How To Build Solar Panel

In this final part of the “How To Build Solar Panel” series, we’ll impart the finishing touches that make your solar panel project a winner. You’ll discover how to push your solar panel system up one notch so you’ll have a world-class DIY solar panel.

Here, I’m assuming that resources like money, time and skills are not lacking. What we’re trying to push for is a solar panel that will make you proud.

The Solar Panel Frame

The best material to use for the solar panel frame is aluminum. This is a material that will not rust easily and it’s able to carry away additional heat that may be trapped inside the solar panel. This is particularly important since heat can diminish the efficiency of the photovoltaic cells.

Diodes

The diodes you should be using are the Schottky types. These diodes have a much lower forward voltage drop so less power is wasted. And when the temperature gets higher the forward voltage drops further.

Solar Panel Cover

If budget allows and there is no hail at your area, the best cover that your solar panel can have is made of non-reflective glass. Solar panels covered with non-reflective glass can enjoy significantly higher efficiency because greater proportions of sunlight reach the solar cells.

Battery

If you intend to power outdoor equipment like sprinklers and gate openers, your battery will need to be sheltered from the rain and dew. Unfortunately it may be impractical to house these indoors as we’ll then need very long wires that may also be a safety hazard if it’s left lying around.

You can put the battery (or batteries) into a waterproofed electronics housing and seal up the opening (for the wires). In this way rain or dew will not cause short circuit to the battery.

By implementing all of the above tips to your solar panel project, you can surely make for yourself a world-class DIY solar panel project.

Continue Reading:

1. About
2. How To Build Solar Panel (Part 1 of 3)
3. How To Build Solar Panel (Part 2 of 3)

Let’s take a look at Synchronous Solar Panel Inverters…

2. Synchronous Solar Panel Inverters

Synchronous solar panel inverters are also called Grid-Tie Inverters. If you want to have a grid-tied solar power generator, a synchronous solar power inverter will suit you well.

This type of inverter takes the electricity generated by your solar generator and feeds it to the distribution panel in your home. The power is either used by the appliances at home or flows out to the utility grid. If you generate excess power, you are able to sell the energy to your utility company at the rate you’re charged.

When there is no solar energy available during cloudy days (and at night), the system seamlessly taps into the grid supply to make up the difference in power.

As such, you are able to use energy from the grid or from the photovoltaic panels. With this design, you will not need to worry about an increase in energy consumption. In case the solar panel system you design is a little too small, you can use the grid power to supplement your consumption.

Next, let’s go see what a Multifunction Solar Panel Inverter can do for us…

Click Here To Read More About Multifunction Solar Panel Inverters

Continue Reading:

1. About
2. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 3
3. Solor Panel Inverters – Stand-Alone Solar Panel Inverters

Solar panels sewn on backpacks can convert solar energy into electrical energy. Electricity is then stored in a battery pack through a charge controller. A charge controller is essentially a power regulator that conditions the electricity that goes into the batteries for charging. This helps to prolong the life of the battery pack and prevents damage from over-charging.

When you plug your gadgets (like iPhones, MP3, iPads, et cetera) into the charger, energy from the battery packs are released to your gadget. This offers you a whole new level of convenience, especially if you are a heavy gadget user. In case you run out of power, you have the assurance that your gadget will continue working when you reach your destination.

However solar backpacks are not cheap. Thus even though many people want to own them, they are eventually put off by the price. By incorporating a set of thin-film solar panels on a backpack, the product will cost at least $80 to $120 more.

If you are good with craft work, you can easily make your own solar backpack for everyday use. All you need is a durable backpack, a flexible solar panel, a charge controller, plugs, wires and an LED bulb.

First, you have to cut a small hole for the PV panel wires to go through. Then you can attach the flexible solar panel to the fabric of your backpack and make sure its sides are total sealed so water cannot seep in. You can use epoxy or any other suitable waterproof adhesive to do this.

Once you are done with the PV panels, solder your battery pack and charge controller together. Then put them into a waterproof pouch. This helps to protect them from spills. The waterproof pouch should be attached to the inside of your solar backpack at a location near to the PV panel’s wire.

