Home Solar Power Systems

This article will paint a thirty thousand foot view of this plan and then discuss how we can implement it. Then I’ll let you in on further resources that will help you with solar energy calculations, construction and installation.

Building a home solar power system involves a few major steps:

(1) Determining the household energy requirement. This influences the number of solar cells needed to produce the required electrical energy.

Most households will not want to take their homes completely off-grid. After calculations, the majority of families seem to prefer their solar panels to bear roughly 75% of their total energy consumption.

Why do they not want their house to be totally off-grid and be 100% powered by green, renewable energy? Because there will be periods when the light intensity is insufficient. It’s during these times when we’ll need to tap into the grid again.

(2) Constructing the solar panel. The photovoltaic cells are responsible for converting solar energy into electrical energy. It is also a major cost driver. Therefore the solar panel is the most important piece of the puzzle.

If you’re on a budget, you’re able to construct a solar panel by joining broken solar cells together. If you have money to burn, buying ready-made, commercial solar panels can also be an option. These come with long warranty periods (like 25 years and beyond) and are framed in high quality aluminum.

(3) The inverter. This component converts direct current (DC) generated by the solar panels into alternating current (AC) that’s usable by your household appliances. After that, this is channeled to the power distribution box via a synchronizer so that electricity from the grid and electricity from the solar panels can be combined before each appliance in your home uses them.

(4) Installation. Obviously, we need to choose a location where there is as little shade as possible throughout the day. This is usually the roof. With proper guidance from more experienced hobbyists or a guidebook, you can fix the solar panels to your roof (or anywhere else) exactly like the professionals do.

To put all these together, you’ll need a proven plan that tells you exactly what to do — from the broad structure down to the last bolt and nut.

Continue Reading:

1. How To Build A Personal DIY Solar Power System With Less Than $99
2. Do-It-Yourself Solar Panels – Electricity Conversion From Sunlight
3. Homemade Solar Panels

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)

But are their claims credible? And if it is really possible to build your own solar panels at home, what are the skills, tools and materials needed?

This article goes further to find out whether it is really true that you can build your own home solar panel system for only a few hundred dollars.

Making Your Own Solar Panels

There are many solar panel manufacturers in the market. Some examples are Sharp, Suntech, First Solar, JA Solar, Yingli Solar, Trina Solar, Motech, Qcell, Canadian Solar, Gintech, BE Solar, et cetera. The components that they use to make commercial solar panels are can be found in the consumer market.

The main parts they use to make solar panels are solar cells, a solar panel frame, diodes, solar tabbing wires, a piece of glass (as cover) and a substrate. You can purchase these components easily on the Internet.

Therefore if you have DIY skills to put these components together, you can make your own homemade solar panel. After all, those people who work at the assembly lines producing PV panels do not possess special talent. Neither do they have extraordinary skills. All of them are trained to perform repetitive tasks that are as simple as household chores.

However, if you want to build your own solar panels at home, you’ll have to design your own circuit. Otherwise you’ll need to follow a proven blueprint. If not your solar panels may not provide your with your desired voltage and current output.

Thankfully, construction plans and electrical wiring charts are available on the Internet or bookstores. Once you choose the correct design for your house, you can simply follow its design to make your own solar power generator.

Ok…so what does it take to build a homemade PV panel?

Surprisingly, to build something as advanced as a solar panel, all you need are the following skills:

a. Soldering

You have to do a lot of soldering and do it well. Dry and cracked joints introduce unnecessary electrical resistance, which affects the performance of your PV panel.

b. Using adhesive and sealants

You have to know how to adhere the solar cells onto the substrate. On top of this, you’ll want to encapsulate you solar panel properly. Thus you have to learn how to use sealants as well. Thankfully, most people get proficient in applying silicone elastomer after only 5 minutes of practice.

c. Sawing and filing

If you are building everything from scratch, you’ll have to know how to cut aluminum angles and file its burrs away. Otherwise you can always buy ready-made aluminum manufactured specially for building DIY solar panels. The substrate and glass cover can also be cut to size before they are delivered to you.

So far so good…it seems if you are interested in making DIY solar panels, only basic skills are needed.

What about the cost?

After adding up the total solar component costs, I’d conclude that you are indeed able to make a solar panel without spending more than one hundred dollars.

For this amount, you will be able to make a wooden-framed solar panel that produces at most 60 watts of power at 18 volts. This is sufficient to charge a 12-volt battery.

