Sunshine is free, so why not put it to work? These 16 solar powered DIY project ideas run from five minute patio lights to serious weekend builds. Light up the yard with mason jar solar lights, rustic lanterns, a thrifted chandelier, an old floor lamp and porch lamp posts that never need an outlet. Cook with the sun in a pizza box oven or a windshield shade cooker, build a cascading fountain from galvanized buckets and let the kids race a solar powered LEGO car. For bigger jobs there’s a pop can air heater, a solar furnace and a lawnmower that charges in the sun. Pick one and go soak up some rays.
1. Solar Powered Lego Car
Can a LEGO car run on sunshine? This STEM challenge says yes, with a little trial and error. Build a sturdy frame with smaller wheels in front, then add an angled support to hold a 9V solar panel. Mount a mini 6V motor on a platform near the rear axle. Connecting the gears is the tricky part, and a small piece of tubing helps the motor shaft grip a LEGO gear. Park it in direct sun and watch it roll.
Get the full tutorial at Teach Beside Me.
2. DIY Mason Jar Solar Lights
Mason jar solar lights take minutes and add instant charm to a patio. Use a wide mouth jar, since the light has to fit the opening, and an inexpensive solar yard light. Unscrew the top off the light, pull the plastic tab that activates it and set the solar top on the jar. For a mercury glass look, mist the inside with a vinegar and water mix and looking glass spray paint first. Any glass jar works if the light fits.
Get the full tutorial at Today's Creative Life.
3. Windshield Shade Solar Cooker
A reflective accordion windshield shade, about $10, converts into a working panel solar cooker. Bring one top edge over the other, silver side in, to form a funnel, and fasten it with duct tape or sticky back Velcro. Velcro lets it fold flat again for storage. Set the funnel in a cardboard box to hold its shape and angle it toward the sun. To cook, you need three things: a dark pot, a heat trap and the reflector.
Get the full tutorial at Sunshine On My Shoulder Solar Cooking Guide.
4. Solar Chandelier
An outdated chandelier from a garage sale or thrift store becomes a glowing outdoor solar chandelier. Unscrew the bulbs, remove the plastic tubes and snip out the wires. Take off the light mechanisms, then replace the plate and cup with the nut. Spray paint the chandelier if you like. Pull the stakes off solar landscape lights, glue each light into a cup with Liquid Nails and let it dry overnight. Hang it where the tops can charge.
Get the full tutorial at Diva of DIY.
5. Floor Lamp Solar Lights
An old floor lamp with shot wiring can live on as a solar floor lamp for the backyard. Strip out all the wiring and sockets, then blast decades of dust from the socket cups with canned air. Keep only the metal socket shells, since small solar path lights fit perfectly inside them. Cover the solar cells with painter’s tape and spray paint the lights to match the lamp. Reassemble them without the stakes and set them into the sockets.
Get the full tutorial at Sadie Seasongoods.
6. Solar Oven
A pizza box solar oven is a fun science craft about renewable energy, and it makes nachos. Cut three sides of a square into the lid, leaving one side attached, and cover its underside with foil. Tape a sheet of plastic, like a page protector, under the lid to seal in heat. Line the inside of the box with foil and prop the flap open with wire or a pencil. Put food inside and set it facing direct sun. Then wait.
Get the full tutorial at Mamaguru.
7. DIY Solar Garden Lights
Dollar store solar garden lights hung from a tree are a pretty swap for solar string lights that keep getting nibbled by deer. Look for cut glass jars with a rim around the top and an opening the same size as a solar stake cap. Remove the top of the stake, keeping the clear part with its reflector, and glue it to the jar with hot glue or clear E6000. Wrap 21 inches of 18 gauge copper wire around the rim and form a handle.
Get the full tutorial at Creative Cain Cabin.
8. DIY Solar Jar
Solar jar lights may be the fastest project on this list, about a minute each. Quilted glass jars make the light dance in a pretty pattern, and they glow even in dim spots. No glue is needed. Use them as kids’ night lights, guest bathroom lights, deck lighting for dinner or luminaries along the driveway for a party. They’re simple and cheap enough to make a whole set before Memorial Day.
Get the full tutorial at A Bird and a Bean.
9. Solar Furnace for Less Than $50
A solar furnace can keep a single room warm on a sunny day without burning any fuel, and this one costs under $50. Build a frame from 3 and 5 foot lumber, cover one side with black plastic and snake a dryer hose, spray painted black, back and forth inside. Pipes run from the frame into a window on the south side of the house, where a board holds an exhaust and an intake. A video shows the full build.
Get the full tutorial at Urban Survival Site.
10. Upcycled Solar Lamps
Flea market lamps without shades can become solar lamp posts for the front door. Take out the wiring and electrical parts and cut the cord. Spray paint the bases to match your solar light tops; satin black looks sharp. The solar lights can fit right into the posts, so glue is optional, though it helps if wind becomes an issue. Inexpensive solar light parts are easy to find online in warm yellow or white.
Get the full tutorial at thee Kiss of Life Upcycling.
11. DIY Solar Water Heater From Plastic Bottles
This solar water heater is built from a pile of plastic bottles and cartons, an idea invented by a retired mechanic in Brazil. It keeps waste out of the trash and can trim a water heating bill. The post is short, and its photos show the general idea, so plan to study them closely or follow the original article it links to. Use whatever old bottles you have on hand.
Get the full tutorial at SHTFPreparedness.
12. Solar Panels Out Of Pop Cans
A pop can solar air heater can be built for about $205 in parts and puts out roughly 2 kW. Wash aluminum cans (test with a magnet, since some are iron), cut and bend the tops, then glue them into tubes with high temperature silicone. Paint the tubes matte black and set them in an insulated wooden case under a polycarbonate cover. A fan pulls cold room air through the cans and sends warm air back in. The build uses 225 cans.
Get the full tutorial at FREEonPLATE.com.
13. Solar Fountain
A tipsy solar fountain stacks old galvanized buckets and watering cans on a conduit pole so water spills from one to the next. An old washtub, or a lined half whiskey barrel, works as the reservoir. Seal leaks with GE Silicone II and clean every container. Drill a center hole in each bucket, starting with a small pilot bit, and string them on the pole. A solar pump kit and 10 feet of tubing do the rest. Wear gloves; old metal is sharp.
Get the full tutorial at Flea Market Gardening.
14. Solar Charged Lawnmower
This project converts an old, non-working gas mower into an electric one charged by the sun. The gas engine comes out, and an electric motor running from a 12 volt battery goes in. A photovoltaic panel at a charging station keeps the battery topped up, so you just park the mower there between cuts. Converting an old mower keeps the cost down and lets you design the power output, and reusing parts keeps them out of the landfill.
Get the full tutorial at Appropedia.
15. DIY Solar Light Mason Jars
Solar light mason jars with acrylic gems inside throw a starburst of light across a deck at night. Spray paint the jar rings first so they dry while you prep. Pour a little bag of acrylic gems into each jar. Pop the top off a dollar store solar light and toss the stake. Put a 2 inch piece of extra sticky tape on either side of the light, press it into the jar mouth and screw the ring back on. Hang them with wire or set them on the steps.
Get the full tutorial at U Create.
16. DIY Solar Lanterns
These DIY solar lanterns suspend a solar light right over a glass candle holder. Fill the holder halfway with decorative pebbles, sand or seashells. Take apart a garden solar light and keep just the round part with the panel and LED. Glue four 5 inch strings to its sides, wrap a longer string around the panel to hide the mess, then glue the strings to the outside of the holder. Wrap more string around the top to finish.
Get the full tutorial at The Budget Diet.
