Electricity received as a gift from the sun is not a fiction. People have been thinking about this alternative way of generating electricity for a long time, however, it has begun to be widely used only now. What could be more economical in the summer for a suburban home than solar panels? Moreover, you can even make and install solar panels for your home with your own hands. And it will not require a lot of expenses, your electrification will cost about 300 to 400 dollars. But on the other hand, you don’t have to worry about how to be without electricity if it suddenly turns off, and you will significantly save electricity supplied to your house centrally.
The principle of operation of a solar power plant
To be able to make solar panels for your home with your own hands, you need to understand how they work. If you understand well what each of the details is for, you can understand the principles of operation and the structure of the system, the degree of its complexity, then creating panels for generating solar energy will become a fairly understandable and simple task for you.
The solar power station is divided into three main components:
- Solar battery. The task of this multi-element block is to divide the energy of sunlight into two groups of electrons: with a positive charge and with a negative one. It turns out the actual electric current. The disadvantage of solar panels is that they cannot generate a large amount of electricity. They will not give a powerful voltage, on average, one element powered by the sun produces about 0.5 volts. To convert the energy of the sun into the usual 220 volts, a huge battery is required. But such a power plant is quite capable of generating voltages up to 18 volts. And this will be enough to recharge the 12 volt battery as part of a solar device.
- Rechargeable batteries. Solar panels involve the use of several such devices, some contain more than ten. A single 12-volt battery will not be enough to power an entire house. Of course, everything will depend on the amount of energy needed for all devices that consume it. During operation, you can increase the power of your station by increasing the number of storage devices. But, of course, it will be necessary to add additional solar cells.
- A device that will convert low voltage current into high voltage energy. It’s called an inverter. You can buy an inverter in a store ready-made, it is inexpensive. When buying, you need to pay attention to the power they give out. It should be at least 4 kilowatts.
That’s all you need to make your own solar panels.
You will get the batteries and inverter ready-made, they are not that expensive, and the panels themselves are easy to make yourself, if, of course, you have the desire and time for this.
How to make a solar battery?
A product such as a do-it-yourself solar battery will require the purchase of elements that capture the sun’s rays. If you buy new ones, it will be quite expensive. And then it’s hardly worth spending extra money on assembling it yourself, it’s easier to buy a completely new, already assembled device. There is a way out – to buy slightly damaged elements that are quite capable of still working. Such things are sold by various sites like eBay, or by hand. It may take about 36 elements to make one solar generator.
Manufacturing process of solar cells
Next on the plan will be the manufacture of a case for a mini-power plant. You will need the following materials:
- wood bars;
- plywood sheets;
- fiberboard and organic glass.
- The bottom for the body is cut out of a sheet of plywood, having previously calculated the required dimensions.
- A bar is attached along the perimeter of the sheet, which is 2-2.5 cm in thickness.
- About 10 mm holes are drilled in the bars at a distance of 20 cm for ventilation and prevention of overheating of the device.
- A "litter" for solar cells is being made. This will require a fiberboard board, which is cut exactly along the perimeter of our case, adjusting it so that it fits well inside.
- This base also needs to be equipped with small air holes, they are drilled at a distance of about 5 cm.
- A cover is made for the body: Plexiglas is taken and cut to size, holes are drilled and fastened to the body with self-tapping screws.
- The finished body must be painted over with two layers of paint and allowed to dry.
- Now we can get our solar cells. We lay them on the substrate and connect them in series.
- After you connect and turn over all the rows, you need to glue each of them with silicone.
- After that, check if the assembled structure works. Using a special device, measure the voltage at the output. If the assembly process was successful, then it should be equal to 19 volts.
- If the device showed exactly this figure, solder a small diode there in a consistent way. This is to prevent battery drain.
- Then bring out the output wires and fix the cover made of plexiglass.
Now the production of solar panels can be considered completed. You need to watch them for a while, checking if they are able to recharge the battery.
The last stage of assembly will be sealing all cracks and joints. Don’t forget to leave holes for ventilation.
When you know how to make a solar panel, you need to decide where to install it. Naturally, this place should be unobstructed and have contact with a lot of direct sunlight. If you choose to mount them on a roof, then you may need to support them.
How to make small solar panels?
There is not always enough space near the house or even on the roof for a full-fledged solar power plant, but almost anyone who understands electricity can make a small solar battery. As a result, you will get your own solar battery to charge your phone.
Before you make small solar panels, you will need the following materials:
- A small sheet of copper, its cost is about 150 rubles per square meter. You will need about 50 square centimeters.
- Two clips, called alligator clips.
- A device for measuring current in the range from 10 to 50 microamperes.
- An electric furnace with a power of at least 1100 watts. The spiral of such an oven should be heated to redness.
- Plastic container (bottle) with a cut off neck.
- A few tablespoons of ordinary rock salt.
- Some warm water.
- Sandpaper.
- Metal sheet.
Assembly process of a small solar panel
- Cut a piece of cleaned copper sheet to a size that matches the size of the coil on your stove. Put it on a spiral.
- Preheat the oven. During the heating of copper, certain chemical metamorphoses will begin to occur. It will change color over time. Wait until the copper sheet is covered with a thick black layer. This is about half an hour.
- Let the copper sheet cool down. The oxide formed on the surface of copper in the form of a black coating will begin to move away from everything else when it cools.
- When the sheet has cooled to air temperature, rinse it with a small amount of running water at room temperature. Do not remove the remaining copper oxide!
- Cut out another piece of copper from the sheet of copper, the same piece as was already cut. It does not need to be processed like the first one.
- We add two sheets separately: processed and unprocessed. They should enter the plastic bottle without touching.
- Now you need to attach a "crocodile" to each sheet.
- We bring the wire from the raw sheet to the plus, and from the processed sheet to the minus.
- Now we make a solution of 2-3 tablespoons of salt with warm water, stir and let it dissolve.
- Pour this solution into the bottle, where the copper plates lie, without adding about 25 mm to their edge.