If you’re interested in making DIY solar panels, this may be the most important place you discovered. Here’s why…

For every curiosity you have in your mind, there will almost certainly be a resource available to satisfy it.

Whether you want to build a solar panel by connecting individual photovoltaic (PV) cells or buy it retail… whether you are a do-it-yourself, homemade guy or a swear-by-a-brand person, we have mini-resources prepared for you.

Otherwise just write to us to request for it…and we’ll get it up just for you.

In the future, we’ll broaden our scope to include bits and pieces of other types of renewable energy generator like wind turbines.

For starters, you can browse the following pages to get up to speed with the DIY solar power world. Tell me what you think:

• Insider Solar Power Generator Review: 3 Most Common Mistakes Hobbyists Make on Their First DIY Solar Panel Project
• 3 Secrets You Didn’t Know About Building Solar Panels
• 1o Reasons Why You Should Build Your Own Solar Panel
• How To Build A Personal DIY Solar Power System With Less Than $99
• Build Amazing Home Solar Power Systems Used by Families Who Don’t Want to Pay For Their Utilities
• How To Build Solar Panel (Part 1 of 3)
•  How To Build Solar Panel (Part 2 of 3)
• How To Build Solar Panel (Part 3 of 3)
• Step-By-Step Guide To Build A 12V Solar Panel
• Solar Panel Battery — The Basics
  

Continue Reading:

1. Insider Solar Power Generator Review: 3 Most Common Mistakes Hobbyists Make on Their First DIY Solar Panel Project
2. 10 Reasons Why You Should Build Your Own Solar Panel
3. Build Amazing Home Solar Power Systems Used by Families Who Don’t Want to Pay For Their Utilities

While you are working on your solar panels or solar heaters, you can also explore other small projects that can make your house a better place to live in.

Here are some projects that take you less than a day to implement. And many of them are very helpful in lowering your energy bills as well.

Most of them do not cost more than $100+, so if you have a little time and a little cash, you can begin right away:

1. Install solar screens

Solar screens help to keep your house cool during summer. It prevents heat from coming into your house through the windows. As such, your air-conditioners will not need to work as hard.

Most solar screens are quite affordable. The best ones are those with a metallic, reflective surface. They reflect radiation away instead of absorbing it. They are also pretty durable.

2. Solar ventilators

Ventilators can be installed at your attic, powered by solar energy. During summer, you can activate these fans to pump the heat out of your interior. This alone can cool your house considerably.

All you need is a small fan, a small vent that comes with a cover and a small solar panel. You don’t even need rechargeable batteries. It stops working when it becomes dark, but you won’t need it at night.

Try it.

When the weather gets colder, remember to cover them properly so heat doesn’t escape through these vents.

3. Solar powered air circulation

When you heat up your house, warm air rises to the top. They are all trapped at the ceiling or attic. Heat is not distributed evenly. You can install a ceiling fan to push the heat down, or use solar power to pump warm air down to ground level.

The effect: Your home warms us faster and you’ll feel more comfortable.

For this project, you’ll need a small solar panel, a set of rechargeable batteries, a long pipe and a small exhaust fan.

4. Landscaping

Planting trees, scrubs and bushes around your house can give you many benefits. You will not only create a beautiful and rejuvenating environment… You can prevent bitter cold winds from blowing against your house in winter and shelter your house from strong sunshine during summer.

5. Install solar light tubes

Solar light tubes allow natural light to enter your house while keeping the heat and precipitation out. They cost a little more. But you can experience the benefits of full spectrum lighting in your room without expensive illumination technology.

Continue Reading:

1. 7 Different Ways of Using Solar Energy At Home and In Your Office
2. Challenges and Difficulties In Using Solar Panels And How To Overcome Them
3. Survey Your Household Energy Usage Before Installing Solar Panels

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

Those of us who have been in the scouts… we were taught that it is safe to drink water that has condensed on a clean surface. When water evaporates, only water molecules escape from the surface, leaving impurities behind.

As water condenses on a cool surface, it becomes purified and is relatively fit for consumption.

