DIY Solar Panels - How To Make Your Own Solar Panel

10/2/2017 DIY Solar Panels: How to Make Your Own Solar Panel
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DIY Solar Panels: How to Make Your Own Solar

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Written by David Dawson
Anyone interested in nding new ways to save energy or come up with an alternative that
will provide your entire home with electrical energy regardless of the circumstances (think
http://survival-mastery.com/diy/construct/make-your-own-solar-panel.html 1/29
electric restrictions and natural disasters such as earthquakes), will tell you that solar
panels are more than handy.
Although there is a minor disadvantage in using solar energy as you will only be able to
Survival
use Necessities
and “collect” solar energy if there are actual sunlight emissions, solar energy is by far
one of the greatest alternatives that comes with modern era.
Many preppers rely on solar energy as an alternative to electrical energy, enjoying the
perks of lower bills and ecological energy. On the other hand, majority agrees that
installations for fully functional solar panels are bit pricy, so not everyone can afford using
solar energy.
In that spirit, we are presenting a brief and easy-to-follow tutorial on how to make your
own solar panels and start providing your home with eco-friendly and cost-effective
alternative that could even come as handy in many SHTF scenarios.
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You will be able to build your DIY solar panel in no time by following our instructions and
suggestions. Let’s start!
Solar cells
The rst step towards making your own solar panel is getting your hands on cost-
effective, but functional solar cells. Solar cells are one of the most important materials for
making your solar panels.
Now, there are lots of things to consider here: rst you need to plan your budget so you
would know how much money you have to spend and then you can move onto picking out
solar cells. You can buy them online or in one of the local stores (if available), but we
advise you to be careful and choose the cells that are quality and guaranteed to have long
lasting life.
Solar cells made in China may seem very tempting because of the affordable price, but the
fact is that those cells are not as long lasting as you need them and practically there is not
a company from China offering a warranty for the cells you are purchasing.
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Another fact is that you really need solar cells in order to make your own solar panel, so
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you might as well pick the ones that are a bit pricier but which come with warranty, having
guaranteed quality to support your investment. Cells made in USA could be the perfect
choice although pricy – but you get what you pay for and you want quality.
You will also need to calculate how many watts you need, so that you could have an
estimated price for the cells you are buying. 200 watts should just be enough for a
medium sized DIY project.
Making your solar cells

Yes, you can also make your own solar cells before starting to make your own solar panel.
That might save you some money and that way you can also make sure that you have got
yourself lines and lines of solar cells you wanted without having to check for quality or
question the origin of solar cells. Note that the instruction on how to make solar cells is
only reserved for experienced craftsmen. Otherwise, success is not guaranteed. You also
must understand how a solar panel works as an item so it may not be a bad idea to take a
look at our in-depth tutorial available here.
By making your own solar cells, you will be practically creating an imitation of
photosynthesis. How? As plants use the sun’s energy to create energy which is food for
them, solar cells are using the same energy drawn from the sunlight in order to create
electricity you can use to provide your home with electrical energy and power anything
that runs on DC current once your DIY solar panels are done.
Glass
Survivalplates
Necessities
Glass plates are maybe the best solution to have around for making base for your solar
cells. The best glass plates to purchase for this purpose are glass plates used for
microscope. You will need to take two glass plates for starters as you are testing your
crafting skills.
You will rst use ethyl alcohol to clean the plates thoroughly and once you are done with
cleaning, you will need to use the leads of the multimeter to check conductivity on both
plates. For each solar cell you want to make, you will need two glass plates and you will be
arranging them in accordance with conductivity you read with the multimeter. The plates
should be arranged by sides, after you determine which side is conductive. So, one
conductive side should be facing down and the other should be placed up.
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Now that you know which sides lack conductivity, you will tape those two sides with
transparent tape. Conductive sides should be coated in titanium dioxide and before you
start applying this solution, you will rst add a layer of tin oxide onto two conductive sides,
both, up and down.
Next is separating the plates as you will need to remove the titanium dioxide from the
down plate and bake the up plate. You will prepare a natural dye made of hibiscus tea or
raspberry juice (natural, no sugar of course) and soak the plate (up side) that still has
titanium dioxide on it, while you will clean the other that you have removed titanium
dioxide from. You will then again have to test the clean plate for conductivity and mark the
side that has none. Suggested mark would be a sign +.
You will then cover the entire surface of the clean plate with carbon. Take out the other
plate from the dye and wash it with de-ionized water and rinse with a tissue before blot
drying it. You will now need to merge the two plates so the coating sides are touching. You
can use clips for keeping the plates in place, offsetting the plates slightly (5 mm).
Once you are all settled, the next step should be applying the iodide solution. The both
coated surfaces should be soaked in iodide. You will use 2 drops of this solution and let it
go through both coatings. Iodide will make electrons owing possible, going from one
coating to another and it actually makes an electrolyte. After you are done, wipe off the
remaining solution off the plate.
Testing the solar cells

