Making A Diy Solar Panel

December 17, 2009 · Posted in diy solar

With the dawn of the “green-era” quickly approaching, many of us are making an effort to preserve and protect the Earth for generations to come.

In a crumbling economy, making the necessary changes can be impossible for some. “Going green” can be very costly.

One choice that many are making is switching to solar power. Unfortunately, this can also be an expensive solution. Having solar panels installed in your home can be a huge investment.

But, with a little ingenuity, you can make diy solar panels and save a little money.

The first step in making a solar panel is gathering to appropriate materials. The cheapest option is to search the internet for a bundle of broken solar panel segments or pieces.

Among the other materials needed are copper mesh (which can be found at art supply stores), a glue gun and sticks, a multimeter, and conductive brush-on (or a conductive pen.)

Below is a how-to on creating your own solar panels in the privacy of your home.

Inspect your solar cells to confirm the positive and negative connections. The positive side is typically gray and the negative side is black with lines all over it.

Use your multimeter to check the polarity by attaching the leads directly to the cell. This step is vital in insuring your solar panel will work properly.

Ensure that the negative lines are connected. All of the lines on the negative side should be completely connected.

If there are any visible breaks in these lines use your conductive pen or brush on to fill in the gaps. If there are no breaks in the lines you will see a rise in voltage.

Create a Link Between Cells. This is the hardest part of the entire project, but stick to it and you will understand fairly quickly.

Your goal when linking your cells is to maximize voltage and amperage potential. By connecting panels in series (negative to positive) you can get the most out of the voltage.

By connecting panels in parallel (negative to negative and positive to positive) you can get the most out of amperage.

Be certain that the positive and negative leads do not cause a short in the cell. The best way to connect your cells is using hot glue and conductive mesh.

Cut the mesh down enough to fit across the surface of each cell, but leave some length so that the cell can connect to the next cell. Hot glue the mesh to the top of the cell and begin connecting your panel pieces.

These solar panels are very delicate and could be easily broken or damaged. The best way to protect your solar panel is to apply a thin layer of silicon to the finished project.

Once dry; you will have a sealed and protected solar panel.

A good thing to keep in mind when beginning this project is what you plan to do with it once it is completed.

You will need to know how much voltage and amperage your project needs to produce to determine its size.

Each cell produces around. 5 volts. About thirty-six cells connected in series will provide enough volts to charge twelve-volt batteries.

Here is a link to a website you may find interesting for Solar Panels for Home and the “basic steps to plan your solar system”.