However most people wouldn’t only want to charge 12-volt batteries. They want to power their entire house with solar electricity! Thus if you intend to install a (sizable) 5-kilowatt system, you’ll need about 84 pieces of homemade solar panels.

At this scale, you’ll need to spend at least $8,400 to complete your home solar power project. And you’ll have to take time to make all 84 panels over a period of time.

Fortunately, you don’t have to wait till you build all the solar panels in order to enjoy the fruits of your labor. You can build your first few PV panels, and then add more when you have the time and money.

So far, this cost only involves PV panels. You’ll also be required to buy inverters and deep-cycle rechargeable batteries. Inverters are not as costly as batteries, but good ones can set you back by a few thousand dollars.

If you build a grid-tied (or intertie) solar energy system, you won’t need rechargeable batteries. For off-grid systems, you’ll require many rechargeable batteries to provide you with electricity during the night when there is no sunlight.

All in all, you’ll have to spend more than $10,000++ if you want to build a 5-kilowatt solar energy system. Thus all that talk about being able to build solar panels that can power your house for only a few hundred dollars is B.S.

With this budget, you can only build a very small solar power system that can run your workstation. But the good news (as I mentioned) is you can start small, and then add more solar panels when you have more resources.

Note: Buying budget solar cells with low efficiency only takes up more roof space. It’ll be better for you to spend a little more to buy good solar cells so each panel can provide you with much more power.

After all, can your roof really hold all 84 PV panels? …

I understand the costs involved. And I really want to build my own solar panels. How do I begin?

The best way to start is by getting some education. Even if you are building your homemade solar panels according to a blueprint, you have to understand why you are doing what you are doing.

It doesn’t make sense to follow any instructions blindly. When it comes to photovoltaic projects, incomplete understanding doesn’t help at all.

You may end up with solar panels that don’t perform to expectation. In the end, you’ll only be wasting your time, effort and money. In the worst case, you may end up damaging your solar cells.

There are many books available on the Internet, bookstores and in the library that can help you.

As you read through these materials, understand the general principles behind solar electricity generation. Then get familiar with each part of the home solar power system. If you can, learn how to do solar calculations.

With this, you’ll be able to make sense of what you are doing as you follow a blueprint. And you’ll be proud of yourself for making your own homemade solar panels that actually provides electricity for your household.

Continue Reading:

1. About
2. Homemade Solar Panels
3. Homemade Solar Panels – Should You Even Roll Up Your Sleeves To Build One?

High purity monosilane gas is a key material used for making the anti-reflective coating of solar cells and as a feedstock for photovoltaics. The solar industry depends heavily on a consistent supply of high-purity monosilane gas, which is as a key element in PV cell production.

Unfortunately there are only a few major manufacturers that produce monosilane. Most of them use it for their own production ends instead of making it available to others. As such, monosilane is not always available.
At Dow Corning’s production facility, a potential 4,000 metric tons of monosilane gas can be produced each year. This means there can be a reliable supply for clients in the solar industry to depend on.

“We have always said that we aim to be the material house for the solar industry,” said Peeters. “By going online with a high-capacity plant dedicated to serving customers, Dow Corning is offering customers a very competitive choice to help boost their productivity.”

Dow Corning’s track record of high quality in silicon-based products and consistent purity gives clients confidence in their monosilane products.

(This news report was adapted from: Business Wire, published 17 Aug 2011)

Continue Reading:

1. Konarka Technologies To Build Organic Solar Cells for Building Integrated PV
2. GESOLAR: Module Warranty Increased To 10 years
3. JinkoSolar Establish Its Local Presence In Zug, Switzerland

These are some of the most important information you have to know:

1. Solar panels frame. Most commercial solar panels are made using aluminum. This is because aluminum is resistant to rust and is light. However solar panel frames can occasionally be made from stainless steel or plastic.

2. Backside Material. The most common material used for the backside plane includes EVA (ethylene-vinyl-acetate) and PVB (polyvinyl-burial).

3. Solar cells are made from 3 major types of technology — monocrystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous (or thin-flim) solar panels.

4. The efficiency of solar panels depends greatly on the type of PV cells used. Environmental conditions also play an important part. Some of these include temperature, solar irradiance, angle-of-incidence and solar spectral (air mass).

