photovoltaic solar panels
As solar technology continues to improve and energy prices continue to rise, many homeowners are beginning to look for affordable alternative energy sources. A good place to start is with Do-It-Yourself solar panels to take advantage of abundant and renewable solar energy. Cheap solar arrays can be easily built at home with readily available materials. The following paragraphs will outline what materials are needed, where they can be acquired and a few other things to consider as you begin to build your own cheap solar panels.
To construct your own residential solar panel array, you will need the materials to build the solar panels, as well as the box to house everything. Cheap solar cells can be found on Ebay for far less than you would pay at a commercial source. In addition to the photovoltaic (PV) cells, you will need to purchase wire, a diode, and a Jones plug to wire everything. Diodes can be found on Ebay and a Jones plug can be found at electronics suppliers. To construct the solar panel box you can find lumber, silicone caulk, screws and hardware, paint and plexiglass at your local hardware store. A few tools will also be necessary to assemble your cheap PV panel. A cordless drill or similar tool will be very useful when making the solar panel box. A soldering iron will also be necessary to assemble the solar cells, wires and diodes.
Another source for cheap PV cells are commercial solar companies. When these companies install a new system in a home or office, all of the old solar cells become trash. Many companies will be glad to give them to you for free and save themselves the hassle of dealing with them. It is not a sure thing, but a quick call to local companies could save you a lot of money. Some people also choose to buy used, chipped or damaged solar cells. It takes a little more looking to find, but these PV cells can be highly discounted and work well.
When shopping for solar photovoltaics, be sure to order extra solar cells in the event that some are broken during shipping or assembly. Further, it is very important that all of the solar photovoltaics are the same size. Different sized solar cells produce different amounts of Current (Amps). As a result, mixing different sizes disrupts the efficiency and energy production of the solar panel.
Before you begin building your own PV panels you should consider how much power you want to produce and how large you want your system to be. Each solar cell produces about one half Volt. A series of 36 solar cells wired together will produce just over 18 Volts. Watts of power is calculated by multiplying the Amps by the Volts. If the solar cells produce 3 Amps, the system will deliver about 60 Watts of power. Larger solar cells produce more Amps, and therefore can help to increase the wattage of your system. However, large solar cells will make for a larger and heavier panel. It may be a good idea to start with a smaller solar panel to get some experience and then move to larger solar panels. Good luck and have fun!
Les Goss is a teacher helping homeowners learn more about alternative energy sources for their homes. He invites you to learn more about residential solar panels at http://cheapsolarcellsonline.com. He also has an informative blog at http://homepowersystemsblog.com.
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