When you build a solar panel, there are a number of things that need to be taken into consideration before you actually start. Building a solar panel is a relatively easy process if you have good instructions to follow, know where to get the individual products from and have the right equipment.
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. Decide how big your dream is. Do want to start a solar farm, building 2000 watt panels and feed electricity back to the national grid or do you want to build 500 watt panels for running specific appliances in your home or do just want a small one; to build a solar panel for re-charging your digital camera batteries?
The only difference between making 500 watt solar panel and 100W solar panel is the quantity of solar cells you require and the time you have available to spend on the project. 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.
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. The first port of call for me is eBay, sometimes you can get lucky and find someone who is selling a pile of solar cells at a very good price. So what if you can’t find what you need on ebay and other auction sites, what do you do next?
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. You want to develop a relationship with these companies so that they call you when they have any damaged cells they want to get rid of. A big user of solar cells are the companies who repair roads or make street signs for roads. These signs get damaged on a regular basis and have to be repaired.
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.
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. Having worked on many projects, you can learn from my experience, if you don’t do it you will have a panel fit for nothing. You just end up with disorganized chaos. Know what you want and go and build it.
Different Types of Solar Panels
- Thin Film Solar Panels – cadmium telluride
- Monocrystalline Solar Panels
- Polycrystalline Solar Panels – Cast Polysilicon
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