Avoid Time Consuming Problems When Making Your Own Solar Panel
Before you actually begin to build a solar panel, bear in mind that there are a few potential problems to keep an eye on. Start your project on the right foot. Get all the components together before you start; get a tool box with all the right tools and a manual which gives step by step instructions.
That is not the first step though. The first step is to decide how many solar panels you are going to build and what you are going to do with the electricity they generate. There are many things you can do when you build a solar panel, you can build a small one for charging up re-chargeable batteries, or you can build larger 200, 300 or 400 watt panels to run home appliances and store excess electricity in a battery bank, or you can build 1000 watt panels and start a little business feeding electricity back to the grid.
The process is exactly the same when building a low wattage yield solar and a high wattage panel, besides time and space, the only other thing you need is more solar cells. The main reason for many people wanting to make their own solar electricity is that they can save on the cost of having to actually by them because they are very expensive.
Having decided the size of panel or panels you are going to produce, the next part of the process and the critical part is to establish where you can acquire low cost if not free solar cells. EBay is always a good place to start when wanting to buy anything on the cheap, the only downside is that you can't always get the exact thing you are after. However, this process is a bit hit and miss and only about 50% of the time can you find something that you are looking for.
The best option is to contact companies in your local area who use solar panels to power remote pieces of electrical equipment. Contact these companies and make yourself known to them, tell them what you want to do so at a later date should they have any broken cells they want to dispose of, they will contact you. The best source of these solar cells are the businesses who put out traffic signs, for example, when repairs are being carried out to roads. The Companies name and telephone number can often be found attached to it somewhere. Traffic signs often get broken by manhandling or cars driving into them.
Should the solar cell part of the sign get damaged, they won't repair it, they will just replace the whole thing. The good news is that it is normally very easy to repair a chipped or damaged solar cell, if you know how to build a solar panel, you can easily repair a solar cell.
Finding a cheap supply of solar cells is the only major problem you need to solve if you are looking to build a solar panel on a shoestring, so start searching for those local businesses today.
Remeber what I said earlier, know what outcome you want to end up with, have a clear picture even sketch it out on a piece of paper. If you don't have that clear picture, you will build an array which has no useful purpose. You will make life very hard for yourself and will probably be disappointed. At the beginning and end of each break ask yourself "is this panel going to turn out how I initially intended?
Different Types of Solar Panels
- Monocrystalline Solar Panels
- Satellite Grade Solar Cells
- Polycrystalline Solar Panels - Cast Polysilicon