This is basically how a solar still works…

To build one, we have to gather these materials:

1. A dark-colored bowl or plate with a large surface area

2. A sheet of strong clear plastic

3. A piece of Perspex that is large enough to cover the container

A dark colored bowl or plate can absorb more solar energy.  This helps to raise the water temperature. When water becomes hotter, more water molecules are able to escape from the surface. This results in more water vapor.

Essentially, we can speed up the rate of water purification as water temperature increases.

First, bend the Perspex along the middle (lengthwise) by a small angle. This will help gather purified water at the center of the Perspex. When it is tilted, water can flow to the side and be collected in a cup.

After the Perspex is bent, use a thick plastic sheet to form a skirting around the Perspex, leaving an opening at the area where water flow out into the cup.

The plastic skirting helps to keep as much water vapor within the solar purifier as possible. It also helps to support the Perspex.

In order to attach the plastic skirting firmly onto the Perspex, you have to use a non-toxic silicon adhesive and wait for it to dry completely.

When properly done, the Perspex should sit slightly above the container but will not touch it. It must also be tilted (slightly) towards where the cup is. This allows water to flow into the cup easily.

To use the solar water purifier, fill up the container with dirty water. Then cover the container with the special Perspex lid. As water evaporates and condenses underneath the Perspex, you can see droplets forming and rolling into the collection cup.

Note:

You can use anything with water content to help you get as much drinkable water as possible. A few of these may include green plants that are not poisonous, damp soil, urine and even snow or sea water.

Continue Reading:

1. Installing Solar Water Heaters
2. Properties Of Solar Energy You Must Know About
3. The Importance Of Heat Transfer In Solar Water Heaters

…it’s difficult, isn’t it?

I have a small list over here that you may find useful. It reveals the top few solar panel and inverter manufacturers you can choose from.

The reason these brands make the best buy is because of the awards they receive and good feedback from many users.

For solar panels, you can choose from SunPower (USA), Schott Solar (Germany) or SolarWorld (Germany).

If you are the type who insists on excellent product quality, you should be looking at Sanyo (Japan) solar panels.

However if what you are looking for is the best value for money, you can consider buying from Suntech (China).

Having said this, it is also important to be assured that the photovoltaic cells within the solar panels are of good quality. If you have an eye for details, check out Sharp, Q-Cells and BP Solar.

Solar panels need to be mounted on a supporting structure such as the roof. As such, you’ll need good solar mounting systems. The recommended brands are Direct Power and Water (USA), UniRac (USA) and Schletter (Germany).

Certainly, you’ll also require inverters for your solar panels array. You have a choice to buy from either Kaco (Germany), OutBack (USA) or Mastervolt (USA).

Among these options, Outback is touted to have the best product quality while Kaco has the best price. This may change from time to time, so it’s worth checking all 3 of them out.

If you have the budget, you can maximize your solar power output by orientating it towards to sun through the day. Solar trackers are great devices for doing this. The best company to approach is Zomeworks (USA).

Hope this helps…

Continue Reading:

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

Electric golf carts use 24 volt, 36 volt or 48 volt systems. Most of them have 6 batteries. Thus if the batteries are rated at 6 volts, yours is a 36-volt system. Similarly, if the batteries are rated at 8 volts, you have a 48-volt system.

Every golf cart can make use of solar power to charge its batteries. There are solar panels in the market that can supply between 190 to 380 Watts per solar panel with an output of up to 88 volts. Therefore solar panel technology nowadays is more than sufficient to power golf carts.

When batteries are constantly recharged while out in the sun, their lifespan can be extended by up to 30%. This can also increase a golf cart’s driving distance by up to 12 miles every day. This helps you reduce the maintenance cost of your golf cart. On top of this, when you use solar energy, you reduce your electricity bills.

Solar panels are eco-friendly and have zero carbon emissions while operating. Moreover they are easy to install and are even easier to maintain. All branded solar panels come with at least 10 years of warranty so you will not need to worry about defects.

And if you are not willing to pay the solar panel cost upfront, some manufacturers even have a customized leasing program for you to take advantage of.