After this, you can proceed to solder all the connections together. The small LED lamp can be attached to the plug so you can find it easily even if it’s dark inside the backpack. After that, you must wrap all exposed joints with a heat shrink or duct tape to prevent short-circuits.

Put everything inside the waterproof pouch, leaving only the connector and the LED sticking out. Then carefully put some silicone glue to seal its opening. Once the silicone glue is totally dry, you can start using your DIY solar backpack.

Continue Reading:

1. DIY Solar Panels — Charge Controller Basics
2. How To Build A Solar Panel Charge Controller
3. How To Power An Electric Fence Charger Using Solar Energy

However there are many details you must take note of during construction. Otherwise you will not have a model train that can run properly.

Here are 3 things to help you succeed in building your solar powered model train:

1. Manage the weight of your train

There are many different train models you can build. However due to most of their dimension, there may not be enough room at the roof for enough solar panels to be fitted. If your train is heavy, it’ll require more power to propel it along the tracks. As a result solar power alone may not be sufficient to drive your model train for the whole day.

But if you want it to run for 5 to 10 minutes only, weight should not be a big concern.

2. Choose your material properly

The best way to manage the weight of your train is to use a suitable material. Hard wood is a popular choice but they can be pretty heavy. An alternative is to use less of the same material. This means using thinner materials to build your train. However this it will not reduce the weight as much. Instead of using hard wood, why not try balsa or even plastic?

3. Feed power through the rails

If you want to preserve the look of your train, avoid putting thin-film solar panels on its roof. Instead, energize your rails with DC current. The DC motor can pick up its power by connecting to the wheels, which are in contact with the metallic rails.

Hidden away from the railroad setup, a solar panel and a rechargeable battery pack quietly feeds your model trains with renewable energy.

If your model trains are heavy, all you need to have are bigger solar panels and more batteries.

More importantly, you can build your model to any scale you want without worrying if you have sufficient power to run it through the day.

These are what you’ll need to build your solar powered model train:

a. Solar panels (and mounts, if you need them)
b. Rechargeable batteries
c. Charge controller

First, you’ll have to find a suitable location where there is sunshine throughout the day to site your solar panels. After you have installed your PV panels at that location, connect its output to the charge controller. The charge controller will maintain a consistent voltage input for the rechargeable battery.

When there is enough sunshine, the solar panels can energize the rails with current. But when it gets dark and gloomy, rechargeable batteries take over to provide your train with power.

You can schedule your model train to rest during the day when no one is at home. During this period, the battery is charged up using solar energy. Just before you come back from work, let the trains run so when you come home they’re there to greet you.

Continue Reading:

1. Making A DIY Solar Powered Reading Lamp
2. How to Make a Solar Powered Tricycle
3. How to Build a Solar Powered RC Glider

There are different things you have to prepare, as listed here:

1. An electric lawn mower
2. A 24-volt solar panel
3. Charge controller

There are many different types of lawn mower in the market. One example is the Earthwise 17″ 24-Volt Cordless Electric Lawn Mower. This is just my preference. You can get one from any other manufacturer. It’ll work fine as long as you find a suitable solar panel.

First, you have to consider where you want to mount your solar panel. There are different places you can use – on the handle or above the batteries.

I would recommend not placing the solar panel right on the chassis as this doesn’t allow enough room for air to cool the solar panels. Also, heat from the DC motor might cause the solar panel to be less effective. (As temperature increases, the efficiency of solar cells decrease.)

Most likely, you will need to make a bracket to mount your solar panel. A simple aluminum frame can help to support the weight of the PV panel pretty well.

After the solar panel is mounted, you have to mount your charge controller as well. Once this is done, wire the solar panel to the charge controller. This component will then be wired to the lawn mower battery.

Although it is possible for the solar panel to supply sufficient power to the DC motor directly, I prefer to use a rechargeable battery as an energy storage bank. There are at least 2 advantages with this design:

1. You can use smaller (thus cheaper) solar panels

Lawn mowers are seldom used. This presents an opportunity for batteries to be trickle charged. It involves very little current and thus only a small solar panel is needed. Also, with smaller solar panels, your lawn mower is lighter and less cumbersome.

