DIY Solar Panel Kits

Hi! Not to long ago I began working on a science project to see if the temperature outside affects the electricity (voltage) generated by a solar cell. Its all been going well, until I took a break to test out some electronics for an RC plane, using a homemade chord with radioshack banana plugs. Now when I went back to the solar panel project, I get no reading. I am 99.9% positive that the multimeter is the culprit, and but im not sure why!

Thanks!

It is probably the fuses in the multimeter. There should be two.

If you have a second multimeter you can use, check the continuity of the fuses after taking them out. Otherwise, just replace them with new ones.

I’m thinking of building solar panels, has anyone done this?

You.can learn how to build a solar panel at home, it is not difficult and you can even engage your whole family to help you out. It is totally worthwhile to build your solar system as it can help you to save thousands of dollars as compared to buying a conventional system. In addition, you can save money by cutting down on your electrical expenses every month, and you can cut down on producing more carbon dioxide and do your part by going green at home!

Once you know how to build your own solar panels, you can start building for the boat, RV or the cabin you use for weekend getaways. A solar panel functions very easily, it is merely a storage unit for maintaining solar cells, and the cells will capture the sun’s rays and convert the energy into usable energy for electricity or any other purposes you need.

Learning how to build a solar panel can be done by reading through the detailed instructions you can easily obtain online, there are many guide books which you can refer to and come up with your own energy efficient and green machine. Start powering your house with the energy you have generated using the panels, if you are good enough, you can even generate excess energy which will flow back into the grid and earn some money out of it!

LIKE NATURE INTENDED? I’m moving into my new apartment and I’d like to make or build my own system….I want to build my own!!!! Forget buying huge oversized expensive panels from greedy so called eco friendly companies….I want the knowledge to build my own.

"Solar energy can be used to power almost everything now, and it can be used at home with or without solar panels. Some of the most common and effective ways to use solar energy are to capture it without having to buy expensive or complicated panels for your roof. You can use small, inexpensive solar panels to power laptops, lights, and even use solar ovens to cook your food"
-Ehow
First of All, linnyon or whatever your name is. How do you think our ancestors survived the winter??? There were no Edison of PG&E Obviously they did, you and I wouldn’t be here. I’m not giving PG&E Shit!!! Candles are not expensive and I also know how to make my own battery for light. Have you heard of zero point energy. I don’t think so. And to the rest of you, I pay my money that mean the apartment is mine….I don’t care if its not mine on paper or by law….Laws don’t mean anything to me. My Money my rules….I PAY RENT!!!THAT MEAN WHILE I’m there I could do whatever I want. I’m using Solar Panels on MY ROOF..YEP I SAID IT. You all can remain passive and fearful or laws and rules while your hard earned money go right to corporations and governments if you want to good luck.

Ehow

I too live in an apartment, am a dreamer and would love to save the whales, the air, environment, etc but the reality is that we (in apartments) can’t live off of the grid…..but you can be more efficient, and not consume as much. The solar panels for laptops, lights and oven sound a bit dreamy and a tad unrealistic, but I would love to be proved wrong!

My advice for immediate "green living" would be to first off, contact PG&E, & Edison for an in home energy audit. Usually the utilities will do this for free, and they will tell you what if any changes you should make to your apartment, house, etc. I live in Florida, and ironically enough had Florida Power & Light at my apartment yesterday afternoon for my free audit. I found it quite helpful, as I found out that our hot water heater was set to 180 degrees!! (Now I can assure you that our showers did not feel as though they were that hot, and I still have skin on my body so I don’t know about the 180 degrees but that’s a lot of money and energy being wasted!) I had the technician adjust the interior thermostat…for obvious reasons.There are also private companies that do Energy Audits, but they charge for their services. A typical price range for their services are from $200-$800. Other easy to do fixes in the apartment are to install a low flow shower head in your shower, make sure that your toilet is a 1.6 gpf, replace the filters in your AC every 3 months, make sure your dampers are open, and that your AC grills are not dirty, install 3M window film on the inside of your windows (or slidding glass balcony doors) and hang curtains or window blinds to reduce solar glare, don’t drive your car as much, etc etc. The cost for some of these recommendations , low flow shower head, 3M window film, etc are eligible for the energy efficiency tax credits on your return, so that can be helpful.

