Solar Energy Kits
There are many kinds of solar energy kits - educational solar energy kits, functional solar energy kits, thermal solar energy kits for hot water, and solar energy kits for electric power generation. Commonly an educational solar energy kit is comprised of a small motor or light, a small photoelectric cell, and a booklet on experiments to teach how solar energy works - other kits may have mirrors and lenses to focus light in order to show how solar thermal energy is generated and how it works, typically these kits have a thermometer and such. Now for the big kid stuff, I mean, man stuff. Yeah... Man stuff. A solar energy kit can be as simple as lighting outside with those stike-em-in-the-earth-and-don't-look-back lights to those more complicated wired systems that use a panel on your roof and a battery storage system for excess electricity, easy to install and hardly dangerous if you wear gloves... next comes the technical 'do not touch unless ye be granted the gift of certification from the almighty (college of electronics)'. These photoelectric power kits will actually help power your home, and if you are not a certified electrician with permits and required paperwork it would be best not to try until you hire someone, and have the proper paperwork if it is required in your area.
Now for the most common form of solar energy that is taken advantage of - thermal power in the form of hot water! These kits are difficult to install and require some plumbing skills, and if you use a gas hot water system it might be wise to hire someone else. Sure you can do a small kit and show how it works - but why not do the real thing? Because the real thing gets real hot, and can burn you if you are not careful. These kits include piping, some of which may need to be customized, it includes the panels, usually two or three, it includes the safety valves, storage tank for the hot water, valve shutoff and a control device to let the pump know when to recirculate or add fresh water and at what temperature it should be at. This setup is technical, but probably not quite as dangerous to do as let's say.. rewiring your house. But you could still burn yourself or blow yourself up if you forget to turn the hot water gas off.