This DIY solution will help you build a solar panel array that produces about 18 volts of power for under $200. After learning the techniques involved, the design could be improvised to produce more power easily by upgrading the solar cells.

Via Home Solar and Wind Info

Building your own diy solar panel is easier than you probably think. With the right knowledge, a few simple tools and enough drive, virtually anyone can build their own diy solar panel and save a ton of money over what you would pay for pre-built panels.  I built my own DIY solar panel in a weekend and this article will tell you how I did it.

I bought a guide called GreenDIYEnergy to help with the project.  It contained lists of parts, where to get them and the part I liked best, step-by-step videos.  Following along with the videos made the project much easier to complete.

Tools You Will Need

Me playing electric guitar with my amp plugged into the solar panel

You will need some basic tools to build your diy solar panel.  If you are going to go with the simplest design using a wood container like I did, you will need basic woodworking tools like saw, drill and screwdriver.  You will also need silicone caulk and wood glue.  For the wiring, you will need wire cutters, wire strippers, a soldering iron and solder.  You can pick up most of the tools at your local hardware store.  Radio shack sells soldering irons and solder.

Obtaining Solar Cells

A solar panel is really nothing more than a bunch of solar cells in a container of some kind.  The first step to building your own diy solar panel is to obtain solar cells.

My solar cells as they arrived

The standard 3×6”solar cell generates 0.5 volt and about 3.5 amps.  Most people build panels that output 18 volts.  Therefore, you will need 36 cells per panel.  Wired in series, this will provide about 18 volts and 3-4 amps of power in direct sunlight.  The easiest place to get solar cells is ebay.  Do a search for “solar cells” and look through the results for an auction with good quality cells and enough cells for the number of panels you wish to build.  Be careful of “grade B” or other lesser quality cells.  These cells typically have broken corners, blemishes or other problems that keep them from being sold as good quality new cells.  If you can find them cheap, these lesser quality cells can be a good deal, though they will generally produce less energy than good quality, whole cells.  Cells are usually sold in lots of 36, 100 or 108.  108 cells will produce 3 36 cell panels.  Stay away from 100 cell lots if you are going to be building the typical 36 volt panel.  If possible, buy cells that are already tabbed.  It will make the wiring later much easier.  It is worth paying a little extra to get pre-tabbed cells.  I bought 36 3 x 6 pre-tabbed cells from a large seller on ebay with lots of positive feedback.  My cells came with solder, flux and extra tabbing.

Building A Container

Cutting wood for my solar panel

Your diy solar panel needs a container to hold the cells. You can build a box to hold the cells out of many different kinds of material.  The easiest for most people to work with is wood.  Decide on the layout you’d like for your cells and figure out the dimensions you’ll need for the box to hold the cells.  Plywood works fine for the back and ¾” square wood for the sides, but you can use whatever you happen to have.  You’ll need some additional wood to put into the box to attach the cells to called the substrate.  Again, you can use whatever you happen to have around like cheap fiberboard.  Cut this to fit inside the container box.  You will also need a clear cover for the box.  Plexiglass or lexan are best for this.  Cut it to cover the box.  After cutting all the wood, you’ll need to paint it and screw it together.  You should also drill a hole for the wires to exit the box.

Soldering cells together

Wiring the cells

Now that the cells are glued in place, you need to wire the cells together.  Wiring 36 cells together in series will give the 18 volts that we are looking for.  Buying pre-tabbed cells will make this much easier as you can just solder together the tabs.  If you didn’t buy pre-tabbed cells you will have to solder on tabs before you glue down the cells.  Buying pre-tabbed cells saves the time of soldering on all the tabs.    Depending on how you plan to use your panel you may want to solder on a diode.   A diode will allow power to flow in only one direction, in this case out of the panels.  If you have your solar panel connected to batteries, at night when there isn’t any sunlight power can actually flow backwards from the batteries into the solar panel, draining power that you stored in the batteries during the day.  Installing a diode will keep this from happening.  However, most charge controllers include this feature already so if you plan to use a charge controller and not connect the the panel directly to batteries, a diode is unnecessary.