Most contractors will be happy to convert your golf cart for you at a small price, included in the package. You can also do this yourself if you want.

All you have to do is to first understand how your golf cart batteries are charged.

Some golf carts have their own in-built battery charger. You only need to supply it with 110 VAC to charge the batteries. Others require an external battery charger.

If your golf cart takes in 110 VAC, you can either use a DC-to-AC converter or get a charge controller and wire it directly to the batteries.

After understanding how your golf cart batteries are charged, you can proceed to mount the solar panels on the golf cart’s roof. Do note that solar panels are heavy and you may need to change (or reinforce) the supports to the roof.

Once the solar panel(s) are secured, take a little drive. If your roof sways from side to side, you may need more support.

Most likely, you will need to fit a charge controller to your golf cart. Find a compact model that can fit into an empty space inside your golf cart. This location must be shielded from water and rain so your batteries do not get short-circuited.

After securing the charge controller, the final step is to connect the charging cables to their respective terminals and secure them properly.

Within a few hours, you’ll be using solar power to charge your golf cart batteries.

Continue Reading:

1. DIY Solar Panels — Charge Controller Basics
2. How To Build A Solar Panel Charge Controller
3. Making A DIY Solar Powered Reading Lamp

A device known as an energizer generates a (brief) high voltage impulse that’s repeated every second or two. Whenever an animal comes into contact with the fence, electricity passes through a muscle in the animal.

Although this does not harm the animal in any way, it produces an uncomfortable muscle contraction. The animal remembers this sensation and learns to avoid the fence.

To use solar energy to power the energizer, we’ll need to a few things:

Electric Fence Charger

1. A fence charger together with its accessories.
2. A 10-watt solar panel
3. A 12-volt rechargeable battery
4. A 12-volt Charge controller

There are different types of energizer you can buy. Most of them require 110 Volt AC as input. Therefore you may also need to use a DC to AC inverter. (Your existing energizer will most likely be using 110 VAC.)

The main purpose of the solar panel is to charge the 12-volt battery. Even though solar power disruption has no adverse effect on its performance, it is good to make sure your PV panel supplies as much power to the battery as possible.

So before you begin, you’ll have to find a location to site your solar panel such that it will not experience shading.

After installing the solar panel on a suitable site, you’ll need to connect the output terminals to the charge controller. Then wire the charge controller to the battery.

Please note that the battery and charge controller has to be kept in a sturdy waterproof casing to prevent moisture and precipitation from damaging the system.

Finally, you’ll have to connect the DC-to-AC converter between the electric fence charger and the battery. This device converts the 12-volt direct current into 110 volts alternating current so your fence charger can work.

Note:

• You can design your solar electric fence charger (or energizer) such that it gives an output of 8kV open circuit voltage. This will be sufficient to energize an electric fence that surrounds an area of about 10 acres.

• For a solar electric fence, you must design it to have low-impedance so there is less drain on the battery. This also means you won’t need to buy solar panels that are larger than necessary.

• You can bury the waterproof box into the ground, leaving only its top portion above ground. This can prevent people from accidentally tripping over the system.

Continue Reading:

1. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 3
2. How To Build A Solar Panel Charge Controller
3. Lighting Up Your Yard or Garden Using Solar Energy

How To Build Solar Panel

In this part of the “How To Build Solar Panel” series, you’ll learn how to put the different components together. Hopefully you’ve already got an idea what you want to use your solar panel for.

We’ll use a 12V DC automatic door opener as an example…

To power an electrical system that runs on 12VDC, we need a 12V battery. I’d prefer using one of those maintenance-free batteries as compared to troublesome lead-acid types. And in order to charge the 12V battery, we’ll need the solar panel to generate about 18V. (It needs to be at least 5V above the battery voltage)

Connecting the Solar Cells

Each solar cell produces 0.5V. To get 18V, we can join 36 solar cells in series. Assuming the solar cells are of the same quality, a larger solar cell will produce more current and thus more power.

You should always ensure that the power generated by the solar panel is sufficient to charge your battery. Otherwise you may have to join more cells in parallel.