Solar panel efficiency is measured in percentage. It is the ratio of output power to input power from the sunlight, which is the proportion of light energy that gets converted into electricity. The higher the value, the more electricity is generated.

However you must bear in mind that the efficiency of the solar panel is about 1 to 3 percent lower than what’s stated in the datasheet of the solar cell. This is due to several factors like reflection, heat and frame shadowing.

5. Performance factors. Commercial PV panels have to be rated for different performance factors such as maximum rated power, open circuit voltage, short circuit current, maximum power voltage, maximum power current, and temperature coefficients.

These are measured under the industrial Standard Test Conditions (STC). This means the solar panel is subject to a controlled environment where there is solar irradiance of 1,000 W/m² with zero angle of incidence, solar spectrum of 1.5 air mass and 25 degrees celcius cell temperature

6. Fill factor. This is the ratio of the actual maximum power as compared to the theoretical maximum power of the solar panel. It is measured in percentage. Commercial solar panels have a fill factor greater than 70%. The fill factor for Grade B solar panels ranges from 40% to 70%. Higher fill factor implies lesser resistive (series and parallel) losses within the solar cells.

7. Connector type. Solar panels must be fitted with output terminals that are weatherproof. Many manufacturers are also fitting their solar panels with lockable connectors to prevent untrained people from unplugging the panels.

8. Solar Panel Defects. Defects can occur on both new and used solar panels. Thus you have to inspect you solar panels before purchasing.

Some common defects include:

· Scratches on the frame and/or glass
· Gap between frame and glass due to poor sealing (sometimes moisture can get trapped on the inside)
· Significantly lower output than data sheet figures
· Significantly lower fill factor than data sheet figures
· Inconsistent solar cell colors

There are other important facts and properties you have to be aware of about solar panels. You can continue reading about them at part 2 & 3 of this series:

(i) http://www.diysolarpanelsworld.com/important-facts-and-properties-of-a-solar-pv-panel-you-must-know-about-part-2-of-3

(ii) http://www.diysolarpanelsworld.com/important-facts-and-properties-of-a-solar-pv-panel-you-must-know-about-part-3-of-3

Continue Reading:

1. Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 2 of 3)
2. Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 3 of 3)
3. How Do You Know If Solar Panels Are Suitable For Your Property?

A commercial solar panel system can easily cost you upwards of $20,000 to $30,000. Systems that cost $70,000 are also not uncommon. A homemade solar panels system costs only a fraction of this price, depending on how good you are at sourcing for components.

With a lower outlay, it also means your payback period can be drastically reduced. Instead of waiting for more than 15 years before your solar panels give you a return on your investment, you can perhaps achieve this in less than 10 years.

To power your entire house, you’ll need to have an array of solar panels. This means several solar panels must be grouped together. Only then can the total power required for your household equipment and lighting needs be supplied.

Each solar panel can be built in a weekend if you know how to. Therefore if you want about 10 solar panels for your PV panels array, you must be prepared to spend up to ten weekends constructing them. However you’ll almost always use less time than this. Simply because you’ll get much faster as you get more practice.

In order to learn how to make your own solar panels for your home, you’ll need to first acquire some knowledge on these areas:

1. How to tab solar cells
2. Securing solar cells to the substrate
3. How to choose a suitable material for your substrate
4. Making a solar panel frame
5. Which types of glazing to choose for your solar panel frame
6. How to waterproof your solar panel
7. What types of connectors to use for solar panels
8. How to make an inverter
9. Connecting your solar panels to the inverter and calculating the wire requirement
10. Sizing your solar panel system
11. How to install solar panels

If you have a friend who has an extensive experience building and installing solar panels for their own home, you can tap on his expertise. Otherwise you can always find guidebooks to help you.

Good guides are filled with step-by-step instructions on how to build each solar component. Not only this, they should have many illustrations and even videos that give you a good feel on how to carry out each instruction.

Guides are definitely a must when it comes to building your own solar panels. This is true even if you consider yourself a DIY expert. There are many “shortcuts” pertaining to building a solar energy system that you won’t want to miss.

Having said this, it doesn’t mean you must do everything yourself. You can pick those tasks that you love doing and leave the rest to a professional.

