Can you build your own solar panels?

jpclark

Hi, I am new to this forum. I was wondering if anyone here may be able to help me with this. I came across this article today about a guide to making your own solar panels. Supposedly for under two hundred dollars. Has anyone heard of this, and is it possible. Anyone that could help me, would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Here is the link to the article
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1825577

Scuba_Dave

Seems more like a $$ making scheme to me
Your own windmill & solar heater/water heater - Yes
Panels - I don't think so

If you could the info would be all over the Internet
You can assemble your own panel from smaller panels
But usually less powerful & reliable then Mfg panels

I'd look into passive solar heating & hot water heating

There is plenty of free information on how to assemble a large panel from smaller panels, such as:
http://www.mdpub.com/SolarPanel/index.html

Aggie67

I did a search for diyhotwater.com, and I actually got their e-book for free off of some Canadian website. 70 page pdf booklet. Pretty basic stuff. Pretty amateur, imho.

Also be warned, the search also turned up a zillion hits that included Clickbank and affiliate marketing.

And being a jaded cynic, I question the motive of this thread. This just may be a way for the affiliate to drive traffic to the seller, so they can make their commission.

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SunnLight

personally I think you shouldnt have to pay for that info. If you want to build your own solar panel you can just check here:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~hante

It is possible build your own panels, it is just going to take a lot of effort.

Sunny

mboxwell

Here is a good site to highlight the pitfalls of making your own photovoltaic panels: http://www.diysolar.com/

As I said before, if you want to make your own solar energy from scratch, do it for the fun of it - because its a challenge. The price of ready made solar panels, built in a clean production environment and with a life expectancy of 25 years plus, is falling all the time - its now got to the point where the difference in cost between building your own and buying ready made is just a few dollars for a 60-100 watt panel - so long as you are prepared to spend time to shop around and hunt out the bargains (eBay is a good start, but also check the Amazon marketplace and all the backwater web sites).

Incidentally, I made my own solar hot water system from stuff I had lying around - just for the fun of it, in order to provide hot water for my ancient caravan. It cost me less than $10 and generated about 20 litres of piping hot water on sunny days, but zilch when it was overcast. But hey - for $10, I'm not complaining!