I have read this thread and want to commend Chris for getting off the couch and “Just Doing It”!!!
As for all the concerns – blah blah…
Sure his panel would be more weather resistant and have more strength with a tyvek backing and cells sandwiched between EVA Sheets (what is EVA?, eMail me and I will gladly fill you in) It is the primary encapsulant for a solar cell panel). Yes the wiring has some unwanted resistamce and he should have used tabbing wire to connect the cells into a string, and buss ribbon wire to interconnect the whole thing to the panel terminals. Blocking diodes would help to eliminate reverse battery drain on a dark/stormy night, and help control cell current runaway (sorry maybe a bit too technical).
..
The overall point in this person’s project is being over looked by a majority here – He took a stance, acted, and built a working solar panel!!! How many have all of you built?
..
The posts about the 200ma (that equates to .2 Amps for the uninitiated) cells costing 1.00 each is not encouraging. With a nominal cell voltage of about 0.55V and .2Amps (best case) you would only have a 9 watt solar panel. Want me to do the math: Take 36-cells (most panels are 36-cell panels), at .55V each = 19.8 Volts. Add a blocking diode (this allows you to parallel panels without interaction or im-ballance due to varying operational characteristics – oops, getting too technical again), you will have to subtract .8Volts (a 60PIV Silicon Diode will result in around -1.7V – a shottky diode will result in only about .7V drop accross the diode, but then will cost five times more than plain ole silicon). Now you have 18.1 V to 19.1 VDC at 200 mA ( essentially 18VDC at .2 Amps) – hence 9 watts. Simple math P (watts) = V (volts) x I (current – aamps).
..
So, if you spend say $4.50 to $6.50 per cell you can get cells with a current rating in the range of 4A to 7A (that’s 4,000mA to 7,000mA!).
…
You still need to weather proof the cells (the pros use EVA and a vacuum laminator, the semi-pros use a hair drier or heat gun and gravity.
..
Hint: RV solar cells use a plate of plain tempered glass on top and another on the bottom. Throw in a rubber gasket around the edges between the glass and you have a seal – dah…. How do you bolt it together – with an aluminum or plastic frame and bolts!!!
…
Life expectancy of any solar cell exceeds 25-years, unless you leave them open to the weather. We have six panels that are over 20-years old. They are in Arizona, Georgia and Tennessee (we have two panels with no weather proofing at a site in Georgia (Valdosta to be exact), two in Tennessee (SW of Nashville) and two in Arizona. The ones in Georgia and Tennessee only requires maintenance periodically to deal with moisture issues and are operating at 65-70%% of original capacity. oh yea – they are made with .54V 3,400mA cells – state of the art , the ones in Arizona get literally no maintenance and are operating at 85% of their original capacity. Point is weather seal is in fact important – but not that difficult to achieve.
…
We also have prototype panels that have operated in the open environment subject to wind, rain (we don’t get a lot in Arizona but the gang’s in Georgia and Tennessee have their own life vests -0 or at least the quack a lot when we IM and video conference together.
…
I encourage all of you to get on the stick and build your own panels. To heck with the so called incentives – just run your TV and refridgerator (or even you alarm clock) – with the power from your panels. You will be doing your own part to participate in this wonder full thing called “Green Living”.
…
Think they are too big for your roof (we have built them with 7″ wide by 96″ long geometry. You are only limited by your ingenuity – just go for it.
..
Chris – Well Done! Bravo!!!!!
..
Dave R. Mason
Southwestern Solar
and
Arizona Bio Fuels Research
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
email: dmason@phoenixcomputerlabs.com
or: swsolar@phoenixcomputerlabs.com
..

Great job!
I’d like to examine the possibility to implement sunpanels into houses before construction(so you dont have to buy roof-tiles). Btw, do you know where i can buy similar solar models as yours? I couldnt find any on Ebay…

I had an idea for making the panels. Could you spray the front of the cells with clear polyurethane, then just stick them all onto the glass? Wire them up after they dry. Glue a small border around all the back edges of the glass (probably should do this before sticking the solar cells on). Pour a can of polyurethane over the back. The border will hold it in ’till it dries. I think this will also make the glass less prone to hail/impact damage, plus no where for a lot of heat to build up. You could then silicone around all the borders and stick it onto a board (or anything really) that is slightly larger than the glass. You could then mount the panel by using screws through the board…

You guys Rock!! Chris great job…And Dave R Mason you’re absolutely rock!!

Hi,

Great article. Main problem is heating in situ – the greenhouse effect with the glass. Heat seriously reduces electricity generation as well as stressing the assembly. Maybe some kind of heat sinking is necessary. Say bond to an aluminum plate, or aerated hollow box.

ank

Chris I am glad to see you keep up with your thread. I have an idea for you. I purchased the same cells from RebeccaYi. I payed a little over $1 per watt for the cells.

