Home Made Solar Panels Video Course

How to Make a Homemade Solar Cell

Making homemade solar cells is actually pretty easy and anyone can do it with some readily available materials. Here is a rundown on the process:

1. Cut two 4"x3" squares of copper flashing with tin snips or metal shears. Wash the copper thoroughly to remove any dirt or oil deposits. Take some fine grained sandpaper and rub one piece of copper on both sides until it has a bright sheen.

2. Put that piece of copper aside and take the other piece and lay it across one of the electric burners of your stove. Turn the burner to high and leave the copper piece on the burner until the top of the piece has a thick layer of material on it. This layer is called cupric oxidization and it will take 30 to 60 minutes to form. Turn the burner off and let the piece of copper cool.

3. Wash the piece of copper gently under running water. This will remove a lot of the cupric oxide particles. Don't scrub or bend the copper since that can damage the bottom layer of cuprous oxide, which you want to stay intact.

4. Gently bend both pieces of copper so they fit inside a jar, touching the jar sides. You want to keep the pieces of copper from touching one another. Keep the side with the cuprous oxide facing inwards.

5. Clip an alligator lead to the top of each piece of copper. Connect the lead to the negative terminal of the ammeter and then to the cuprous oxide copper piece. Connect the lead from the clean piece of copper to the positive terminal of the ammeter.

6. Add enough hot tap water to the jar so only one inch of the copper plates and the leads are above the water level. Mix in 2 tablespoons of salt, stir thoroughly until the salt dissolves. Don't get the leads wet.

7. Put the jar in a window or anywhere you can a constant source of bright light. You can register the amount of light your cell receives by watching the readings on the ammeter. Place your hand between the jar and the light source and you can see what that does to the output.

This is a fun experiment to do but please don't think that your homemade solar cells are going to power your t.v. You will need much more sophisticated cells to provide you with that kind of power.

Find out how you can  power your home with solar or wind power by visiting power4home.

Making a Homemade Solar Panel

Buying a pre made solar panel would cost you thousands of dollars, but building your own can be done for a few hundred. You don't need any special skills so virtually anyone can do it. What you will need is a complete step by step guide that can clearly walk you through the process. 

You can also invest in a kit that will actually include all the parts that you need. This may be your best option since it will save you the time of running down to your local home improvement warehouse. It's up to you. Either    option can work exceptionally well for the novice.

Once you've decided that installing solar panels is the right choice for you, and you've gotten your manual or kit, it's time to decide how many panels you're going to install. Remember, the more panels you have the more electricity you'll generate (and the less money you'll have to pay to your local utility company). You'll need to keep in mind where you want to put the panels. Most people put them on their roof and as long as your roof gets full sun this is a great option. The amount of space you have as well as your budget will determine how many panels you'll need.

While you probably won't generate enough electricity to get off the grid, you'll be able to save a lot on your utility bills. If you are in a position where you can generate a lot of electricity you can actually sell it back to the utility company and have them pay you for a change!

Making your own homemade solar panels can give you a great sense of satisfaction as well as some significant savings. That is enough reason right there.

If you want some more advice or help with a home energy problem visit the power4home website.