Build Your Own Solar Panel: How to Build a Solar Panel

Solar panels collect solar radiation (heat) from the sun and convert it to electricity. A solar panel comprises silicon cells that produce electricity when interacting with sunlight. These solar cells utilize a large-area p-n junction diode, which when exposed to sunlight, converts energy from sunlight into usable electrical energy. This conversion is termed as Photovoltaic Effect. Energy is generated from photons, that strike the surface of the solar panel, allowing electrons to be knocked out of their orbits and released. Electric fields in the solar cells pull these free electrons in a multi-directional current, from which metal conductors in the solar cell generate electricity.

How to Build a Solar Panel
Solar panels are expensive to install, though the long term benefits are enormous, and the reduced electricity bills even out the cost. Following is one of the many ways one can build your own solar panel, with minimum cost.

Materials Required

• A ½ sq ft copper sheet (available at any hardware store)
• Two alligator clip leads
• An electric stove, with 1100 watts capacity
• A sensitive microammeter, which reads currents between 10 and 50 microamperes
• A large 2-liter clear plastic bottle, cut off at the top
• Sand paper on an electric drill
• Sheet metal shears
• 2 tbsp table salt
• Tap water

Procedure for Building a Solar Panel

• Cut a piece of the copper sheet about the same size of the burner on the stove.
• Throughly wash the copper sheet with a cleanser to remove all traces of any oil or grease.
• Rub the sandpaper gently, to thoroughly clean the copper sheet, so that all traces of sulphide or other light corrosion is wiped out.
• Place the cleaned and dried copper sheet on the burner and turn the burner to its highest flame setting.
• When the copper sheet starts to heat up, oxidation patterns in colors of orange, purple, and red will begin to form and cover the copper sheet.
• As the burner gets red-hot, the sheet of copper will be coated with a black cupric oxide coat. Keep the sheet on the burner for about half an hour to get a thick black coating.
• After half an hour, turn off the burner, and allow the hot copper sheet to cool slowly without lifting from the burner.
• The cooled copper and black cupric oxide will shrink at different rates.
• The thick coating will flake off, while a thin coat will stay stuck to the copper.
• The little black flakes fly off the copper with a lot of force, make sure you stand at a distance.
• Once the copper has completely cooled off, scrub it with your hands under running tap water to remove most of the small bits.
• Do not scrub too hard, as the delicate red cuprous oxide layer needed to make to solar cell work might get damaged.
• Cut another sheet of copper in the same size as the first one.
• Bend both pieces gently, and push them in such a way, that they will fit into the plastic bottle without touching one another's edges.
• Place the cuprous oxide coating outwards in the jar, as its surface would be the smoothest and cleanest.
• Attach the two alligator clip leads; one to the new copper plate, and another one to the cuprous oxide coated plate.
• Connect the lead from the clean copper plate and the lead from the cuprous oxide plate to the positive terminal and the negative terminal of the meter respectively.
• Mix a couple tablespoons of salt into some hot tap water and stir until dissolved.
• Pour the saltwater carefully into the jar, make sure you don't wet the clip leads, and leave about an inch of plate above the water.
• As the solar cells start to generate electricity, the microammeter will calculate its reading.

Many such solar cells would be required to make one solar panel, and many more panels would be needed to harness enough power from the sun, to generate enough electricity for one to use.There are many solar panel kits available in the market, with varying solar harnessing power that one can purchase to build a solar panel. Installing a solar panel will provide one with an inexhaustible supply of solar energy and it will be done without causing any pollution.

Learn more on how to build your own solar panel.