If you want to connect the solar panel directly to your appliance, you can simply make-do with 12V output from the solar panel. This is however not advisable for most applications…unless you need your appliance to work only when the sun is out.

Constructing the Solar Panel Frame

Next, we have to create a shallow box (as solar panel frame) for the solar cells to sit in. The borders of the box should be about ¾” wide by ¾” high. If this too high, it will cast a shadow on the cells as the sun comes in from the side. If it is too low, it doesn’t allow sufficient clearance for the solar cells.

Before you screw the pieces of plywood together, you can first hold them together by super glue so they’ll stay in place as you turn in the screws.

Putting the Array of Solar Cells Into The Solar Panel Frame

To get the solar cells into the solar panel frame, glue the array of solar cells onto a thin, rigid backing before placing it into the “box”. An example of this thin, rigid backing is a Masonite board.

We should give the rigid backing a few coats of paint before pasting the cells on. We must also apply a few coats of paint to the panel frame and dry it thoroughly before putting in the array of solar cells.

Connecting the Diode

Connect the diode at the power output of the solar panel. You should locate this inside the solar panel and hold it down using some silicone caulk so it won’t move about.

Placing the Plexiglass Cover

Before covering the solar panel with the plexiglass cover, test again to see that you’ve got the correct voltage and power output. Then carefully drill the holes (for the screws) at the border of the plexiglass.

Take care to apply moderate, consistent pressure while drilling so that the plexiglass won’t crack. Also remember to countersink the hole so that you can flush the screws with the surface, if necessary.

Attaching the Jones Plug and Battery

At the end of the wire that dangles out of the solar panel, attach the (male) Jones plug by soldering them on. Also solder the female Jones plug to the battery terminals according to their polarity.

Using a connector like a Jones plug makes it convenient for you to disconnect the solar panel from the battery if you need to.

And after hooking up the parts in the above manner, you’ve made for yourself a complete solar power generator that can power up your electrical gadgets — anything that runs on 12V.

In the third and final part of the “How To Build Solar Panel” series, you’ll discover how to “tweak” your solar panel system. You’ll inevitably end up with a world-class DIY solar panel running on steroids!

Continue Reading:

1. How To Build Solar Panel (Part 1 of 3)
2. How To Build Solar Panel (Part 3 of 3)
3. Step-By-Step Guide To Build A 12V Solar Panel

Commercial solar panels cost at least $20,000 (usually much more than this) and you need to wait at least 12 years before your investment pays back. Of course the actual price and payback period depends on how much electricity you require and the amount of sunshine at your location.

Even though solar panels seem expensive, owning them can help your finances in the long run. Beyond its payback period, solar panels are essentially free. Thus you are actually using free electricity from that point on. If oil price continues to rise (quite certainly), the savings you realize will only become greater.

On top of that, your property value appreciates the moment you install solar panels on your roof.

Installing PV panels at home or office may be one of the best few decisions in your life. If you buy the correct solar energy system, it’ll reward you handsomely in time to come.

Why solar panels?

Solar panels convert solar energy into electricity. Since the sun will not burn out in the next few billion years, this is a perpetual source of energy we can use. Many solar panels can operate for up to 30 years. Thus they provide us with a long lasting source of electricity.

Solar panels are suitable for providing electricity in remote places that are far away from the main electricity grid. If your home is situated in such places, solar electricity may be the cheapest and most convenient source of power for you.

PV panels do not require much maintenance. In fact all they need is an occasional jet of water for 5 to 10 minutes. This helps to wash away the dirt and dust that accumulates on the glass panel after months and months of use. Besides this, no other regular maintenance is needed.

Solar power does not pollute. It neither gives off toxic nor foul-smelling gases. There is no way solar panels can harm your health and well-being when it generates electricity. In fact, it doesn’t even produce any noise. Thus solar panels do only good and no harm.

The only time when pollution is involved is when solar panels are being produced. Energy is needed at production lines, and this likely comes from burning fossil fuel. Fortunately it does not take long to manufacture each PV panel. Thus its indirect damage to the environment is negligible as compared to its advantages.