Attaching The Cells

Laying down 1 string of cells on the substrate

Now you will need to attach the cells.  Some silicone caulk will work best.  Be sure to apply just enough caulk to the middle of the back of each cell.  The wood will expand and contract with heat so using a single dot of caulk in the middle of the cell will allow the wood underneath to expand without problems.  Putting caulk at each corner, for example, wouldn’t allow the expansion to happen without damaging the bond.  Lay out all the cells in the layout you decided on and glue each cell in place and allow the caulk to dry and set.

The homemade solar panel I built with the GreenDIYEnergy guide

Final Construction

There are only a few more things to do.  First is to drill a hole through the bottom of the container for the wires to come out.  You should use caulk to fill in the hole after you put the wires through to keep moisture out.  Then glue the substrate with attached solar cells into the container.  Finally, screw your plexiglass down on top of the container. It is also a good idea to solder a connector on to the end of the wires. What kind of connector depends on what you intend to connect your panel to.

Testing

Take the panel out into direct sunlight and bring a voltmeter.  Hook up the voltmeter to the panel and you should read something between 18 and 20 volts.  If you get something in this range, congratulations – you have just built a DIY solar panel!

How much did it cost?

The parts for my solar panel cost $129.  I actually paid a little extra for pre-tabbed solar cells and I had to buy all the wood.  If you have some scrap plywood laying around and tab the cells yourself, you could easily do it for under $100.  I checked around on the internet and I saved between 50% and 75% versus buying a pre-made solar panel.  I’m very happy with how my panel turned out and how much I saved by building it myself.

The Guide I Used

GreenDIYEnergy Video - Laying out the solar cells

I actually ended up buying a bunch of DIY solar panel guides and the best one was GreenDIYEnergy. It is the most comprehensive with over 200 pages of ebooks and 6 DVD quality videos that cover the entire build process from start to finish step-by-step.  When I built my solar panel I followed along with the videos and at the end of the weekend, my solar panel was finished. If you’ve been thinking about building your own solar panel, I suggest you give it a try. If I can do it, you can do it too! If you decide to give it a try, I also highly recommend GreenDIYEnergy. By following it’s step-by-step videos, anyone can build a DIY solar panel and save a lot of money.

Hat Tip PuppetGov

In this award-winning, feature length, two-hour broadcast-quality documentary you will learn about the latest developments in the field of Free and Zero Point Energy from Tesla to Dennis Lee.

Hosted by Bill Jenkins, formerly of ABC Radio, this comprehensive documentary features physicists and inventors who are challenging orthodox science to bring this non-polluting technology forward despite ridicule and suppression.

See actual working prototypes that defy classical physics including phenomenal experiments in anti-gravity and the transmutation of metals.

From Nicola Tesla to cold fusion, magnetic motors to anti-gravity propulsion ­, this program presents powerful information!

Visionary Inventors and Scientists Reveal Non-Polluting Technologies That Will Change Our World

A groundbreaking and inspiring look at the leading theories and practical devices that tap into “zero point energy” – now acknowledged by physicists to exist in all space as a “running river” of infinite and accessible electromagnetic energy.

Follow the fascinating stories of dedicated inventors and scientists engaged in the struggle for revolutionary innovations that will change our collective future forever.

This program will transform the way you think about science and the natural laws of the universe by illuminating the historical contributions of the visionaries pioneering this field.

Nominated for the UN Sasakawa Environmental Award

Explore the latest Free Energy breakthroughs, including:

• Technologies based on working with nature instead of against it.
• Radical inventions that emit hydrogen and oxygen as by-products.
• Transmutation processes that neutralize radioactive waste.
• Electric vehicles with magnetic motors that recharge their own batteries.

Featuring:

• The Patterson cold fusion power cell
• Troy Reed’s Magnetic “Surge” motors
• Paul Pantone’s GEET processor for increasing fuel efficiency in cars
• Joseph Newman’s rotating magnet “over unity” motor
• Dennis Lee’s Low temperature phase-change technologies
• John Hutchison’s amazing anti-gravity experiments

Along with internationally recognized scientists and authors:

Tom Bearden, Hal Fox , Shiuji Inomita, Moray King, Eugene Mallove, Jeanne Manning, Brian O’Leary, Tom Valone

Run Time: 109 minutes

Via Psychedelic Adventure Blog

A great post on instructables.com by the user Honus, provides step-by-step instructions how to make a USB solar charger with a lithium polymer battery for your iPhone/iPod. For about $70 and a few hours of work, this fun project will give you confidence to make other DIY gadgets for yourself and others.