For example, you may enjoy building solar panels but hate pulling cables on your roof to install those panels. You can simply pick up the phone and ask for a quotation. Anyway, having built your own PV panels, you’ll already have saved a lot of money. Spending a little for installation won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

Continue Reading:

1. Homemade Solar Panels – Should You Even Roll Up Your Sleeves To Build One?
2. Advantages Of Building Your Own Solar Panels
3. Homemade Solar Panels — Common Mistakes to Take Note Of When Building And Installing Photovoltaic (PV) Panels

Solar Panel Battery

A solar panel battery is different from a normal battery. A normal battery converts chemical energy into electrical energy while a solar panel converts sunlight into electrical energy. While a normal battery has the capacity to store energy, a solar panel depends on external resources to do that.

A semiconductor is the medium through which electron movement takes place. As photons hits the surface of the material, electrons are displaced, creating a potential difference. This phenomenon was accidentally discovered when scientists observed that silicon doped with some impurities became very sensitive to light. Very soon, mankind began researching into various materials to make photovoltaic cells.

The first solar cells are large pieces of single-junction semiconductors made of silicon. The productions of such cells are very energy intensive and expensive. Later, other materials with semiconductor properties were experimented with success. Some of these were Cadmium Telluride (CdTe), Copper Indium Gallium Selenide, Amorphous Silicon And Micromorphous Silicon.

Engineers also discovered that such semiconductors could be deposited on thin pieces of glass or ceramic. This reduces the mass of solar cells. While such materials coupled with better production techniques do not promise higher energy conversion, but certainly enabled lower production costs

The efficiency of present day photovoltaic cell comes close to 20%. Further research gives us hope that someday we can reach efficiencies as high as 60%. This can probably be achieved by harnessing more of the solar radiation, tapping into the ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths.

Solar panel batteries are commonly installed in homes, office buildings and even on streets. Their size varies according to the application involved. Recently manufacturers have also designed another type of solar panel (known as Solar Shingles) meant to fit aesthetically into various architectural designs. These look like the roof tiles we commonly see, but they are coated with a layer of photovoltaic material.

Applications of a solar panel battery

While all solar panels look pretty much the same – dark, reflective-surfaced panels – their application varies widely.

Small solar panels can be used at your backyard or garden to power small electronics like your garden sprinkler, automatic gate opener or pond filters and aerators. Larger systems can also be installed at your home to replace all or part of your household energy needs.

Solar cells are also seen on many types of small gadgets and electronics like calculators, music players, mobile phones and LED torch. On the opposite end of the scale, large groups of solar panels can be used to produce massive amounts of energy to supply an entire city’s energy consumption.

Many large projects were designed and discussed. But the huge investment and seemingly long payback period has discouraged organizations from adopting solar power generators on any scale. Fortunately there are corporations like Google who are willing to trail-blaze the way for others to follow.

In both large and small solar power systems, some means of energy storage is necessary. This will retain excess power that’s generated during the day so it can be dispensed during the night. The most common form of energy storage is rechargeable battery. This is almost always the case, even for an off-grid solar power system. All it needs is a larger set of batteries.

For grid energy storage, possibilities (that are still not widely applied) include pumped-water storage, compressed air, thermal storage, frictionless flywheel, super-conducting magnetic storage and compressed hydrogen.

Scientists and engineers are hopeful that technology may advance to the point where implementation costs falls significantly – so that an average family may afford solar panels easily.

By then, more and more homes will make use of solar power to supplement their energy needs. Many other homes will go off-grid. Large corporations and governments can also install numerous solar electric power plants to sell cheap renewable energy to consumers living in areas without abundant sunlight. By then, most parts of our country (and even the world) may be ready to usher in a new solar panel battery era without fossil fuel.

Continue Reading:

1. Build Amazing Home Solar Power Systems Used by Families Who Don’t Want to Pay For Their Utilities
2. Solar Shingles — What Are These?
3. Do-It-Yourself Solar Panels – Electricity Conversion From Sunlight

Making A Homemade Solar Power System

When building and installing homemade solar panels, there is a fair amount of trial and error involved. This forms part of your learning curve.

There are also mistakes you might make that are totally avoidable. These “detours” can discourage you especially if it is your first time building your own PV panels.

Here are some common ones to take note of when you work on your project. When you avoid them, you should arrive at a good product that is ready to serve you:

Common mistake #1: Trying to build the solar panel frame first

We have to draft out a plan for your solar panel construction. However many of those plans, as we know, often require minor tweaks. At times (although quite rare) certain designs do not work at all. We’ll learn what these are as we start building more complex PV panels.

