Blew a fuse trying to install solar panels myself

Thought I'd save $400 by putting up a 100 watt panel on my shed. Watched three YouTube videos, felt ready. Took me 6 days of wrong wiring and blown fuses before I called a pro. He fixed it in 20 minutes. Now I just pay for the help upfront.

3 comments

3 Comments

murray.cora1mo ago

and honestly that's exactly what happened to me when I tried to wire up a little 50 watt setup for my garden lights. I had the diagram printed out and everything, thought I was being smart about it. Three days of swapping fuses and nearly burning my garage down before I just gave up and paid a guy $80 to show up and do it in ten minutes. The worst part is he found my mistake in like two seconds and didn't even laugh at me, which was nice. I guess some things are just worth paying for the peace of mind, you know? Now I always call someone for electrical stuff, no matter how simple it looks on YouTube.

the_fiona1mo ago

didn't even laugh at me" - that's a good electrician right there. My husband tried a similar thing with our porch light and ended up having to call an emergency after-hours guy on a Sunday. Cost us like $250 for something that probably would have been $60 if he'd just called someone in the first place. Sometimes having a professional do it is cheaper in the long run, even if it feels like you're throwing money away upfront.

wade2501mo ago

Actually the $60 job vs the $250 after-hours thing is a bit off. Most electricians have a minimum service call fee that's usually around $100-$150 even during regular hours, so that $60 estimate is probably way low unless it's a super small-town guy. And the peace of mind thing is huge - I've seen enough DIY electrical fires on Reddit to know that paying a pro $80 to avoid burning your house down is actually a steal (especially since insurance might not cover it if you did the work yourself).