Do-It-Yourself Solar Panels Electricity

As you may have realized by now, the (semiconductor) material used is largely responsible for the efficiency of energy conversion — from sunlight to electricity. As scientists discover better semiconductors and better production techniques, photovoltaic cells become cheaper to produce. And as the demand for solar panels increase, economies of scale drives the price of solar cells to the value we know today.

Recently, many hobbyists are getting interested in building for themselves homemade solar panels. This further reduces the cost of introducing a solar power generator into their house. In fact, most of them are able to gather materials from used and broken solar panels to construct fully working (restored) panels at a tenth of the original cost.

However, before you commit to a do-it-yourself solar panel project, you need to consider what you’ll be using it for. Beginners tend to build smaller panels to power their garage lights or garden sprinklers. More experienced enthusiasts often challenge themselves to generate all their household energy needs with several pieces of homemade solar panels installed on rooftops.

If your aspiration is to build a grid-tied or off-grid system for your home, you’ll need to determine the size of your solar energy system needed. Then you’ll know the type and quantity of batteries to buy and what inverters to use. You’ll also need to cater sufficient space in your home to house these electrical items safely.

As many of the DIY solar panels are built from used solar generators, their efficiency may not be as good as off-the-shelf panels fitted with new photovoltaic cells. Therefore it is important to keep the efficiency as high as possible.

This can be achieved by keeping the solar panels as cool as possible. Because efficiency drops as the temperature of photovoltaic cell rises. If your solar panels are installed on the rooftop, you need to ensure sufficient gap between the roof and panels so cool air can pass through to bring away excess heat from the solar panels.

Another way to ensure maximum electricity production is to locate your solar panels at a place with the most sunshine throughout the year. This means the panels should be tilted toward the south (if you’re living in the northern hemisphere) and there should be as little shading as possible.

If your location allows you to generate sufficient energy for your household needs, you’re in luck. With your own set of do-it-yourself solar panels, electricity cost will no longer be a concern as long as the sun is shining for you. You’ll also enjoy shorter payback periods than similar commercial models because DIY solar panels are cheaper.

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2. Homemade Solar Panels
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There are many applications for flexible solar panels. Being portable, they’re often used as a charger for gadgets like PDAs, mobile phones, laptops and walkie-talkies. They can also be used to power camping equipment, field communication radios and GPS systems. Many flexible solar panels are even integrated into architectural fabric and metal roofing.

Price-wise, amorphous silicon thin film solar cells can be cheaper than conventional crystalline cells. This is because they require less semiconductor material. Each thin film cell is 1-micrometer thick, as compared to an average of 150 to 200 micrometers for crystalline cells. The downside to this material is its inefficiency. While crystalline photovoltaic cells boast a credible 20% efficiency, most thin films are confined to a single digit efficiency percentage. But research to improve the efficiency of thin film photovoltaic cell is underway. By using a combination of photovoltaic materials, there is a possibility that thin films can convert more of the solar spectrum into electricity, thereby matching the efficiency of its crystalline cell cousin.

Flexible solar panels are sold in different shapes and sizes. A brief search on the Internet reveals a wide range of products that these solar panels are currently utilized for. Manufacturers like Silicon Solar, Inc and PowerFilm develops and manufactures flexible solar panels for consumers and businesses alike. And as the popularity of solar panels increase in recent years, more start-ups are also jumping into the renewable energy bandwagon to serve a host of new converts recently found in the market. Xunlight from Toledo, Ohio, is an example of such new companies.

In recent years, engineers found a way to increase the lifespan and efficiency of solar cells. A layer of material is coated on the transparent, protective layer to convert ultraviolet radiation into longer-wavelength visible light. This reduces solar cells’ exposure to harmful radiation, prolonging their lifespan. Incidentally, this technique also helps convert more sunlight into electricity.

As technology improves, flexible solar panels can hopefully capture more of the solar spectrum to turn them into useful electrical energy. By then, this technology will gradually replace bulkier crystalline solar cells in many applications.

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2. Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 2 of 3)
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