How to Make Homemade Solar Panels: Make Your Panels at Home and Save Thousands!
Solar Panels are expensive when you purchase them commercially but that hasn’t stopped many motivated folks from going green and figuring out how to make homemade solar panels. The good news is that it can be done! But expect to spend a decent amount of time on them, which when considering the dramatic savings you can expect is usually time very well spent!
How to Make Homemade Solar Panels: First a brief Introduction to How Solar Panels Work
Solar Panels work on the principle of the Photo Electric effect. It’s a little know fact that discovery of this affect is actual what Albert Einstein won the Noble Prize for. But don’t let that intimidate you, the basics of the concept are really quite simple. What Albert Einstein discovered was that when you shine high energy light at certain materials, electrons get knocked loose by the light energy, those electrons can be used to form an electric current (electricity).
How to Make Homemade Solar Panels: What is a Solar Cell?
Solar cells are devices specifically constructed to take advantage of the photoelectric effect and use it to generate a voltage. That’s it, the basic concept is simple.
How to Make Homemade Solar Panels: So what is a Solar Panel?
A solar Panel is simply a bunch of solar cells strung together and connected electrically ( in series). Each solar cell only produces around a half a volt give or take, so in order to get enough energy to power larger loads we must add up the voltage of many cells.
How to Make Homemade Solar Panels: The steps.
Now that you understand the basics let’s talk about how a solar panel can be assembled
Step one: purchase solar cells, you can get them from hardware store sometimes or order them in bulk online (my preferred method)
Step two: Solder them together in series, using soldering strips to make the connection. Soldering strips for those who don’t know are simply thin pieces of metal that are soldered in place and used to make an electrical connection.
Step three: Add Blocking Diodes. Diodes are like a one way door or valve for electricity. They only let it pass in one direction. You will need to add blocking diodes to the panel so that your panels don’t “steal” the electricity from the batteries in your system when the sun goes down.
Step four: Weather Proof the Panel, once the internals to the Panels are complete you will want to weather proof them. Glass or plexi glass can be used, I prefer glass and often use recycled windows for this purpose. Once the glass is in place be sure to seal them up really Good, we don’t want any water to be able to penetrate the panel.
Step Five: Connect to Your Battery
Hook them up to your battery and you are ready to supply a simple DC Load. If you want to supply AC you are going to need some additional equipment.
I hope this gives you a better idea of the process. With a little persistence you can go green on a budget. If your still not 100% confident that you’re ready to tackle this project on your own some savvy do “greeners” have put together entire courses that will show you how to do each and every step, so no excuses! Get plans if you need them, but going green is something the world needs you to do right now!
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Category: Environment/Nature
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