For many homeowners, using solar electricity is a means to hedge against the rising cost of fuel. It is quite likely that oil price will double again after 15 or 20 years…who knows. But the price of solar panels keeps dropping. Today, you can get solar panels for as low as $3 per watt. And this (one-time cost) is all you have to pay for the next few decades. What a good deal.

Different Types of Solar Panels

Solar panels are made from single crystal (monocrystalline) wafers, polycrystalline wafers or by depositing photovoltaic material onto thin films.

Monocrystalline solar cells are made by cutting single crystal wafers into 1/3 to 1/2 millimeter slices. This is a costly process. The silicon used must be of very high purity and must have an almost perfect crystalline structure. This makes the final product expensive. Therefore even though monocrystalline solar cells have the highest yield, they are not as popular.

Polycrystalline wafers are made by pouring molten silicon into a mould and allowing it to set. Then they are cut into thin slices, similar to how monocrystalline wafers are made. Since polycrystalline wafers do not require very high purity silicon or a near perfect crystalline structure, they are cheaper to produce. However it produces less electricity than monocrystalline cells under the same illumination per square foot.

Yet polycrystalline solar panels are very popular. Unlike monocrystalline solar cells, polycrystalline cells can fill the solar panel with more photovoltaic material (due to its shape). This allows it to produce almost as much electricity per square foot as monocrystalline solar panels. Hence it is more cost effective to use polycrystalline solar panels.

Amorphous silicon cells are made by depositing a layer of silicon on a substrate. Amorphous silicon is just one of the product of thin-film technology. Other products include thin multicrystalline silicon, copper indium diselenide/cadmium sulphide cells, cadmium telluride/cadmium sulphide cells and gallium arsenide cells.

Among these 3 types of solar cells, thin-films produce the least amount of electricity per square foot. However they are light. Therefore they are used widely in portable applications.

In the process of manufacturing thin-film solar panels, very little silicon is wasted. This is in stark contrast to the manufacturing process of monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar cells where almost half the silicon is wasted as saw dust.

When choosing solar panels, it is important to know what type of technology is involved. More importantly, you must calculate the price you are paying per watt for the particular PV panel you chose.

A Typical Solar Power System

In a solar power system, one single solar panel is not sufficient to provide enough power for your house or office. An array of PV panels must be used in order to get the necessary amount of energy.

Other than the solar panel array, a control panel must be installed. It is used to regulate power from the panels. For an off-grid system, electricity must be stored in deep-cycle rechargeable batteries so you can use it later (usually at night). For an intertie (or grid-tied) system, this is not necessary.

Power coming from the batteries or your solar panels is in the form of direct current (DC). To run electrical appliances that use 110 VAC, you need an inverter. This device converts DC to AC power.

Even after all these are setup, you may want to consider having a backup source of power. This is important if you are not connected to the grid. One type of backup power you can consider is a diesel generator.

If you have a large solar power system, installing a solar tracker can help you recover some power that would otherwise be lost. What this device does is track the position of the sun and aligns the solar panels toward it. The increase in electricity supply can more than offset the cost of a solar tracker if your system is big enough.

You can also tap another source of renewable energy together with solar power. Wind turbines are commonly installed for residential use. The power generated by wind can charge your solar panel batteries. Instead of lining your roof with more PV panels, this is a good way to increase your electricity production.

Solar Panels Installation

Where your solar panels are sited is of utmost importance. The solar professional must help you determine the best location to install your solar panels. He must also inform you about the shading condition at the site he choose.

During installation, your solar panels will be tilted southwards. The angle of inclination depends on where you live. If solar panels are not installed properly, you may not get as much power as you expect. As a result, your solar panels may end up producing below its potential throughout its lifespan.

To improve the shade condition at the installation site, your contractor may advise you to crop some trees at your property.

When you work closely with a trusted solar professional, you can be certain he will be your best partner when it comes to providing renewable energy for your household.

Continue Reading:

1. Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 1 of 3)
2. Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 2 of 3)
3. Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 3 of 3)