how can i build my own, cheap, solar panels at home?
i need to cut down on electricity bills, and so i was wondering if someone could give me step-by-step instructions, or websites that have step-by-step instructions on how to build an electricity generating solar panel.
The idea behind building your own was to get defective and broken solar cells from the manufacturer, preferably for free though many now charge for them. These are cells that are either cosmetically blemished, cracked or otherwise broken during manufacturing and transportation.
As each cell fragment could have very different voltage and current characteristics, you have to manually measure the voltage and current characteristics, sort them and then wire them in parallel or in serial to achieve the desired voltage and current characteristics for the panel. Wiring in parallel increases the current while wiring in series increases the voltage, the current capacity of cells in series will be that of the lowest current capacity cell in that series hence you need to match fragments up to wire in parallel till you have enough current capacity to participate as a cell in the series. Cell fragments can only be wired in parallel if they have the same voltage output. It's painstaking work and it's difficult to place all the irregular shaped cells onto the solar panel in a layout that efficiently uses the space so your solar panels will likely be much larger than commercial ones. You could augment them with Fresnel lenses since the cells don't occupy as much of the available surface area hence focusing the light onto the cells rather than the board will help with efficiency. Practice your soldering skills cause you don't want to have to go back in to figure out where that cold solder joint is. If you're real lucky you can get a supply of blemished cells but the cheapest ones are the broken cells.
If someone has an answer for you I want to see it too.
The question you ask is relative. What is cheap? I don't think that the cost to convert to solar is cost effective — YET that is.
But with the stimulus package in the USA I have some hopes that the tax incentives may make it financially feasible.
References :
Comment by cheezyhill — May 1, 2009 @ 8:49 am
Look at http://www.power4home.com
References :
Comment by Mr Fixit — May 1, 2009 @ 9:06 am
If you have a contractor (solar) do the whole house it would run no less than $25,000.00 US. You can not buy the parts cheap enough to make it worth your time,not to mention the frustration and the amount of time for you to complete the project. It requires knowledge and skill in that field.
References :
Comment by nv jack — May 1, 2009 @ 9:37 am
I have been researching solar electric (photovoltaic) for a while now and find that the up front cost will generally take 10 or more years to pay back. While the life expectancy is 30+ years, giving you 20 years of free energy, most people don't have the initial 20-30,000 start up cost.
I've found that wind turbines can be built fairly inexpensively and parts can be easily obtained. The trade off is that wind turbines require maintenance and you also need to be in a reasonably windy area, many municipalities will have restrictions that will impact your ability to put one up as well. The batteries/converters to store/convert your power from DC to AC can also get expensive.
Good Luck and thanks for being Earth Friendly and cost conscious! Let's hope that the cost of these products begin to decline as usage increases and new technology develops.
References :
Comment by Ken B — May 1, 2009 @ 9:54 am
Build from scratch, sorry your way over your head. (mine too).
There are lots of companies that will give quotes on doing what your looking for, but plan on spending 20 to 50K depending on where you live and what you need.
I don't know about where you are, but My hydro bill is almost half delivery charges. Therefore I could cut back by 99% on the usage, and still only have my bill come down by less than 50%.
I understand you desire to lower costs, but unless you do a big change(lots of outlay) your savings will be small.
By all means shut off lights your not useing etc.
there are other ways of lowering your household bills better way is solar heating. But this also depends on where you live.
I'm building a solar collector for 2 houses ,
Contact me at davethree@persona.ca and I'll pass on more info
References :
Comment by dave.greg — May 1, 2009 @ 10:32 am
The idea behind building your own was to get defective and broken solar cells from the manufacturer, preferably for free though many now charge for them. These are cells that are either cosmetically blemished, cracked or otherwise broken during manufacturing and transportation.
As each cell fragment could have very different voltage and current characteristics, you have to manually measure the voltage and current characteristics, sort them and then wire them in parallel or in serial to achieve the desired voltage and current characteristics for the panel. Wiring in parallel increases the current while wiring in series increases the voltage, the current capacity of cells in series will be that of the lowest current capacity cell in that series hence you need to match fragments up to wire in parallel till you have enough current capacity to participate as a cell in the series. Cell fragments can only be wired in parallel if they have the same voltage output. It's painstaking work and it's difficult to place all the irregular shaped cells onto the solar panel in a layout that efficiently uses the space so your solar panels will likely be much larger than commercial ones. You could augment them with Fresnel lenses since the cells don't occupy as much of the available surface area hence focusing the light onto the cells rather than the board will help with efficiency. Practice your soldering skills cause you don't want to have to go back in to figure out where that cold solder joint is. If you're real lucky you can get a supply of blemished cells but the cheapest ones are the broken cells.
References :
http://www.siliconsolar.com/solar-cells-by-the-watt.html
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-high-powered-solar-panel-from-broken-solar-/
Comment by John W — May 1, 2009 @ 10:38 am
For great guide (including video) that show you how to build your own solar panels in less then 200$!
http://tiny.cc/solar551
For list of the most popular e-books that teach how to build your own solar panels:
http://recomended-prods.com/green_energy
References :
http://recomended-prods.com/earth4energy/review
Comment by Green N — May 1, 2009 @ 10:51 am