Building your own panels

Last update: 07/15/2010 

Read our latest diary entry about the solar cells we ordered here.

We're building our own panels! I found a source on the internet for solar cells - the individual pieces that make up a solar panel - to build 2 60 watt panels for $100. Don't start hopping up and down and sending me emails just yet. That's just for the cells. You'll also need some way to mount them (usually glass or Lexan), connecting them together, junction boxes, frames, front weather protection and probably 10 other things I haven't thought of. 

However, as soon as they get here, we're going to get a video up about them and building panels.

I've been getting a LOT of emails about this. Feel free to email me about the building of panels. It's not that hard, just time consuming and needs a steady hand to do the soldering and connecting of the cells.

Building solar panels isn't as hard as it might seem. If you can connect your battery bank together, you can build your own panels. Panels are made up of individual solar cells that are connected together and then put in a case that you make that protects them from weather and damage. One important aspect of building your panels is that you need to keep in mind the final output that you want. In other words, if you want a 2 amp (42 watt) panel that will charge a 12 volt battery bank, you're going to need a higher voltage output than 12 volts. Most commercial panels will produce about 21 volts (open circuit - nothing connected but the voltage meter; once you connect a load, the voltage will drop). You can build them in a series of sets of cells and then parallel connect them to get the desired output. I know, that sounds daunting but it's really not. Consider: you purchase a solar cell that puts out 2 amps at .5 volts. Okay, you can build a 2 amp panel from that. You'll need 42 cells to get your 21 volts (you want to connect them in series like flashlight batteries; + to -). Now, if you want a 4 amp panel, connect two strings of cells in parallel (+ to +. - to -). The important thing to remember is that it's the same as a battery bank. Parallel connections as power, series connections add voltage.

Connecting the cells takes some patience and learning how to solder the small tabs (they look like little strips of aluminum foil) to the cells, one side of which is positive and the other negative - just like a battery - takes some practice. To make the panels, you can use aluminum for the frame and back, wood, plastic - basically whatever is solid, can be made water proof (not just water resistant) and can last a long time. Solar cells can last 20 years or more.

The costs of individual cells vary all the time. I suggest this supplier of solar cells:

Plastecs

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