Solar panels have helped provide a sustainable source of power to craft in space exploration for decades, and many people never realize how this technology can be simplified to enable you to build your own solar panels capable of supplying your home directly with it’s electricity needs.

Learning to Build Your Own Solar Panels

Learning how to build your own solar panels requires some of the tools you may already have in your garage and maybe a few items here and there that can be sourced at your local recycling center or you can even get them on eBay. You don’t have to be a DIY expert or have an engineering degree, you just need to be hands-on, have the desire to build your own solar panels, a few dollars and up to a couple of days of free time.

Materials needed to Build your Own Solar Panels

First of all you’ll need to make yourself a materials list and then go and source them.

The basic stuff you’ll need is ;

Black Paint, a Silicone Sealant, Wooden Boxing, Clear Plastic Paneling, some Solder, Wiring and some Glue.

The most important things you will need are the cells you are going to join together to build the panel itself. Try not to buy the cheapest ones and select the ones that already have tabs. Now how many of these cells you will need depends on how much power you are looking to generate, as a general rule you will need to allow for the fact that even the best build your own solar panels systems will only deliver around 80% of the claimed output.

Once you have all of the components the fun begins and you can start to build your own solar panels! Constructing the panel at this stage is about as difficult as a jigsaw puzzle, it really is that simple. To start with take your cells and glue them in a ’6×6′ configuration, this series of 36 cells is the most effective and you should join up the tabs to make sure you are only getting a one-way flow of electricity. Then mount this onto a backing board and secure it inside a well insulated box. Now paint the box black and take your clear plastic panel and screw it down over the face of the cells taking care not to damage them and then finally seal it up with a bead of silicone.

Now that you have taken the time to build your own solar panels it is now time to hook them up to a storage battery or batteries should you require. At this stage most people find it necessary to consult an electrician. This entire process should have taken you no more time than a weekend and it isn’t exactly complicated or labour intensive but is really satisfying when you get them working for you.

You will need to find an area of a few feet on your roof that is totally clear from the shade of trees and/or other buildings in order to mount the system as the last thing you need when you have taken the trouble to build your own solar panels is that they are inefficient. The good thing is they don’t have to face South in order to maximise on the solar energy from the sun. Also, you will need to make sure all of your wiring is well insulated and also the back of the box to minimise any loss of heat energy.

Why Should you Build your own Solar Panels ? 

Now that you understand how to build your own solar panels and how simple they are, it can be so easy to forget the fact that they make a serious contribution to the energy demands of your home. In this era where burning fossil fuels and other sources of non-renewable energy is seeing our oceans polluted from oil spills and our wilderness being threatened by mining, any attempt to seek an alternative source must be embraced.

Solar Power by it’s very nature is environmentally neutral and it is worth considering that even though you are ultimately getting cheap power when you build your own solar panels, you are also giving something back. The future of your children and many generations to follow may very well be dependent on initiatives such as these.

Thankfully for the future of our planet the sun is always going to be there and it is always going to be a great source of energy for all of us and no utility company is ever going to charge you for using it! Learning to build your own solar panels is a really fun project that the whole family can get involved in and also saving money are just two of the benefits of doing a DIY Solar Panel Installation, it is also a real supply of renewable FREE energy for anyone who is conscious of the environment, just how cool is that?

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