Want to Make a Solar Panel?

Solar energy has been used for centuries – and today, solar power is not merely used to heat water, but also to power household lights, telephones, TVs, refrigerators, and even air conditioners, and various other consumer appliances, thereby reducing electricity bills to a large extent. Are you keen on constructing your own solar panel? If so, consider yourself blessed as it is no way a complicated thing to do, irrespective of the fact that you may be a layman in this aspect.

Construction of a solar panel can be divided into ten stages, which again is based on what your needs are, the quantum of solar power you would want to be produced and the number of solar panels you are keen on building.

Do you know how much you may have to invest in order to build your own solar panels? It is possible to build one which would drastically bring down your electricity consumption charges to less than $200, provided you execute your job perfectly.

Assuming that you are keen to put an end to your electricity dependence that is, you want to totally rely on solar power for domestic requirements, in which case, the erection of the panel would require more initial finance, needing to the tune of 4-5 solar panels that have adequate source of sunlight and other atmospheric elements.

Here are the 10 steps you need to create your own solar panel:

Step 1: First figure out approximately how much electricity you desire to or need to generate. That will provide you with the estimate of the number of solar panels you should build. The common family household uses between 10,000 and 30,000 Watts of power daily. You should check your last few months of electric bills to see exactly how much power your household consumed. Each household varies somewhat depending on the amount of hot water, appliances, central air conditioning if any, age and size of the home, number of family members and other factors which impact on usage. Keep in mind a representative solar cell will generate approximately 2 Watts of power. That is one cell. A solar panel can contain hundreds or hundreds of thousands of cells. At 2 Watts per cell, you can see you will need between 5,000 and 15,000 distinct cells in the panel to provide all of the electric power for the home. Depending on the number of solar cells you require, the resulting figures show you must construct between 5 and 15 solar panels. As discussed above, however, nothing and no one requires you to go off the electrical grid and power your entire house by solar energy. You can simply choose to build less solar panels and provide only a supplement to your traditional electric power. The savings can still make your time and effort worthwhile in reducing your overall utility bill and of course any solar energy you generate is a positive effect on the environment.

Phase 2: Immediately after you compute the number of solar cells needed for the job; buy them on eBay, by mentioning chipped or broken solar cells on search engine. They happen to be financially viable being as efficacious as any new cells. You may purchase the solar cells from the shops in your area also; however, procuring them from eBay would be a better proposition.

Stage 3: Next, you will need to collect the other components for the solar panels. They are: 1. Lean plywood (neighborhood hardware outlet) 2. Flexi-glass about 0.5 inches thick (hardware outlet). 3. Tin-coated tabbing cable (search in eBay). 4. Silicone (for plugging up holes). 5. Solder iron (for joining the cells). 6. Rosin flux pen (for connecting your cells). 7. UV Protector (to avoid any harm to your new solar panel). 8. Volt meter. As soon as the above mentioned components are ready, you may commence assembling or building your maiden solar panel.

Stage 4: To start with, ready the plywood by chopping it the right breadth and length, clean it and ensure that all the cells that you have bought sit neatly on it. And, apply few coatings of UV protector on the wood to safeguard from harmful sun rays.

Step 5: After you have cut the plywood to the proper width and height, cleaned it and applied the UV Protector, you then will attach the solar cells together. This is not an easy task and will be discussed in more detail in another article, however, generally locate the tabs on the reverse side of each cell and using a soldering iron place a small amount of solder onto the tabs. Use the tabbing wire attaching the face of one cell to the reverse of the next in a repetitive manner until the rows have been completed.

Phase 6: You then have to stick the above mentioned already linked cells on the back of your plywood sheet applying silicone as an adhesive. Besides, you will have to attach cables to each row of the cells and make a hole behind your plywood to ensure that you have the cabling done from the cells to the battery or any other power storage mode.

Step 7: Now locate your Flexi-glass of about 0.5 inches thick . Fasten it around your plywood using the silicone so the Flexi-glass covers the solar cells.

Phase 8: Plug all open gaps or holes (around those through which the positive and negatives cables are passing through, or at any other place) by applying silicone.

Phase 9: Now make a breather hole at the base of your plywood close to where the cables exit to prevent wetness deposition inside the solar panel.

Stage 10: Next, join the electrical wires from the panel to the panels junction box- which in turn will connect to your charge controller and then to your batteries. Remember to seek the advice of your neighboring hardware outlet when you are doing this to ensure you are in possession of the right volts and amps for your wiring ” as they are fully knowledgeable in this aspect to guide you after seeing your equipment.

It is all done ” to verify performance, just expose your cells to the sun, connect a voltmeter, and you will be amazed to see the power your new panel is generating.