My First Solar Panel

So I had been saving up some old solar cells that I used to experiment with. These were the old cells that were made on plate glass. Each cell makes 12-17 volts depending on how bright the sun is. Each cell also makes about .25 amps. I used 17 cells to make the panel. This panel makes 50-65 watts. I figured for my first panel it didn't come out too bad. I'm including some pictures below to show how I built it. This is really a project that just about anyone can do so I want to encourage you to give t a try.

To begin with I used a 2 foot by 4 foot polycarbonate sheet (Lexan) for the cover sheet. I used the polycarbonate since the cells were already on glass. I didn't think the glass on glass would be a good idea. I also used a UV stabilized polycarbonate so that it wouldn't yellow in the sun which would reduce the the output of the panel. The white is actually an anti scratch coating that peels off.

Next I cut the aluminum C-channel that I used for the frame. The side channels were already 4 foot long so I only had to cut the 2 foot lengths for the top and bottom. I then cut the corners at 45 degrees so the frame would fit tight. I also drilled the rivet holes. You'll notice that the rivet holes are off center. This was to avoid the rivets hitting the cover sheet.

I used a short piece of aluminum angle stock to make the 4 corner connectors. I made the connectors about 1 1/4 inches long. I wanted to be able to file them down to match the thickness of the frame. I also drilled the matching rivet holes. One not of caution here, once you drill the holes each corner will only match up to just that one corner.

I also used 1/4 inch square acrylic rods as a spacer in order to keep the cover sheet held in place and not allow it to shift inside the frame.

Here you can see the square acrylic rod inside the channel when I fit everything together. I all fit quite nicely. I inserted some rivets in the corner rivet holes to hold everything together when I tested the fit of everything but, I did not actually pop the rivets until the final frame assembly.

Here is the fully assembled frame. I used some silicone inside the C-channel to seal the cover sheet to frame connection from the weather and to use it as glue for the square acrylic rod spacers. I also used some JB weld to glue on the corner connectors before inserting and popping the rivets. I used steel pop rivets just to add a little extra strength to the corners. After the frame was put together I used some more silicone to seal the gap inside the C-channel left after inserting the square rod.

The next thing to do was to test and mark all of the cells polarity so I could figure out the best way to lay out all of the cells. Since I already had 12-17 volts per cell I wanted to wire the cells in parallel to get more amps but, maintain the same volts.

Here you can my final layout of all of the cell. I included a control box as well. You can see the control box on the right hand side of the picture. You can also see in the picture the white silicone that I used to seal all of the cells down to the cover sheet. After sealing all the cells I used the silicone to seal the rest of the C-channel and to act as a block to sunlight coming through the panel.

Here you can see the wiring on the backside of the panel. I wired the panel in parallel as I had said before. You'll notice more black wire on the panel than red wire. This is what happens when you run out of wire in the middle of a project. I had to substitute black for the rest of the red wire. For the record the color of the wire has no effect on how the system works but, it is easy to get wires mixed up so if you do have to use the same colored wires be careful and pay attention. I will say this that it is frustrating to have to unsolder wires and then resolder them because you weren't paying attention. I say this from experience.














Here you can see the final panel after all the wiring has been completed and the panel has been taken outside and successfully tested several times to verify it's operation. The last thing was to cover the back of the panel. I found many coverings online for sale but, they were all pretty expensive. I opted for a simple epoxy coat since this was only going to be on the back with no direct sunlight. The epoxy coat as just for some added strength and protection for the cells and wiring.

All in all I have invested a few days time and about $70 US for my first solar panel. At that price I will definitely be making more.