The way to build a PV panel is to adopt an inside-out approach. First get your solar cells together on your workbench, and then cut out the substrate. After you have mounted all the solar cells on the substrate, you are now pretty sure what the dimensions of the solar panel frame must be.

You’ll be left high and dry if you have completed the frame, only to find out later it is not deep enough to contain your solar cells. Also, there is no advantage in building the solar panel frame first. Thus you’ll save yourself a lot of (potential) trouble if you can build the frame only after you have mounted the solar cells.

Having said this, people who follow proven solar panel blueprints to the tee will not be susceptible to such mistakes. Yet this is a good habit to have, since you’ll sooner or later design your own blueprints, isn’t it?

Common mistake #2: Not allowing solar cells to expand and contract

Solar Cells Expand and Contract

Solar cells expand when it’s heated by the sun and contracts when it is cold. If there isn’t sufficient consideration toward this, your solar cells will crack after some time.

By then it is a great hassle to repair this damage. You have to climb up to your roof, loosen the mounts, bring down your solar panel, open it up, do lots of testing, etc.. You know what I mean.

One important thing you must do is to mount the solar cells on a just one blob of silicon caulk. If you spread the silicon adhesive on its entire surface, you leave no room for expansion. Thus the glass structure will weaken and crack after several cycles of expansion and contraction.

Common mistake #3: Sweating the small stuff

The fact is some of us are perfectionist. This quality, even though is good on some occasions, cause many to stop dead in their tracks while making a homemade PV panel.

You know you are one when you try to do these things before your PV panel is completed:

a. Trying to sort out small blobs of glue that overflow the joints
b. Filing off burrs at inconspicuous corners
c. Worrying about how to align your wiring

Fine details can really be sorted out later. In reality, there isn’t a mistake you make that cannot be resolved. After all, making mistakes are part and parcel of learning.

The best time to make adjustments and improvements is when you have more or less completed your project and have gained more confidence. Your DIY skills will also be more polished by then.

To save time (and effort), there are also many small little parts (like brackets and mounts) that you can buy from hardware stores or specialty stores. They do not cost much. If you make these yourself, you’ll not be able to spend more time on important parts of the project.

Common mistake #4: Not wearing a certified safety harness when installing PV panels

Many folks use a piece of rope or an old harness kept away for many years. BIG mistake. If you were to fall, the joy of making your own solar panels is totally robbed. The savings will also be entirely siphoned into your doctor’s cash-lined pocket.

Beg, steal or borrow…use a certified harness to keep yourself safe.

Continue Reading:

1. Insider Solar Power Generator Review: 3 Most Common Mistakes Hobbyists Make on Their First DIY Solar Panel Project
2. Have Your FREE Bonus eBook “How To Build A Solar Panel” Emailed To You Now:
3. Building A DIY Solar Panel – My Personal Experience

How To Build Solar Panel

In Part One, we’re going to take a look at the materials you need to build a successful project. In Part Two, you’ll learn how to put these parts together to form a complete system. Different applications certainly need different design considerations. We’ll cover how to modify your design to suit particular applications you have in mind. In Part Three, you’ll discover how to push your solar panel system up a notch so you’ll have a winner in your hands.

Before I go on to explain the different materials and components you need to build a solar panel, I must take some time to explain an important thought with you: you do not have to be an engineer of any sort to build a professional looking (and working) solar panel system.

You however need to know some basic soldering and this can be learned in a short span of 5 minutes…flat. You’ll also need to start your imagination engine so you’ll know how you’ll be using your solar panel to power your electrical devices.

In case you do not have any DIY skills at all, you can always buy ready-made solar panels complete with mounting brackets and connect the electrical wiring from there. This will be a little more expensive, of course.

Now, let’s look at the materials we need:

1. Solar Cells
2. Plywood
3. Jones Plug
4. Silicone Caulk
5. Super glue and screws
6. Diode
7. Plexiglass
8. Wires
9. Paint
10. Battery

Solar Cell

Solar Cells. Depending on your budget, you can either buy new cells or purchase slightly damaged ones. Yes, you can certainly put together broken solar cells. However if you’re not confident doing this, my best suggestion is to spend a little more money to buy new cells from eBay.

Plywood. No matter how small your project is, unless you’re very skillful with woodworking, you’ll probably need 3/8” thick plywood. A very good idea that I came across is to use a sturdy photo frame (metallic or wooden one) and work from there. At least you don’t need to put in too much effort for the solar panel frame. You can get plywood easily from your local hardware store.

