Make Your Own Solar Panel

by allan on April 21, 2011

Step-by-step procedure to help you make your own solar panel

The steps are easy when you make your own solar panel. If you’re one of those searching for creative ways of producing their own energy, solar energy panels is a worthy investment that will only take days to pay for itself. (see Build Solar Panel also & Advantages of Solar Energy )

A solar panel is basically a set of solar cells linked in a series to produce storable power that is converted to electrical energy. Although you can make solar panel cells from scratch, it is highly recommended that you check for available surplus stocks that are for auction online. We’ll be discussing these different cells currently available in the market, and their pros and cons as you make solar energy panels.

make your own solar panels, build solar panels at home Choosing solar cells

Quality as well as prices of solar cells can be dramatically different from one another. The average cost for a solar cell is around US$1.20. Stay away from ‘b’ grade cells, particularly those from China as their output and delivery are unreliable.

Your choices for solar cells can be intimidating. Solar photovoltaic cells made of crystalline units or amorphous silicon are the best used to make solar energy panels for the average home owner.

Don’t buy cells that have been dunked in wax because they produce less output and can be difficult to manipulate. Some shops have all the necessary supplies needed to make solar panels for a convenient one-stop-shopping.

Make your own solar panel: Needed materials

Materials that can help to make your own solar panel easy to assemble include wire ribbons, EVA glue and flux, solder, waterproof encapsulators, blocking diodes and tabbing wire, plus some wood for building the housing. If you want to see immediate results, there are pre-assembled kits that can help you finish the job in a flash. Whichever you choose, you’ll likely spend just a few hours building your panels with basic workshop tools.

Build your own solar panels to be more effective in absorbing and producing energy by gluing the cells in a 6×6 pattern on a backing board. Connect the cells in a series with a tabbing wire and put the blocking diodes at the end. This is to stop the back-flow of electricity when the clouds obscure the sun.

Carefully place your solar energy panel series inside a backing frame that’s been painted black and with the reverse side insulated. Cover the unit with a clear plastic lid sealed with silicone grouting to protect the panels from water. The last and most important thing to do is to wire the panels to a 12-volt storage battery, which can easily be stored and is effective in collecting energy.

It is easy and simple to build your own solar panels. There are kits that include a set of instructions or videos aimed to make the process easier. Although solar technology have been around for several decades, the continuing advancement in technology and techniques in production gave rise to increasingly reliable and inexpensive functional units.

Make your own solar panel: Benefits gained

Problems with reliability are now almost non-existent as the process of how to make solar panels continue to improve for use in wilderness monitoring and outer space. A useful benefit on building solar panels is the basic skills you’ll gain, which can prove most useful when rare maintenance problems arise.

The savings and the promise of independence from your utility company you have when you decide to make your own solar panel is a worthy investment, especially when your utility company becomes unstable. As long as the sun shines in the sky, you’ll always have a reliable, renewable energy source that is safe for the environment.

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