Building Your Own Solar Power Panels – Quick Start Guide

For just about any homeowner interested in building their particular alternative energy source, a basic understanding of solar power generation and terminology is necessary.

Technology Backgrounder

A solar collector or photovoltaic (PV) cell is the semiconductor that captures sunlight and converts it into dc (DC) electricity. Photovoltaics will be the cleanest and most direct way to harness the Sun’s energy. A group of PV cells arranged right into a panel and installed onto a flat surface make up a solar panel or a PV module. A group of PV modules connected in series comprises an array.

PV modules are rated in watts in line with the maximum power they can produce when performing under ideal conditions. The rated output determines the number of modules are needed to fulfill the homeowner’s electrical needs. A normal household requires an electric system that produces between 3 to 5 kW.

Types Of PV Modules

There are three common production technologies for Solar cells.

Single Crystalline – The most expensive production technique but the most efficient sunlight conversion technology available. Efficiency rating of approximately 10 to 12 %.
Polycrystalline or Multi-crystalline – Slightly lower in conversion efficiency compared with single crystal but cost a bit less. Efficiency rating of approximately 10 to 11 percent.
Amorphous or Thin Film – Production is cheaper than any other method however the collectors are less efficient so more area is required. Efficiency rating of approximately 5 to 7 percent. These elements are often almost black colored.

Renewable Energy Investment Cost
By having an average cost of $5 per watt, an average household will require a good investment of at least $15,000 to $25,000. As well as the PV modules will are the cause of at least $9,000 to $15,000 of the upfront cost. By purchasing commercial modules, it can save you time and frustration but this is a lot of hard earned money to part with.

A better alternative would be to build your own panels. No, you cannot build a PV system at no cost from junk yard parts. There are many do it yourself (DIY) guides on the web showing you how to develop a cheap solar panel for about $200 using used or chipped Solar cells available from eBay or bulk resellers. For the first project, purchase cells that aren’t broken as it is likely to make the project easier. The most popular DIY kits are Earth4energy, Energy 4 Green, and Make Power At Home.

What Materials Are essential?

For the basic PV module, you will need:

Solar collectors – basic conversion technology
Plywood – backing for holding the Solar cells
Wood – for framing a border across the cells and flexi-glass
Flexi-glass – this goes over the PV cells

Basic tools and supplies needed are:
Tabbing wire – allowing you to connect the collectors together
Silicone – for holding the Solar cells onto the plywood and also the flexi-glass to the border
Solder – for holding the wires onto the back of the Solar cells
UV Protector – for protecting the plywood
Volt meter – for measuring the PV module power output

Which are the Steps?
The basic steps for constructing a solar panel are:

Cut your plywood backing to size
Apply several coats of UV protector in your plywood
Join Solar cells together using a soldering iron and tabbing wires
Fix connected cells to plywood backing using silicone
Build the module borders using more plywood
Fix the flexi-glass for the borders and cover the solar collectors
Connect the wires to a charge controller
Repeat steps above for building more PV modules as needed

For complete step-by-step instructions, the popular guides mentioned earlier provides detailed instructions with accompanying video instructions to even make it easier to follow.
Be sure to begin small by building a few solar panel systems first and then contributing to your power array as time passes.

What’s Next?

Solar panels are just one element of a solar photovoltaic system. A deep cycle battery is necessary for storing the electricity generated, an inverter for converting the DC power into ac (AC) for household appliances usage, something meter for monitoring the battery levels, and a charge controller to safeguard the battery from being overcharged. With a complete solar system, you start saving money on electricity from the first day.

Just thought you may well be interested in reading this guide: photovoltaic solar panels and solar panel installation.