How-to-make-a-solar-iPodiPhone-charger-aka-Might.pdf

How to make a solar iPod/iPhone charger

Step 1. Tools and materials

Here’s what you’ll need to build your own MightyMintyBoost:

Tools:
Soldering iron
Scissors
Wire cutters
Pliers (or muiltitool)
Multimeter
Metal shears
Clear packing tape

Materials:
MintyBoost kit
Lithium Polymer battery charger
3.7v 2000mAh Lithium Polymer battery
JST connector/wire
Small solar cell
2″ x 3″ adhesive backed Velcro
Small double sided adhesive squares
Altoids tin

Some notes:

The single cell Lithium Polymer charger can accept input power that ranges from 3.7 to 7v maximum. When the cell reaches full charge the charger will automatically switch to trickle charging. When charging using the mini USB port, the charging current is limited to 100mA. When charging using the barrel plug jack, the charging current is limited to 280mA.

The solar cell maxes out at approximately 5v @ 100mA in bright sunlight. If you need faster charging simply use a larger solar cell- a 6v cell @ 250mA would work very well and they are easily obtainable and inexpensive. I used the size of solar cell that I did because I wanted it to be super compact.

I could not find out from the manufacturer if the solar cell I used has a blocking diode. A blocking diode is used in many solar charging systems to prevent the solar cell from draining the battery during low light conditions. Instructables member RBecho pointed out that the charging circuit used negates the need for a blocking diode in this application. You can tell when the solar cell is producing enough power because the little red LED on the charger will come on during charging.

Step 2. Build the Minty Boost kit

First build the MIntyBoost kit according to its instructions. It’s really easy to assemble- even a complete novice can do it.

Instead of connecting the battery holder in the kit, we’re going to solder a JST connector to the MintyBoost PCB. This tiny connector will then allow the MintyBoost circuit to connect to the Lithium Polymer battery charger circuit. Make sure you get the polarity correct!

Test the MintyBoost by connecting the battery pack (make sure the battery pack has a charge) and charger circuit. The MintyBoost connects to the connector marked SYS on the charger board and the lithium polymer battery connects to the connector marked GND.

Now cut a notch in the Altoids tin for the USB port and use some double sided adhesive to mount the PCB to the Altoids tin.

Step 3. Add the battery and charger

Step 4. Add the solar cell

Step 5. FAQ and additional info

Here’s a list of frequently asked questions:

Q: Is it possible to overcharge the Lithium Polymer battery?
A: No- the charger will automatically switch to trickle charging and then shut off.

Q: Is it possible to drain the Lithium Polymer battery completely and damage it?
A: No- the battery has its own low voltage cut off circuitry that will prevent it from completely discharging- the low voltage cut off is around 2.8v

Q: Does the solar cell have a blocking diode to prevent it from draining the Lithium Polymer battery?
A: No blocking diode is necessary- the Lithium Polymer charger prevents the battery from leaking current.

Q: How long will it take to fully charge the Lithium Polymer battery and how long will it take to charge my iPod/iPhone?
A: How long it will take to fully charge depends on the amount of sunlight available but as a rough guesstimate it would take around 20hrs using the small solar cell in direct sunlight. Using a larger solar cell could easily take half if not one third the amount of time. Those same figures would apply if you were charging it over USB or using a wall wart power supply.

Charging your iPod is much faster. How fast it does it depends on your device’s battery capacity. An iPod Touch has a 1000mAh battery so it should fully charge it in around 2hrs. A 3G iPhone has a 1150mAh battery so it will take slightly longer and a 2G iPhone has a 1400mAh battery, so it will take around 3 hrs.