Secondly, contact PG&E and Edison to see if they have a renewable energy buying program. A few years ago Florida Power & Light (FPL) had a program where you paid an extra $10 a month and that extra money went towards the purchase and use of renewable energy. (allegedly)

Lastly check with your landlord or property owner as to what if any "green" characteristics there are to the building. Is the roof is white? ( so that it obviously does not absorb as much heat and the building’s AC doesn’t have to work as hard) Perhaps the pool has a solar heater? the Air Handler is a new energy efficient model? the outdoor flood lights have fluorescent bulbs? the driveway is sealed with a permeable material? (reducing storm water runoff) there are solar panels on the roof? Should the building have some of these components then the property manager/management company/condo board, etc can be eligible for federal tax credits (under the 2005 Energy Act and its enhancements from the ARRA) where that savings conceivably could be passed down to you. Check with a company called ETS (Engineering Tax Services) as they will come to the building, check everything, and then report to the management company as to what efficiency changes can be made. If the roof is capable of supporting solar panels or film and there is enough sunlight then solar might work too. Check with a company called Sun Electronics, as they are a solar system distributing company that has relationships with installers all throughout the country. I know these questions and recommendations may sound a bit Extreme and although there is no silver bullet, a close second is always good.

As I said before I too live in an apartment, hate paying an electrical bill, and most of all love the environment and would love to do what I can to prevent its destruction.

Good Luck

i am really interested in preparing a simple, homemade solar cell n in turn connecting them to form a panel. i also wanna bother about the cost. its gotcha be lower in cost and higher in efficiency.

Unless you can get someone else to buy it for you, it’s not going to be lower in cost. You can’t really beat a commercial panel, unless it’s a setup that doesn’t have to last more than a short amount of time. For example, you could build a panel without glass, but it would quickly deteriorate when exposed to the elements.

I have made a wind generator out of cheap, everyday materials.
Is it possible to make solar panels for generating electricity from everyday materials, perhaps something like a thermocouple with two different metals?

Not unless you can figure out a way to produce a semi-conductor at home. Basically a solar cell (photovoltaic cell) is a couple of layers of silicon P type and N type. Electrons become excited when light quanta penetrates into the P layer. The excited electrons move to the N type and (very oversimplified) create electricity.

I doubt you would have the facilities to create the materials at home.

i just need or wants to make solar panels

There are international companies that build solar plants for cities (see link for the biggest one, over 10 000 employees). If you buy one, it will be much cheaper than if you build it.

But if you have to build one because of a college project or something like that, first, you should tell your current skills

please help me on this. I am 17 year old boy and i don’t know so much about science.
please help me in simple(deeply) steps and things using in this.plz plz plz
thanks in advance.

This a quote:

"Materials you will need
The solar cell is made from these materials:

1.A sheet of copper flashing from the hardware store. This normally costs about $5.00 per square foot. We will need about half a square foot.
2.Two alligator clip leads.
3.A sensitive micro-ammeter that can read currents between 10 and 50 micro amperes. Radio Shack sells small LCD multimeters that will do, but I used a small surplus meter with a needle.
4.An electric stove. My kitchen stove is gas, so I bought a small one-burner electric hotplate for about $25. The little 700 watt burners probably won’t work — mine is 1100 watts, so the burner gets red hot.
5.A large clear plastic bottle off of which you can cut the top. I used a 2 liter spring water bottle. A large mouth glass jar will also work.
6.Table salt. We will want a couple tablespoons of salt.
7.Tap water.
8.Sand paper or a wire brush on an electric drill.
9.Sheet metal shears for cutting the copper sheet."

Go to this website for the rest including pictures.
Scroll part way down page to see.
http://scitoys.com/scitoys/scitoys/echem/echem2.html

Other places to go on the source info. below.

Wingman

would someone please tell me how in a simple way how to make a solar panel please? ive searched but no luck.

put clear pipes which connect to your water supply in a box with a black matt surface and shiny under side on the roof.

the black matt helps absorb heat radiation
the shiny light surface helps reflect heat back inside the box.

it is probably very hard to make though and there are many places to buy them.

hope that helps =)

For school, I need to heat 2 lieters of water with a solar panel.

anyone know how to do this

Making a black plastic container with a large surface area will do it. I worked at an archaeology field camp out in the mountains one summer and we took hot showers every day by filling these things called "sun showers". They were black plastic 10-liter bags with a screw on lid at one end to fill it up and a hose with a clamp valve and spray head at the other. We would fill them every morning after breakfast and then lay them out in the sun. By supper time they would be over 100 degrees and we would each take one and hang it on a hook above us in a shower room we built out of boards and tarps and be able to take a nice long hot shower.

Here’s an article and photo of the bag:

http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/228/1/Solar-shower-bag.html

Hi, if I were to do a laboratory experiment on how to find the energy conversion rate for a solar panel (an array of pipes), how can I make cold water (from a beaker at one end) flow through the panel? Then make hot water on the other end?

Please advise, many thanks!!

Gravity.

Since you are not going to be able to heat the water to a boil, use a funnel and a stopcock valve on the top.

You probably won’t get a true reading unless you have enough water to completely fill the system, so you’ll also need a stopcock on the bottom.

Measure your change in temperature of the H20 over, say, 5 minutes. (Fill system, wait 5 minutes, drain system and measure temp in outlet flow.)

And, if possible, use copper - better heat absorption.