Making a do it yourself solar panel for residential solar energy is one of the most fun projects you can ever take on. It beats working on a broken down car I’ll tell you that. One of the reasons making a solar panel is so rewarding is that the end product saves you money. You may be surprised to know that the project is not that difficult at all. There’s really not much to it, using the tools in your garage right now some additional components it can be accomplished.

Now, you can literally make a residential solar energy panel from raw materials. But that’s not we’ll talk about here. The approach we’re going to take is to find used solar components to create your masterpiece.

The process involves soldering the solar cells together, and placing them in a wooden box that you create. Lastly, you want to utilize glass or Plexiglas to place on top and see what advice.

Of course, there are some more steps involved but this is a basic overview. My goal is that you have basic understanding of all the elements of this project. I recommend getting your hands on a how to guide will walk you through all the steps.

Once you’re done creating your solar panel, you can test how much electricity it generates. Then, you’ll want to scout around for a great place to put the panel. Rooftops are best, so observe which part of the roof gets the most sunlight throughout the day.

It’s important that you check your local and state laws to make sure you’re not in violation of the regulations. In fact, if you can get good at this and make quite a few of them, you get a position to receive money from the utility company. Imagine that, getting paid by your utility company.

I hope this overview of making a solar panel has given you some ideas. This really is one of the funnest projects you ever take on. If you’ve got youngsters, this is an excellent opportunity to expose them to a great learning experience. You’d be teaching the little ones about a variety of things that are useful to know. This is a great situation because it’s win-win for everyone involved.

Purchasing and setting up of new solar panels can still be an expensive home project for you.

This article will discuss building solar panels for your home.

Creating do-it-yourself solar systems can give you a lot of advantages such as the option to use lower priced components for the system.

An example of this is using wood for the solar panel housing.

However, you should also consider the idea of investing on longer lasting materials for your solar panel.

Although it may cost more, it may be more advantageous in the long run.

Most builders use pre-tabbed solar cells when building their solar panel.

This may appear to be a more expensive path to take, but it is the best choice in terms of practicality as you don’t need to do the soldering anymore.

Whatever materials you wish to use, you can still build solar panels that not only can go head-to-head with commercial panels in terms of power production but will also beat them in terms of price.

You can also use materials like Mono-crystalline solar cells. Try looking for 3X6-inch sized cells that are rated more or less 3 amps each. Click here for more information.

The brand new cells are usually very expensive, so to keep things within your budget, you will have to search for similar items which are cheaper.

Each of these cells can produce up to ½ volts, this means that if you set up a solar panel with 36 cells in it you can generate up to 18 volts- more than enough to charge 12 volt batteries.

And when the cells are wired in a series connection, they can produce a little more voltage over 18 volts.

This means that when the 36 cells are wired together, they can get an accumulated power of 60 watts.

The generated electricity can now be stored in batteries that can later be applied for running lights and other home appliances; in fact you can even hook your appliance directly to the inverter slot of your solar panel.

If you want a higher output, you may want to use cells with higher amplitude.

To approximate the size you would be using, keep in mind the formula which is Amp x Volts= the amount of power in watts. Although the size of cells can be modified, the similar number of cells is needed.

Solar cells, whatever their size is, produce the same voltage.

Bigger cells translate to a higher amp production, that’s why you can use larger cells if you wish to increase the amp of your panel.

Although there is a clear advantage in using bigger cells, it may not be practical in most situations because you can produce more power with larger cells but the whole structure would be large and heavy.

You may be tempted to mix differently sized solar cells, but it is not a good idea.

If you do this, your panels would only be able to produce a limited current because your larger sized cells would not be utilized to their maximum potential.

How to Make the Solar Panel Box

Creating a shallow box case is like creating an exoskeleton for your solar panels.

You can create a decent solar panel box with scrap wood as the main material.

Let’s say you would build a solar panel that will hold 36 3×6 inch solar cells. You would need 3/8 inch of thick plywood and some 3/4 x 3/4 wood pieces along the edges.

In the creation of the solar panel box, keep it shallow.

This is because the sides of the solar panel boxes can block the light that should reach the solar cells.

To do this, follow these simple steps.

1 Create two sub-panels, with each containing 18 solar cells.

2 Craft a divider for the middle to separate the two sub-panels.

3 Drill about 3-4 ventilation holes in the middle to allow air flow.

4 Create some holes at the bottom so that rain or moisture will not accumulate.

This will also cause the air pressure inside and the outside to even out.

5. For the substrate of the contraption, it is advisable to use an insulating material.

6. Create a front cover made from translucent material.

7. Lastly, apply paint so that your solar panel will not be weathered by various weather conditions. Experts suggest that light colored paint should be used. This is because darker colors are more likely to absorb heat, which may reduce the solar panel’s energy output.

Once the solar panel box is completed, you can now start preparing the cells for setup.

1. Begin by creating a layout of the cells in the panel, visualize and draw a grid board on both pegboard pieces to exactly illustrate where the 18 cells would be situated.

2. Lay out the cells on the panel, draw a grid board on both pieces of pegboard to show where each of the 18 cells will be located.  Solder all 18 cells, on each sub-panel, together in a series. Connect both halves in series.

3. Solder the cells together, be sure to use a soldering iron that is low in wattage and a rine rosen core solder.

4. Have the cells lie face-down. Lay the tabs about a cell across the solder points in the other cell’s back.

5. Be sure that the spacing between the cells are matched with the grid pattern. Solder the cells carefully and precisely.

6. Glue the solar cells in place by applying silicone caulk in the middle of each cell. Be sure to follow the guidelines you traced earlier.

7. Test the cells for functionality first and then install them to the main frame. After this, you can do the wiring. To avoid a reverse discharge on your batteries, it is advisable that you include a blocking diode in the circuitry.

8. Link the sub-panels together using a wire that run through the vent holes of the center divider. Apply silicone caulk to anchor them in place.

Now you’re set, your home-made solar panel is now ready for installation.

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