You will need to test and activate the solar cells before moving onto making your solar
panel and go on with making more solar cells if you have made your rst one successfully.
You will need to use your multimeter again by attaching the alligator clips onto the both
 86 coated sides of your solar cell. The black wire will go on the dyed plate, the one coated in
 16 titanium dioxide, which makes a negative side of the solar cell. You have already marked
 27 the plate coated with carbon, with a + sign, so you know that this plate is the positive side
of your solar cell. You will clip the red wire to it.
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You will then place the negative side of the solar cell somewhere where it is exposed to
the sun, so you would be able to measure the voltage as well as the current of your solar
cell. After you have measured the voltage, repeat the measuring after removing the solar
cell from the point of the light exposure.
You should now have a fully functional solar cell. If you prefer making over buying solar
cells, you will need to repeat this process until you reach the number of cells you need for
your DIY solar panel.
The voltage should not go under 12 volts so you could be able to have enough power and
charge batteries and collect the power you need. The voltage should also not go above 24
volts as it might become dangerous after that point.
Survivalyou
Whether Necessities
are buying or making solar cells, make sure that you have more cells than
planned for the solar panel you are making as solar cells are naturally very fragile and
some may even be broken, so you will need to have a backup.
How to make a solar panel

You will of course need adequate tools for building your own solar panels. The basics you
need to have around for measuring are a ruler and a pencil of course, but you will also
need a solder ux or a soldering iron, multimeter, a hand saw and some boards, preferably
wooden.
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You will use the solder ux for removing the grease out of the solar cells you have and a
hand saw is obviously very needed as there will be lots of cutting involved. You will also
need to build a frame for your solar cells and the frame will be the base for your DIY solar
panel, so that is where a hand saw will come as more than handy. For regular measuring,
you will use your ruler and to make sure that amperage and voltage are also measured,
you will need to use that multimeter of yours.
Having a staple gun and some plywood and cardboard instead of a wooden board can
also serve well as the base for your solar panel. Wearing a protective mask and gloves will
help you make sure that you are safe, so you can add those to your item list as well. Now
that you have everything you need, we will guide you through your project with steps and
tips on how to make a solar panel.
Make
Survivalyour template
Necessities
So, practically, this is the base of your solar panel and there will be some measuring
involved as you need to make a template of where your solar cells will be placed. You will
need to use a ruler and a pencil to draw the lines so that you would later know how to
separate your solar cells and get the maximal e ciency out of your material.
After you have planned how far from each other the cells should be placed, you can
proceed with making your template. You can even make your template waterproof by
using some water resistant paint and paint the board you are using as a base for your
solar panel. If you choose to do so, let the paint dry before you proceed.
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Next on is making a frame for your board. You can use some plywood or wooden boards
to make the frame. Measure carefully and use your saw for cutting. Be precise and careful.
After you are done, clean the dust so you could proceed with the next step.
Assemble the solar cells

You are already half way through now that you have your template. The next step should
be assembling the cells. Regardless of how many cells you are using, you will need to pay
attention to your safety as you are now working with voltage. The cells should be
connected in series and that is where you will need your solder iron or ux in order to
“glue” the cells to one another.
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 35 Another thing to pay attention to are the sides of the solar cells as your solar panel won’t
 4 work at all or won’t be working properly if the cells are not connected in the following
 1 manner: the bottom of the cells is positive and the top is negative. In order to assemble
Total the solar cells properly, just like with linking batteries, you will have to connect negative
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Each cell has to be in the range between 12 and 24 volts as this is the safe voltage area.
12 volts is therefore just enough to get your cells working. Exceeding the voltage of 24 is
dangerous, so do not try to go over that number so you could be safe and avoid a potential
danger.
Before you start arranging the cells, linking negative to positive parts as you go, you might
consider making little frames in the number of cells you have and inside of the main frame
of your template. Why? Well, simply because it might occur that some cells won’t be
working, so to make the entire construction simpler to work with, maintain and assemble,
you can build little frames for solar cells and make replacements easier.
That way you won’t have to remove all the cells if only one or some are not working. Use
your multimeter to check for voltage and amperage, so you would be sure you are on the
right track.
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 27 Now when you have frames and when all the cells are arranged and connected, you will
 35 need to put some wires through the lines of cells you have. In accordance with the number
 4 of lines of solar cells you have aligned, you will need the adequate number of wires. The
best type of wire for this purpose would be the wire called “bus wire”.
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You will use the bus wire to connect all the cells and you might also want to drill some
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holes into your template so that you could secure the wire as it goes across the template
and connecting the cells. The bus wire should then go at the end of each line of solar cells,
so that you could get one long line made of several solar cells across the longitude of the
main frame. The bus wire should be curled up as installed, but going across the entire
length of one line of solar cells.
Drilling the holes

