooded box at the upper right contains the DC loads panel. The other wooden box at the upper left contains the inverter. 

I also placed locking latches on the outside for safety reasons.  Vents were drilled in the side panels on the upper right and left. 

Again, this battery enclosure was constructed for left over material that were sitting under my storage shed. I did have to purchase s few 2 x 4's and some hardware. Total dollar investment was $42.39. 

This is just another example of how you can save yourself a considerable amount of money if you are motivated to do things yourself and you have some basic tools and carpentry skills. 

Go off grid and live well,

Patrick