Don’t be too quick to start to build a solar panel, because before you start; there are a few pitfalls that you need to be aware of. 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. Most of us, who build our own solar panels to generate electricity for our homes, do it so that we can drastically reduce the expense of actually fitting solar panels as they can be prohibitively expensive.
Now you know how large you solar panel is going to be, we now have to find a ready source of solar cells. Now you don’t want to pay a lot of money for them. 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. The only problem with this is that if you can’t find the specific size and quantity of solar cells, what do you do then?
One very good option for you is to research businesses near to where you live and find the ones which use solar cells in the electrical products they use on a day to day basis. 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.
They don’t fix the solar panel if it is broken or chipped, they will fit a new one and chuck the old one in the skip. If you have a good training manual which shows you how to build a solar panel, it won’t take much for you to repair a damaged one.
The biggest challenge for most “solar panel builders” is finding a reliable, low cost source of solar cells so pick your telephone directory and start looking for those companies now.
A final word, if there is one thing I want to drive home to you, is the fact you need to have a very good picture in your mind’s eye of what it is you want to achieve. If you don’t have that clear picture, you will build an array which has no useful purpose. You just end up with disorganized chaos. Stick a picture on the wall and go and build it.
Different Types of Solar Panels
- Thin Film Solar Panels – cadmium telluride
- Monocrystalline Solar Panels
- Satellite Grade Solar Cells
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