| Making a solar panel at home is quite a daunting task | | | | copper cool. It will shrink - also quite normal. The |
| and something that shouldn't be attempted without | | | | black cupric oxide will begin to flake and detach as |
| fully committing oneself to a great deal of work. It | | | | both the oxide and copper shrink. It will take |
| may not be rocket science but it is certainly a tricky | | | | approximately 20 minutes for the copper to cool, at |
| and laborious process. If you are the type of person | | | | which point you will need to remove any excess |
| who thinks a hammer is nothing but am odd-shaped | | | | cupric oxide black film left on the copper. You can |
| door stop, it may be in your best interest to leave | | | | scrub lightly with your hands under your tap. |
| the solar panel construction to professionals. | | | | - At this point cut another piece of copper at exactly |
| Having said that, making your own solar panels can | | | | the same size and dimensions as the "cooked" |
| really be a rewarding home project and by taking on | | | | copper. |
| such a project yourself you can significantly cut your | | | | - Place both copper sheets into the plastic bottle, |
| costs - by 50 to 80% - over a commercially available | | | | bending them carefully to fit and ensuring they do |
| solar panel. | | | | not touch. |
| Since the prohibitive cost of solar panels is in large | | | | - Attach the two alligator clips to each sheet, |
| part due to the high price of solar cells, you will | | | | connecting the positive lead (from the "Clean copper |
| achieve most of your cost reduction by purchasing | | | | sheet") to the positive terminal of the meter, and the |
| damaged and used solar cells from sites such as | | | | negative lead (the "cooked" copper sheet) to the |
| eBay. After that, using your ingenuity and some | | | | negative terminal of the meter. |
| handy DIY skills, the only thing between you and a | | | | - Mix your 2 tablespoons of salt in with some hot |
| working solar panel is time and effort. | | | | water. Stir until the salt is dissolved. |
| For now however, let's take on a much more simple | | | | - Carefully pour the salt water into the plastic bottle |
| task and make a single solar cell. This project is great | | | | being careful to avoid pouring onto the leads. A good |
| fun and can show the basic and simple concept | | | | rule of thumb is to leave at least an inch between |
| behind solar energy. | | | | the water and the leads so you can move around |
| What You Will Need: | | | | the device with relative ease. |
| 1. Copper sheeting. | | | | A solar cell is a battery, so you can expect that even |
| 2. Two alligator clip lead cables. | | | | in the dark your meter will show a few microamps of |
| 3. A sensitive micro-ammeter (you can find this at | | | | current. Don't expect that it will light a baseball field |
| Radio Shack). | | | | though, and it would take acres of these (literally) to |
| 4. An electric stove or a one burner hot plate should | | | | power your house. I sincerely doubt there would be |
| you have a gas stove. If you are buying a hot plate | | | | enough power generated by this to power a light |
| make sure it's at least 1100 watts. | | | | bulb. However, once you put this device in the |
| 5. A large clear plastic bottle. Think 2 Liter Coke or | | | | sunlight you will see the meter jump to 30+ |
| Mineral Water bottles with the top cut off. | | | | microamps of current - which would be enough to |
| 6. A few tablespoons of salt. | | | | use your new solar cell as a light meter or light |
| 7. Water. | | | | detector. |
| 8. Sand paper, steel wool or a wire brush attachment | | | | Creating a solar panel is an entirely different beast |
| for an electric drill. | | | | from this, however you now have a basic idea of |
| 9. Metal sheers. | | | | how a single solar cell works. To create a solar panel |
| How It's Done: | | | | you will want to purchase a great deal of |
| - Cut a piece of copper sheeting at approximately | | | | prefabricated solar cells - second hand (as outlined |
| the size of the stove burner. (Make sure to | | | | above) if you wish to save money. Once you have |
| thoroughly clean the copper sheet using sandpaper or | | | | the cells, you will need a water tight and robust |
| steel wool to remove any sulfide and/or light | | | | enclosure to keep the elements from damaging your |
| corrosion. | | | | solar cells. Solar cells are quite delicate. The process |
| - Heat the copper sheet on the burner (on the | | | | of making the cells work within your panel enclosure |
| highest heat setting) | | | | is a rather simple process. |
| - As the copper increases its' temperature the color | | | | So there you have it, Solar Power 101. Just for fun, |
| will turn black with a layer of cupric oxide. This is | | | | give this a try one day when you're bored. There's |
| normal. Let the copper "cook" for around 30 minutes. | | | | nothing more satisfying than creating power from |
| - After 30 minutes turn of the burner and let the | | | | nothing but sunlight. |