The holes you will be drilling are meant to support bus wires that will connect all of your
solar cells. Once again, you will need to measure carefully by using your ruler. To make
sure the holes are drilled in the right spots, you will have to mark where the cells are
supposed to be installed. So after you have tried out where the cells are supposed to be
standing, remove the cells and start drilling the holes.
To give your main frame extra support, you might want to make another frame and have
the holes drilled on the second frame. The frame with holes should then be connected to
the main frame. Afterwards you will be able to connect all of your solar cells as previously
described, connecting each line of the cell with bus wire.
Gluing
You have your frame ready and the holes are drilled, you have connected all the cells in
several lines to match the length of your main frame.
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That means that now it is the time to glue all those lines of cells to the main frame and
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across the perforated frame. You will be using the silicon to glue all the solar cell lines.
 35 Make sure you are careful and precise.
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After you are done with gluing while connecting the wires, you can again use the
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multimeter to measure voltage and amperage again. It would be good (and safe) to
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accordance with the original plan, you can x everything before your panel is ready to be
installed and used.
After you are done with gluing all the lines of solar cells you have, you will need to solder
the wires you have connected. You can use the solder iron and make sure that all the lines
have fairly strong connection, so your construction is strong and safe to be used.
Charging
Before you take your solar panel out and place it where planned, you will again need to use
the multimeter to test the amperage and voltage of your solar cells. Once you are sure that
cells are operating with more than 12 volts and less than 24 volts, where 18-19 volts would
be just perfect, you can then charge all appliances and even your car battery as long as
everything that you want top charge and provide with electricity runs on DC current.
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In order to be able to actually use your solar panel, you will need a pack of batteries and an
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inverter that have to be connected to the solar panel. Basically, you can use any type of
battery there is, but just be safe that you will actually be able to have a functional solar
energy system, it is better if you decided to buy batteries that are speci cally designed for
storing power. In order to nd the right battery, you also need to know how solar energy
actually works and you can read about this in our article here.
The type of battery you are looking for is deep cycle battery, so for connecting the panel
and making it functional you will need: deep cycle battery, inverter and one charger
controller.
Another option that comes as an alternative for connecting the solar panel to your system
without having to use deep cycle batteries is connecting the solar panel to an
Uninterruptible Power Source computer, also called UPS. You will have to handle it with
care and you also have to know that using UPS may be a bit complicated as you will need
more power to collect and that means that you will need more panels.
Of course, you can follow steps on how to make solar panels until you make as much
panels as you need, connecting all the panels in the same manner until the power you
want and need for powering your home is reached. If you don’t know how much power you
need for your home, take a look at our article here.
Best Survival Kit: Best

Products on The Market
 Overview 
14 min read
To make your job easier and help you visualize how building a solar panel should look, we
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are adding a couple of videos to walk you through our tutorial:
 16
 27 Whether we are talking about economical crisis, power outage or shortage, living off the
 35 grid or dealing with SHTF of any kind, it is certain that solar energy is one of the best and
most practical ways of using electrical energy and providing your house with electricity.
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 1 You can start and use almost all the appliances in your home as long as all the appliances
Total run on DC current and the best thing is that your electric bill will become signi cantly
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You will save a lot of money by going through this DIY solar panel project and making your
own solar panel, too, as solar energy systems usually cost a lot of money. At the end,
when you are nished with your project, you will have your piece of mind knowing that you
have a backup plan for providing your home with electric energy.
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About the Author
David Dawson
David Dawson is a retired security specialist with over 20 years of experience. He worked for a
secret manufacturing facilities and hospitals in Illinois. David's responsibility was to protect
people in case of any disaster or cataclysm that might occur. Now he keeps on doing it
through teaching others about how to prepare and survive ood, earthquake or even war.
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5 Comments Survival-Mastery 
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Norman Islas • a year ago

Nice one , but I prefer InpliX to learn about eco DIY
2△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›
Samuel Funt Support Team > Norman Islas • a year ago

Thank you Norman for sharing your opinion with us.
1△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›
 86 James Terrier • a year ago
 16 Just providing my input, in order to get your daily electric consumption, I would suggest getting the average
from your electric bill for the past three months. This way, the historical data will add more value to the
 27 average rather than just basing off your current usage. You can actually use more than three months data
 35 if you want.
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 4
1 Robert Aniston • a year ago


Wow! I thought this would be easy but I guess this project would test most of skills. Hmm... What about the
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drainage though? I heard that commercial solar panels have a drainage system for extracting moisture
between the panels? Can I use the same principle?
David Dawson Support Team > Robert Aniston • a year ago

Usually it's best to avoid moisture getting in between the panels. That's why everything is well glued
together and covered with a protective sheet. However, if you find details regarding this concept,
you can definitely use it.
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10/2/2017 DIY Solar Panels: How to Make Your Own Solar Panel

Prepping Basics Do It Yourself  Survival Skills  Medical Care   Reviews

Prepping Basics Do It Yourself  Survival Skills  Medical Care  Gear Reviews 