Q: The Lithium Polymer charger has an input voltage range of 3.7v minimum to 7v maximum- what if I want to use a higher output solar cell for faster charging?
A: To use a solar cell with a voltage output greater than 7v, you need a voltage regulator to drop the voltage to a level that the charger can handle. You could use a 7805 voltage regulator to limit the output to +5v -they only cost about $1.50 and are very simple to wire up. The 7805 will give you as fixed +5v and is usually good up to 1A current. You could also use a LM317T which is an adjustable regulator, but it would involve a bit more circuitry to use. Some people also use diodes to drop voltage, since many diodes have a voltage drop of .7v

There’s a lot more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_regulator

The other option would be to use a 6v/250mA solar panel. This will stay within the current input range and voltage input range of the Lithium Polymer charger. Remember that you can also connect smaller solar cells in parallel to increase the available current- two 5v/100mA solar cells connected together in parallel will give an output of 5v @200mA

Q: What if I want to use a charger with a higher input current limit?
A: Sparkfun does have a Lithium Polymer charger that maxes out at 1A:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8293

Q: How would I connect the more powerful charger- there doesn’t appear to be a clear way to do this?
A: To use the more powerful 1A charger you would need to wire a two way switch to the battery so that in one position the battery would be connected to the charger and in the other position the battery would be connected to the MintyBoost circuit.

Q: Will this work with USB devices other than iPods and iPhones?
A: You bet! There’s a list here: http://www.ladyada.net/make/mintyboost/

Q: Won’t the inside of the Altoids tin short out the circuit?
A: No- using double sided foam tape to mount the circuit boards keeps the bottom of the board from coming into contact with the inside bottom of the tin. If you’re really worried you can cover the inside bottom of the tin with clear packing tape.

Q: How much does this cost? Can I build it for less? Is it cost effective?
A: If you buy everything as listed it would cost $70.75 (not including the Altoids tin or shipping.) If you wanted to scratchbuild it using the MintyBoost PCB from Adafruit, building your own charging circuit and supplying your own parts from various sources you can save quite a bit. Both the charging circuit and the MintyBoost circuit are available online- just go to the web pages listed in the tools and materials section- they’re also listed at the bottom of this page.

Both Maxim and Linear Technology supply free samples (according to their websites) of their ICs so you just need to provide all the other bits (available from places like Mouser and Digikey.) Using a slightly smaller solar cell and a 2200mAh battery it is possible to build it for a lot less:

2200mAh battery
solar cell
MintyBoost PCB

After adding up the small parts for the MintyBoost circuit, a small blank PCB for the charging circuit (you would have to etch the board yourself) and a mini USB connector, you could conceivably build this for around $21.00 (not including shipping or an Altoids tin.) It wouldn’t be exactly the same of course, but it would be functionally the same. I don’t know if the 2200mAh battery would fit into an Altoids tin either. It would be a LOT more work of course, and there could be a fair bit of troubleshooting if you’re not experienced in building these types of circuits or soldering surface mount components.

So is it cost effective? Absolutely- it just depends on the amount of work you want to do. Either way, you get a very useful and versatile solar powered charger.

Q: How did you calculate the power usage and equivalent CO2 values?
A: Here’s the math-
3.7v (LiPo rated voltage) x .1A (solar charge current)= .37W
.37W x 12.5hrs (charge time based on average battery capacity) = 4.625Wh
4.625Wh x 365 days = 1688.125Wh per year
1688.125Wh per year x 30,000,000 units sold = 50,643,750,000Wh total used per year (50.644gWh)
50.644gWh per year x 1.5 lbs CO2 produced per kWh used = 75,965,625 lbs. CO2 produced per year

Granted these are more or less maximum values but they clearly show some potential for some serious energy savings. A 12.5hr solar charge time per day isn’t realistic for the majority of the planet but if you shorten the solar charge time to approximately 4.5hrs at a 280mA current the results still remain the same.

General information about the Lithium Polymer charging circuit as well as a circuit diagram and data sheet can be found here:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=726

A complete description and documentation of the MintyBoost circuit can be found here:
http://www.ladyada.net/make/mintyboost/

For additional tips in the comment section, view the original post here.