OK, here is my idea. This is what I am trying for panels I am building right now. I bought industrial laminating sheet, 0.01″ thick. Here is my plan. Place the soldered strings of cells face down on a piece of glass. I cut a sheet of laminate the size of the glass, and build another bag of laminate and duct tape that I can create a vacuum in. I have a small industrial food processor vacuum pump. I’m pushing it on the duty cycle, but it works. So I have the glass, cells, and sheet laminate in the lamiate bag, under vacuum. While under vacuum, I have been using a heatgun to seal the plastic laminate. So the back of the panel is double layer of laminate, and paper(so you cant see through), sandwhiching the cells to the glass.

I havent tried it yet, but this is my plan. I originally built two panels on peg board, and I siliconed them, so they wont come off. I did laminate those two panels. I am worried because laminate is covering the front of the cells vs glass. I don’t know the amount of light the plastic will let through, and I’m worried about long term durability in the sun.

My only concern with the laminate on the glass panels will be the durability of the adhesive on the laminate. I have to build a couple layers of laminate on the edge of glass to bring the thickness to .25″, the glass is 0.188″, so it will fit in a standard frame. I think if I silicone the edges in the frame, it should hold the laminate securely on the glass, and nothing should be allowed to enter.

For anyone interested in learning more about how to build their own solar panel, I highly recommend the video and manual course here: http://budurl.com/mjqq.

There are step by step instructions with clear illustrations to build solar panels and even wind power generators. The author did a great job of making this very easy to follow. You should definitely check it out if you want to save money on your electricity bill: http://budurl.com/mjqq

Here are some problems I ran into. Some cells do crack, but only where I glue them to the glass so they wont move around, or if I have a big bump in my solder. I have gotten pretty good now at laying the solder flat on the front, I have been using less solder, partly since the wires are tinned. I need better flux than I have, cleaning the flux off is what is breaking most of my cells. I still have to test the panel and measure the output. I’ll update, when I do.

What I especially like is the extra protection of the layer of laminate in front of the glass : even if a crack would develop, then still there is the protection against moisture.That is : if the laminate is not damaged to much.
I do like your concept !
Question : What do you mean with the word “backing paper” .I understand it a bit, but how flexible or inflexible is it ? Or how thick ? What is your reason for using it ? Could you do without it ?
What is the cost of the industrial laminating sheet ?
I think you might have a very good concept Dingo !
Keep me posted or…..perhaps start a website ? Pictures and all…..

I wanted to say thank you also. Your articles was one of only a few out there I had to go off of, so thank you for that, and your ideas. When I finish I will try and do the same. The more information out there, maybe more people will give it a try.
Sean

Maybe you can find some help by seeing this video…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYeynLy6pj8&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2Fvideosearch%3Fhl%3Dcs%26q%3Dyoutube%26um%3D1%26ie%3DUTF%2D8%26ei%3DSS4NSseXKIOysAa47Nj7Bw%26sa%3DX%26oi&feature=player_embedded

Keep up good work!

Michael

sumi@post.sk

Dear Chris,
I salute you sir. you are an inspiration. and big ups to you D.R.Mason.
I WILL BUILD A SOLAR! I WILL BE PART OF THE SOLUTION!!
thank you both
rv

Don –

I care about how long my panels last and the quality of the output. Maybe its just me, I don’t know.

If you live in a humid climate and your panels arent air tight, they won’t last very long. I have heard averages of around 3 years. Even at 6 years you would have to make panels 3 or 4 times to last as long as one commercial, or properly made panel. In the end your $100 comes to $300 or $400, and then you can easily buy a comercial panel for that price.

Besides the cells alone cost almost $100 so I doubt that figure of $100 is remotely accurate.

u should use plexiglass as it can withstand hail and doesnt need to be replaced for a long time or never at all. 🙂

I’m going to go with solar, wind, and any other alternative energy I can. Good Job.

I have read a few people articles.

I’m new into making solar panels.

Can you all please write a simple step by step short procedure.
I can make the panel. ok

I don’t see anyone that can show us where to buy the frames
with the glass. completed . done
All i have to do is solder the cells and done.

Can you all just write short to the point , so we can learn
easy. Please send us legit website. not scams

Kepp up the good work
for a 36 cells 3x 6 .
Can someone send us the website wher we can buy it