Jones Plug

Jones Plug. This is a two-pin plug that terminates the end of the wires that comes out from the solar panel so you can plug this into your electrical system. You can find these at Newark Electronics or sometimes at eBay.

Silicone Caulk. This is a strong, waterproof seal that is used for fixing household items like our bathtubs and kitchen sink. Your local hardware shop sells silicone caulk.

Super glue and screws. Some super glue is useful to hold the pieces together before you screw them down firmly. Again, your local hardware shop probably sells super glue and screws.

Wires. It is best to get those wires that come in a twisted pair of red and black so that you can be very sure of the polarity as you solder up the wires.

Paint. Choose paint with UV protection so that it can protect against the continual UV radiation beating against the materials.

Diode

Diode. This component only allows electricity to flow in one direction of your choice. This is needed so that your battery will not be drained into the solar panel during the night or when the sky gets too cloudy.

Plexiglass. This provides a protective cover over the solar cells. Plexiglass has various advantages over glass – it doesn’t break easily and is much easier to handle.

Battery. One of the most important parts of the solar energy system is the battery. It ensures that electricity is available to your electrical application when there isn’t enough power output from the solar panel (probably due to a cloudy day or during the night).

These are the components you’ll need to put together a complete solar power generator that can supply a small electrical application.

In next part (Part Two) of the “How To Build Solar Panel” series, you’ll learn how to put all the above parts together. Till then, get your imagination engine cranking so you have an idea how you’ll want to put your solar generator to work for you.

Continue Reading:

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

During cloudy days and when there’s fog or haze, sunlight becomes diffused and arrives at your solar panels from many different directions. Therefore the facing of your PV panels is not as important during these times for maximum power production.

Even during cloudy days, you can expect to receive about 50% of your original power output. When the sky is completely overcast, you should still receive about 30% of the solar electricity.

Even though light intensity drops during cloudy days, the reduced ambient temperature causes your solar panel efficiency to increase. Therefore the reduction on solar energy production is offset by the increase in photovoltaic efficiency. This is especially true during winter.

There are a few ways to get more solar power during times of low light intensity. Here is a summary for your reading pleasure:

1. Use high efficiency solar panels

Many different types of solar panels are available in the market. If your PV panels have high yield, they’ll naturally be able to perform better in any light condition.

Home solar panels are broadly classified into 3 categories: polycrystalline panels, monocrystalline panels and ribbon panels.

Polycrystalline panels are the best buy. Even though they are not the most efficient, they can yield as much power as monocrystalline cells per square feet due to their physical shape.

They are also not as expensive as monocrystalline solar cells. During low light conditions, they can provide as much electricity for you.

Each polycrystalline solar cell is made from molten silicon that is carefully cooled and solidified. Its manufacturing process makes it less expensive to produce than single crystal silicon cells.

Monocrystalline solar cells are made by cutting thin layers of silicon from cylindrical ingots using the Czochralski process. They yield more electricity than polycrystalline cells but are more expensive. Also, because they are round, they leave gaps at all four corners. This reduces the potential power output of each monocrystalline solar panel.

Ribbon silicon is formed by drawing thin films from molten silicon. This process facilitates a multicystalline structure in the final product. Although its manufacturing process is cheap and there is less silicon waste, solar cell efficiency is compromised.

Among these 3 types of solar cells, polycrystalline is most widely used for obvious reasons.

2. Use reflectors

Even though light is diffused by clouds and fog, they have a certain general direction. As such, you can use reflectors to get more light onto your PV panels. This method, however, makes your roof a little unsightly if the reflectors are not installed (or chosen) with good taste.

With this in mind, you can site your reflector some distance away from your house. As long as more sunlight falls on your PV panel, you can generate a little more electricity.

3. Clean your solar panels

Dirt, dust and leaf can block sunlight from reaching your solar cells. This can reduce your power output by more than 30%. Simply by cleaning your solar panels, you can have more electricity during winter and on cloudy days.

Cleaning your PV panels doesn’t take much time. All you need to do is spray water on it generously to loosen the dirt and wash off the dust and leaf. This will help your energy output by a huge margin.

Continue Reading:

1. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 3
2. Solar Panel Efficiency — How Does Dirt on Your Solar Panels Affect The Amount Of Electricity Produced?
3. Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 1 of 3)