I had always conceptualized such devices as being reliant on enormous volumes of water in order to get the job done; but the solution that Dick and Jem devised in the episode made use of the unique landscape available at the property, allowing them to harness a relatively small stream to do a large amount of work.

They accomplished this (spoiler alert!) by running a fire hose from a part of the stream that was high up on a hill, down to the generator, which is set next to the slower-running stream at the bottom of the hill.

This concentrated stream took advantage of both gravity and the constriction of the hose, in order to concentrate the stream’s power directly onto the blades of a small, cross-flow water-turbine. Check out a diagram in the video at Planet Green.

In the event that you don’t have a high mountain stream at your disposal, harnessing the power of water is still possible. One method is to use an undershot wheel over a small natural or manmade waterfall. This process is outlined in detail at Build It Solar.

This is a nicely done undershot water wheel project that blends in well with its setting. Much of the project was done with parts recycled from various sources.

The page includes a PDF of the design and building process, an Excel spreadsheet for crunching the necessary numbers — as well as other helpful resources, comments, and updates.

Another possibility is to use the ancient Himalayan technique of harnessing the power of water: ghatta or gharat.

An engineer from MIT, Nathan Eagle, has used this ancient technology combined with more modern electicty generation and batteries to bring power to communities that would otherwise have none.

Nathan’s website outlines the details and process of the construction, as well as methods of potential improvement on the design.

…these mills are used to grind corn, wheat, and other grains for the local agricultural community. The aim of this study is to engineer a way to harness the rotational energy of the traditional mill and transform a ghatta into a community battery charging station.

Finally, here is a simple waterwheel project that’s pretty similar to the undershot example, but claims to have been built for only £30. The post details how the builder expanded and improved upon his original £30 wheel as well, going from about 25W to 50W constant, with a 500W peak.

The demo wheel was made out of some old ply and some Indian stone pallet wood and for a generator I used an old AMETEK dc tape drive motor. To gear it up I used mini-moto chain and sprocket – 70 tooth on Wheel and 9 tooth on the motor. Total cost about £30… It generated about 25W at full chat – mainly because of the restrictions of the AMETEC motor and the size of the wheel it ran for about 1 year and gave me a good grounding for producing the large wheel.

Honda EU2000i Generator

In light of all the (often deserved) buzz about solar and wind power; sometimes older, noisier technology is overlooked. So, lets talk needs, pros, and cons…

What do you need electricity for? During a normal day, you need it to power TVs, water-heaters, computers, the fridge, the stove, the microwave, and so on — but during a power outage, that list grows dramatically smaller.

If you’ve prepped at all for emergencies, you’re likely to have flashlights (and/or candles), battery-powered communication devices, a propane stove (or other non-electric cooking-heat source), and warm clothing or blankets. You might also have a lot of stored food and water. These are all things you can have whether you live in a 12th-story walkup in Manhattan, or a cave in Tennessee.

But self-sufficiency is not just about mere survival. Why do you need to let all the food in the fridge go bad if the power goes out for three days? Do you really need to break into the emergency food supply if you have leftovers and frozen meals that could feed you for a week?

To help you make comparisons in efficiency of operation, I’ve created this handy Generator Efficiency Calculator.

Also, flashlights and candles get tedious after a while, why not be able to run efficient lights that can illuminate a whole room?

For these situations, a gas-powered generator may be the perfect solution. It’s not cheap enough to replace grid-based power, and it still requires access to gasoline; but it should definitely not be dismissed out of hand as a solution to power outages — be they short or prolonged.

There are multiple living situations in which a gas-powered generator can be used, but we’ll narrow if down for the purpose of this post.

• 1. Apartment
• 2. Suburban House
• 3. Camping

There are a few ultra-quiet generators that output less than 60dB of sound – which is about the noise-level of a regular conversation. For all three living situations, noise-level in both emergencies and normal use is an important consideration for a number of reasons.

• A. Disturbing neighbors, who may be in a desperate state of mind.
• B. Alerting ill-intentioned people to the presence of people/electricity/warmth/food/etc.
• C. Annoying yourself with the constant sound, making communication difficult, or creating a stressful environment.