2. You can choose to mount the solar panels separate from the lawn mower

Actually this is what I prefer. I can use the solar panel as a solar battery charger. Since I don’t have to use the lawn mower frequently, I can use the charger for my RC toys by stepping down the voltage. Nevertheless it is up to you how you want it to be…

If your solar panels throw up issues because of vibrations from the lawn mower, this will be a good configuration. However I doubt this is a problem at all because electric lawn mowers produce less vibration than gas powered ones.

Note: To trickle charge your solar powered lawn mower, remember to leave it out in the open and not in the garage. There is too little sunlight there for any solar panels to be effective. (Or you can simply leave your garage door open…)

Continue Reading:

1. Making A DIY Solar Powered Reading Lamp
2. How To Power An Electric Fence Charger Using Solar Energy
3. How to Use Solar Power to Charge Your Golf Cart Batteries

Many appliances for RVs, boats and camping use 12VDC supply. When you are outdoors having fun, these appliances provide you with all the convenience and comfort. Here’s a list of such 12VDC appliances:

• Hair Dryer
• Heated Travel Cup
• Heavy Duty Metal Fan
• Wet Dry Vacuum with Gallon Canister
• “All Season” Heater/Fan with Swivel Base
• Crock Pot Slow Cooker
• Flexible Map Light
• Frying Pan
• Heated Fleece Blanket
• Portable Stove
• Rechargeable Flashlight with Adjustable Head
• SnackMaster Deluxe 12-Volt Family-Size Cooler/Warmer
• Digital/Electric Compass with Ice Alert
• et cetera…

I’m sure you’re familiar with these…

However there are times when the accumulators run empty just when you need to draw power from them. Thus a 12VDC solar panel will be ideal to ensure these appliances work at all times. With such nifty devices, these inconvenient moments will only be  memories.

During the day, solar panels will bring the accumulators to full charge. At night, power is drawn exclusively from the batteries. If you’re running some appliances only during the day, you may not need batteries… you can plug straight into the solar panels to power these appliances.

Many appliances do not really care if the power is clean, so you can also power most systems that require 120VAC using an inverter. Although you loose efficiency, it may be worth a try.

Continue Reading:

1. Recreational Vehicle (RV) Solar Panels
2. Solar Energy Panels For Big “Toys”
3. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 2

After you know where most of your household energy goes to, you are now ready to plan for your system size. For grid-tied system (without batteries and charge controllers), you only need to make sure the inverter you use is large enough to handle the power generated by the solar panels.

If you are thinking of scaling up your system in the future, you can get a bigger inverter so there’s room to handle more power. You can also get an inverter that fits the power output of your current solar panel, and then add another inverter when you bring in more solar panels. Between these two options, it’ll be more cost effective to have a larger specification if you know your plans beforehand.

For solar power generators with batteries, you’ll need a little more planning…

For a start, we’ll look at how to determine the size of your solar array. Here are the steps to do it:

1. Compute the average Watt-Hours (usage) per day

2. Find out the Average Daily Solar Radiation figure for your location

3. Calculate the number of watts you have to generate per hour of solar exposure (divide #1 by #2)

4. With the solar module you have in mind, multiply its power rating by a factor of 0.7. If you are using a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controller, you’ll multiply it by a factor of 0.8 instead.

5. Finally, you get the number of modules needed when you divide #3 (energy you need) by #4 (energy generated by your solar panels)

After you arrive at the number of solar modules you need, you’ll also know how much space is needed on your roof. If there isn’t enough space, choose a more efficient photovoltaic module and do the calculations again. Going over this a few times, you will be able to find the solar module that’s most suitable for you and at the right price.

Continue Reading:

1. Solar Energy Panels For Big “Toys”
2. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 1
3. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 3

Solar energy panels can be used in the smallest ways to improve our lives. There will always be those inconvenient problems that can be solved by using a solar panel in a creative way.

Do you have a boat, recreational vehicle (RV) or truck that you do not use often? If you have problems starting them from time to time, a solar charger is a cheap and effective solution.