i bought 1.75wp cells on ebay. used a piece of plywood and some ceramic tile spacers glued to the plywood only to make one straight line. i found most of the sells are just a bit different in size so i only made one line just to have the cell sit loose in line. ketp the cells straight while soldering 9 in a row. tested the output of the 9. then i placed my clear 5mm glass on the table. placed the 4 rows of 9 cells face down on the glass to made 4 rows. completed the final soldering of buses with cells face down. Used PV 804 to place a 2 in dia dot in the middle on the back which was not up of each cell. i then placed a 5mm clear placstic on the back with two holes pre-drilled where the two power leads needs to come out. extra PV 804 around these two holes too. pressed gentally and evenly to have all cells in uniform. like a sandwich flipped the whole thing over now and lifeted the top piece of glass off. i then placed a 1/2 inch continuous bead of PV 804 all the way around the outside edge about 3/4 to 1 inch in from the edge. placed the top piece of glass on top and pressed gentally all the edges to make sure i had a great seal. using alum trim the the glass companies use 12mm inside u chanel i then applied some PV 804 to the inside of the trim. with all corners mitered to 45, pushed the edging on and wiping off the excess pv 804 from the back and front surfaces. flipped it over and now applied more PV 804 to mount a J-box on the back and solder and trim the leads into the box.
my panel works great and here is my cost list.
$30 for 5mm glass plate 26×32, $50 for plastic 5mm, $18 alum trim, $15 pv 804, $20 odds and ends 36 cells at $2.30 ea for 1.75wp some shipping costs less than $240.00 63 watt 18v 3.5amps. i paid over $800 for 130watt panels plus shipping costs. i can build 2 of my panels to achieve the same watts for half the price. for a DIY type guy, not knowing the best places to buy stuff and get the best values. paying top dollar for all items. i know i still did a prety good job. quality of the product is the some of workmanship and materils. i’m not selling but i know it the materils do what they say i’m in good shape. not bad for a guy that never seen this stuff before and had no idea what i was getting into let a lone know what i was doing.
i am handy and there is a lot to this so be patient if you not handy. DO NOT RUSH any of thess processes. if your not electrically incline, make sure you seek some experiance from someone that has that back ground before connecting this stuff up. this is live voltage once the sun comes out.

Hello Frank,
contact Everbright Solar In Fremont Calif. They are good people selling a very good price per watt. Here is the link : http://www.everbrightsolar.net/ . You will have to make the frame with the glass yourself. I have sofar not seen any place were they sell this. I myself use tempered glas and make the frame of aluminum.

Hello Darryl,
Good description of your building the panel. Now start looking for cheaper materials. I dont see any reason for not using glass for the backplate. Advantage is that ,if you look around long enough ,you can find the glass for free. You just need to cut it to the right size.Also it will expand and contract at the same rate as the frontplate when the temperature changes during day/night and summer/winter, that way not creating to much stress on the pv804.So it will last longer.
I now have gotten my order of tempered glass and I have about 100 square meters of it. I got it for a bit less than $20 per square meter. There are about 10.8 square feet in a sqm. So it means about $1,80 per square foot. But I have been searching for it for a few months also checking out other types of glass.This had the most economic price wereby I also considered the amount of sunlight it lets through. My glass is 88%.

Chris

@Chris – great article, your panels look tight. Mine would probably have duct-tape all over them =^)

@frank f – here are some reviews of the top step-by-step solar power guides that are out there now. A bunch of them even include videos too:

http://www.reviewsuncensored.info

I think that the one called “Green DIY Energy” looks the best, even though their website maybe looks a little less hyped-up than the other solar power guides out there.

Good Luck!
Jon

Thank You very much for your compliment !

Chris.

My friend and I have been brainstorming about how to make an airtight solar panel. We were thinking that we could create a metal frame and put plexiglass in the back of the frame. We would then place the panels on the plexi in the frame. We would then pour polyeurathane onto the cells and place lexan on the top and then let the polyeurathane dry.

My qyestions are:

Will the poly disrupt the charges on the solar cells?
Will the poly contract or expand enough in winter and summer to crack the solar cells?

Thankyou.

Hello Liam,
I do not think that the poly wil have influence on the power generated by the cell (if that is what you mean by “disrupt the charges” ) but the sunlight will lose power when it penetrates the layer of poly. And that after it has also lost some power allready when penetrating the lexan.I would not know how much losses you get.The best thing to do(especially regarding the temperature/contractions/expansions) is to just go ahead and make a small panel (for instance 12 cells) and test it through the summer and winterconditions. Perhaps you can find a place were they have deep freezing-installations and put the panel in and out of there several times so you wont have to wait for winter…… I know someone who did it with a testpanel( made with glass/cells/PVB) small enough to put in his kitchen freezer.

In the meantime I have built 5 panels , 50 Watts each. They are not completely finished but the double-glass is finished,cells enclosed in it and I am working on the frames. But that is a less demanding job.For some pictures see my latest update on http://www.doctersnuggles.come2me.nl

i am intrested in making solar panel,i need deatials about solar..

if your frames are water tight try filling them with a clear (or mostly clear) oil. you loose 5% of your light at every glass surface due to reflection. the reflection occurs because of the abrupt change in refractive index between the glass and the air. if you fill the air gap between the glass and the panel with oil, I recommend canola or rapeseed, you eliminate one of these reflections.

if you are very brave you could even try mounting the cells directly to the glass using a clear silicon glue. though the thermal gradient may crack the panels or the glass.

if on the other hand you are very ambitious you could use a small pump to circulate the oil and use it in a combined heat solar application. in the Netherlands the temp would be just about right for heating your home. in fact you will probably get more energy from this than the cells.

I believe that the energy future is solar. Not in that big dimension what we would need to run all things but enough to support every household with energy. But till it is so the price of the solar opanels has to fall.