For camping, A and C are most important; as disturbing a serene wilderness getaway with obscenely loud industrial noises is not recommended for your own relaxation, or that of your fellow campers. Of course, if you’re camping in order to hide from someone/something; then noise is a great thing to avoid.

The reason for settling on 60dB(A) was that it’s the average decibel rating for background music, which we thought to be an acceptable level.

If you’re living in a rented (and/or small) space, you may not have the option to build a generator shed, or to place the generator 50 yards from your residence; as people in the country might be able to do. So, a quiet generator is a better option for those circumstances. This is especially true in an apartment situation, where almost no space separates neighbors from each other, and there is no way to increase the distance between the generator and the residence.

For all three circumstances, point B may be extremely important; depending on the scenario. It isn’t prudent to be the only house with the lights on; but that can be mitigated with curtains. Blocking sound can be more difficult than blocking light, especially when the generator has to be placed outside to avoid harmful fumes.

Camping Life has posted a wonderful review of small, portable, quiet generators (I based the title of this post on it):

First, we established guidelines to determine which generators should be tested. “Portable” being the key word, we decided that 50 pounds was a reasonable weight limit, so we went in search of generators that would tip the scales at or below the 50-pound mark.

We also included noise-level limitations as one of our criteria, because we’re interested only in generators that are “quiet.” Therefore, we looked for units with decibel levels below 60 dB(A) when running at full load and measured from 20 feet away. The reason for settling on 60dB(A) was that it’s the average decibel rating for background music, which we thought to be an acceptable level. For comparison, it’s interesting to note that normal conversation averages 65 dB(A) and an orchestra is rated at 80 dB(A).

Other requirements included good fuel economy and fuel tank capacity, so the generator can operate for a long time on a single tank of gas. We also want easy starting and power output high enough to handle a wide range of electric camp appliances.

Their criteria and findings are a great starting point to finding the generator that works best for your needs.

Which also leads to the next point: Fuel. Unlike solar and wind, gas generators require liquid fuel and oil in order to run. This means that there must be a fuel supply on hand to last for as long as you foresee needing supplemental power. In the country, it’s possible to store significant amounts of fuel safely (how to do so will be the subject of a future post). In the city, a crowded suburb, or the wilderness; however, storing large quantities of fuel may not be feasible or safe. In that light, fuel economy becomes even more important. How much power can you get for the least amount of gas?

Making efficiency even more important is the fact that these little power-plants were designed for occasional use. Bob has some good advice about how to make best use of them:

No small portable has the capability to run so hard day after day for very long. It’ll last decades if you take care of it and use it to run power tools when needed and so forth, but when the power goes out put no more than one tank of gas through it a day, and change the oil every third day, no later.

To help you make comparisons in efficiency of operation, I’ve created this handy Generator Efficiency Calculator. Also included are helpful links to determine how much power you’ll need to keep different gadgets and appliances running.

In closing, there are a lot of technologies that have been around for a while, and that have definitely improved in important ways over the years; and they are options that bear consideration in the search for emergency/supplemental power generation.

Hyperion’s 25-megawatt reactor would be about the size of an average hot tub, making it small enough to be transported via tractor-trailer. Hyperion says that it wants to build “about 4,000” of its reactors within the first 10 years of production. The units will be encased in concrete, buried underground, and would be refueled every 5 to 7 years…

These units are supposed to be not only small, but relatively cost-effective. Supposing all works according to plan, will the cost benefits outweigh the perception of danger?

…Or consider the costs of solar. In early 2009, Austin’s utility, Austin Energy, agreed to spend $180 million on a 30-megawatt solar facility. At that price, the solar plant will cost about $6,000 per kilowatt. And according to Austin Energy officials, the solar farm will run at a capacity factor of about 23%. Thus, Austin Energy has agreed to build a solar plant that will operate about one-fourth as often as a nuclear plant and will cost about 20% more on a per-kilowatt basis.

I’m interested to see how this proceeds. If nuclear power can be miniaturized further, I may be able to finally live in the future my childhood books predicted!

(click to view larger)

Read the Usborne Book of the Future at our Scribd page.