Building your own solar panel can be easy.

Posted July 27, 2011 at 4:32 pm

The sun is amazing, especially considering that the energy it puts out is so powerful that the amount our planet absorbs in one hour is enough to cover the energy needs of our planet for one year. While this form of energy arrives as heat and light, that doesn't mean it can't be converted into an usable form of energy. By installing solar panels in your home, you can have a very practical and inexpensive form of energy that has many uses.

The solar energy panels are quite expensive initially, making this a major consideration for many, who may be skeptical of the savings over time. All you need is some basic tools, an imagination, and the internet to create your own less expensive version of solar panels to achieve the same effect. The simplest design for a solar panel is using a wood container, which means that you will need some simple woodworking tools like a saw, a drill and a screwdriver, which you probably already own. You may want to consider having wood glue and silicone caulking handy in order to be able to assemble your wooden box and attach your solar panel cells to it. You will need to have solar cells since making a solar panel isn't much more than mounting solar cells in a container of some type. If you are worried that you might not find these cells very easy take a look online at places like Ebay. On the other hand, you still need to be careful and avoid purchasing cells simply because they are below what you expected to find them for. You need good quality cells that aren't damaged because the better they are the more energy they produce. For this reason it is imperative for you to avoid any solar cell that is of grade B or lower quality. 100 solar cells can produce an average o9f 100 watts of power, you'll find approximately 36 of these in each solar panel. As you can probably imagine, you need many of these cells, fortunately they are not pricey with a cost of only $2.00 each.

It's not hard to build solar panels yourself, as you could get all the materials you need at local stores or online. The solar cells you buy are the central element of your solar panels, so this is the first thing to consider. You'll get more power from superior solar cells of course.

For every 100 watts of electricity you require, you'll need about 80 solar cells. Depending on how large your home is and how much solar power you want to generate, you can calculate the size of your solar panels and how many you should build.

Solar panels give you a cheap power alternative that can serve you well in difficult economic times and ever rising utility costs. If things do take a turn for the worst, having a renewable energy source that is free and allows you to be independent from the public grid might just prove invaluable.