With about $30, you can get a small solar charger to plug into your vehicle’s cigarette lighter jack. As you lay the photovoltaic panel on your dashboard, it trickle charges your battery. When you need to start your vehicle (or boat) the next time, it won’t fail you.

The beauty about solar chargers is they won’t overcharge your batteries. Therefore you won’t need extra components like a charge controller that adds to its cost. You can even let the solar charger remain plugged in while you’re driving. As a bonus, solar chargers tend to extend the lifespan of your battery by about 50%. So for a mere $30, you can squeeze $50 out of an accumulator that costs you $100. How’s that for good investment?

More than just dollars and cents, the peace of mind you have every time you need to start your old truck or seldom-used boat is worth its weight in gold!

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about…the Sunforce 1.8-Watt Solar Battery Maintainer:

“Sunforce 1.8-Watt Solar Battery Maintainer Twin Pack is comprised of two solar battery maintainers ideal for cars, SUVs, boats, ATVs and PWC batteries. The units are completely maintenance free and easy to install. The amorphous solar panels charge in all weather conditions, even on cloudy days. The panels plugs directly into your cigarette lighter. Complete kit for each unit includes 1.8-watt solar battery maintainer, 7.5 feet wire, 12V DC plug, suction cups for easy mounting and battery clamps. Temperature range from -40 to 176 degrees F.”

Continue Reading:

1. Recreational Vehicle (RV) Solar Panels — Run Your Appliances With A 12VDC Panel
2. DIY Solar Panels — Charge Controller Basics
3. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 2

Are you ready for what Multifunction Solar Panel Inverters can do for you? Let’s jump right in…

Multifunction solar panel inverters combine the best from Stand-Alone Solar Panel Inverters and Synchronous Solar Panel Inverters. They are of course more expensive, but these are the best choice for your solar energy panels.

This type of inverter allows you to generate excess power to be stored in a battery bank. As such, you are able to use energy from the grid, from the solar panels or from stored energy in the batteries. You can even connect a standby generator to the whole setup. Let me illustrate…

During the day, solar energy panels supply your household appliances with power. At the same time, the battery bank is charged up to store energy for the night. If there is surplus electricity, they can be sold to your local power company.

By evening, the batteries will be charged up. At this time, the inverter provides AC power to the house from the batteries. If the batteries are flat, the inverter taps into the grid to charge the batteries and power up the house at the same time.

If a standby generator is used, the inverter will synchronize its power so it can be added to an existing source of power. Many multifunction solar panel inverters are not as efficient as synchronous inverters because the system must have a battery. However, they offer functions that grid-tied inverters do not.

Continue Reading:

1. About
2. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 2
3. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 3

If you’ve ever built DIY solar panels of a considerable size, you’ll probably come across this important component — the charge controller. The role of a charge controller is to regulate the charging voltage on the batteries.

When sunlight gets brighter, solar cells produce more voltage. Excessive voltage may cause over-charging which may damage your batteries. You’ll need this component if you want to store excess electricity from your solar energy panels.

Many modern charge controller units have a 3-stage cycle:

1. Bulk Phase – During this phase, the charging voltage gradually rises to approximately 14.4 to 14.6 volts (to charge a 12V battery). It is at this stage when charging current is maximum.

2. Absorption Phase – Voltage is maintained at the bulk level for a specified time. As the battery is charged up, current tapers off gradually.

3. Float Phase – After the absorption phase, voltage is lowered to about 13.4 to 13.7 volts (float voltage) and batteries draw a very small, maintenance current until it goes through the discharge cycle.

There are several different types of charge controller to choose from — some with fanciful LCD displays and others with battery temperature monitor. If you are building your first solar power generator, it may be more practical to buy basic ones to begin with. After you’re more acquainted with these components, you’ll have more knowledge to get the most out of more advanced charge controllers. Most multi-stage, Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) types of charge controllers will do great, really.

Continue Reading:

1. Solar Energy Panels For Big “Toys”
2. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 3
3. How To Build A Solar Panel Charge Controller