Home Solar Power Systems

If you search the Internet, you will find many DIY solar power systems that show you how to make your own solar panel.  Certainly, there is a lot of interest in going green to save the planet and one of the ways is to generate your own electricity.  This reduces your dependence on traditional electricity from the grid that comes from burning coal and pollutes the environment.  Furthermore, if your solar panel is linked to your grid system, it can make your meter turn backwards when producing electricity.  The result is that your utility company will pay you instead! 

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So if you are interested to know how to make your own solar power system, I’ve got some good news.  Every DIY solar power system is essentially the same.  With a few basic guidelines, you can do it simply with some materials from the hardware store besides the solar cells themselves.  Actually, you can make your own solar cells from scratch out of sheets of copper but I would advise that you just buy them since you can get slightly chipped or blemished ones for less than $200.  Since this is the most important part of your solar power system, it’s worth the investment to buy ready-made solar cells.

The materials you would need to make your home solar system are soldering iron, solder, flux pen, plywood and woodworking tools, weather-resistant paint, voltmeter, wires, screws, diode, charge controller, 12V battery and inverter.  First, buy 36 solar cells from eBay or any place like that. 

There are 2 parts to making your solar power system – constructing the solar panel frame and wiring the solar cells together.  Constructing the solar panel frame is to make a shallow box that will hold the solar cells in a 6 cell by 6 cell panel.  To do that, measure your plywood to make a square shallow box with low edges so that they do not block the sun when it shines at an angle.  Drill holes at the bottom edge of the box for ventilation.  You also need to have a base to glue your solar cells to.  Any thin, flat, non-conductor like softboard or glass will do.  This base is to fit exactly inside your solar panel box.  Paint both the box and base with weather-resistant paint and leave it to dry while you work on your solar cells.

Your solar cells need to be wired together in series.  There are 2 white lines running down the length of each solar cell.  If you bought tabbed solar cells, these white lines come with tab wires already soldered on to them.  But if your solar cells are unsoldered, you have to tab the wires yourself.  Tab wires are the special flat wires that come with the solar cells.  They are to connect your cells together and carry the electricity generated to your battery.  I suggest you buy tabbed solar cells instead of untabbed ones to save yourself the hassle of tabbing. 

To wire your solar cells in series, you need to solder the tab wires from one solar cell with the solder points at the bottom of the next solar cell, using your soldering iron, solder and flux pen.  Solar cells are not unlike your typical battery.  They have a positive end and a negative end.  The negative end of a solar cell is the front that looks darker and has the 2 white strips running down whereas the positive end is the back.  When soldering the tab wires in this way, you are connecting the negative end of one cell to the positive end of the next one, just like how batteries in a flashlight are connected.  Repeat the soldering with the second and third solar cells.

Since you will be arranging your solar cells in a 6x6 panel, you should connect 6 cells in each row and make 6 rows altogether.  Now you need to join each row of cells so that they become one continuous interconnected string of solar cells.  Remember they are to be glued onto your base (softboard or glass) in a 6x6 panel so your rows should be facing opposite ends alternately.  The first row should face the top end of your panel while the second faces the bottom and so on.  Solder some copper wire to the tab wires from the last cell in the first row perpendicularly.  This copper wire should then extend to be soldered to the tab wires at the bottom of the first cell in the second row.  Repeat this for the second and third rows, then for the third and fourth rows etc.  If you do not have copper wires, you can use extra tab wires instead.

Now that you have your solar cells wired up in series, glue them to the base using some double sided tape placed at the center of each cell.  If you have done everything correctly, you should have 2 copper wires exiting your panel; one joined to the positive end of the first solar cell and another joined to the negative end of the last solar cell.  Now take your solar panel out into the sunlight and join these 2 copper wires to your voltmeter.  If your connections are all correct, you will see a reading.  My 36 cell solar panel gave me a reading of 18.5V (each cell had a capacity of 0.55V).  Now you need to attach a blocking diode into the circuit to prevent a backflow of electricity from your battery to your solar panel.

When everything is working well, cover the top of your solar panel with a piece of plexiglass.  Screw it in and solder the edges to prevent rain water from entering. 

The next part of your solar power system is the battery body.  A solar panel that I described above can charge a 12V battery but you should use a deep cycle battery, which is one that gives out a lower amount of current over a long period of time (like all night).  The one I recommend is a nickel-cadmium battery.  It tends to last longer.  To ensure the maximum lifespan of your battery, install a charge controller just before the battery.  This is so that the amount of electricity entering the battery and the amount it discharges is controlled.  If a battery is overcharged or overdischarged it will not last long.

The last piece of equipment in your solar power system is the inverter.  This comes after your battery and is to change DC current into AC current.  You can then use the AC current to power your appliances.

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