construcción de paneles

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HoJo DIY Solar Panels

How to Construct a Solar Panel for Your Home

http://HoJoMotor.com
http://hojomotor.com/http://hojomotor.com/http://hojomotor.com/


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Warning and DisclaimerPlease use caution when working on any of the projects outlined within this manual. By reading

this manual you agree that you are responsible for your own actions. HoJoMotor.com, the

publisher, and the author will not be held accountable for any loss or injuries.

Moreover, every effort has been made to make this digital book as complete and as accurate as

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and ACCEPTED fully (without any exceptions) our Terms & Disclaimer found at:

http://HoJoMotor.com

Copyright 2011 by HoJoMotor.com

All Rights Reserved. No part of this digital book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval

system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or

otherwise, without the written permission from the publisher.

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assumes no responsibility for error or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages

resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

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been appropriately capitalized. The Publisher cannot attest to the accuracy of this information.

Use of a term in this digital book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any

trademark or service mark.


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Table of ContentsIntroduction .................................................................................................................................................. 5

So How Does Solar Power Work? ................................................................................................................. 6

Building Your Own Solar Generator .............................................................................................................. 8

Different Solar Panel Applications .............................................................................................................. 10

Application 1: Portable Solar Power System......................................................................................... 10

Application 2: Grid-Intertied Solar Power System ................................................................................ 12

Application 3: Grid-intertied Solar Power System with Battery Backup.............................................. 12

Application 4: Off-grid Solar Power Setup ............................................................................................ 13

The Parts in a Solar Panel ............................................................................................................................ 14

(1) Solar panels ....................................................................................................................................... 14

(2) Array DC disconnect.......................................................................................................................... 14(3) Charge controller .............................................................................................................................. 15

(4) Deep cycle battery ............................................................................................................................ 15

(5) System meter .................................................................................................................................... 15

(6) Main DC disconnect .......................................................................................................................... 15

(7) Inverter.............................................................................................................................................. 16

(8) Generator .......................................................................................................................................... 16

(9) AC breaker panel............................................................................................................................... 17

(10) Kilowatt per hour meter ................................................................................................................. 17

(11) Grid (utility grid) ............................................................................................................................. 18

(12) Household loads ............................................................................................................................. 18

How to Get Free Solar Panels ..................................................................................................................... 19

How to Build Your Own Solar Panels .......................................................................................................... 22

Getting Solar Cells For Cheap ...................................................................................................................... 23

Making the Solar Panel Box ........................................................................................................................ 28

Applying a Plexiglass Cover ......................................................................................................................... 32

Mistakes Happen! ....................................................................................................................................... 33

Applying Protection to the Panel ................................................................................................................ 34

Preparing the Solar Cells ............................................................................................................................. 36

Installing the Cells on the Panel .................................................................................................................. 40

Testing Your Solar Panel before Finishing ................................................................................................... 47


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Installing the Panels and Connecting the Wires ......................................................................................... 48

Sealing our Solar Panel................................................................................................................................ 56

Total cost of our Solar Panel ....................................................................................................................... 58

Final Thoughts ............................................................................................................................................. 60

Optional Section How to Build Your Own Solar Cells ............................................................................... 61


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Introduction

As time goes on, more and more people are beginning to

realize something...

We soon wont be able to rely on fossil fuel as our main energy

source.

With oil price hikes becoming more and more common, wars

being fought over oil reserves, and the excessive use of the

Earths natural resources; the need to find alternative energysources is becoming more and more apparent.

People have caused irreversible damage to our planet and

were beginning to see the severe effects of this now. But if we

dont start looking for a solution to our energy crisis now, the

reality is that our kids may have to deal with some serious

challenges in the future if they don't have an alternative tofossil fuels.

But what can we really do about this? Even if there are suitable

alternatives, the cost of mass production will not be cheap. So

the real question is

Can you as an individual make a difference and can you usealternative energy sources to supply your own personal power

needs today (even if they arent being mass produced yet)?


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Well, this book has the answers to those questions and also

exactly how we built our own alternative energy source

A Homemade Solar Panel!

By following along in this book, you can use it as a guide to see

exactly how we built our own solar panel and how you can too!

Just follow along with us as we build our own solar panel and

do exactly like we do and in no time at all (and for really cheap)

you can build one just like us!

So How Does Solar Power Work?

The miracle of solar power is truly amazing! The heat energy

being radiated by our Sun on the Earths surface in one day

packs more energy than all the worlds oil reserves combined.

However, the cost to build and operate a solar power plant isnot realistically achievable yet. But once costs come down in

the future and technology makes this more practical, solar

power can potentially be used as our primary source of energy.

In fact, heat is one of the most common forms of energy in the

Universe and solar panels basically work by collecting heat from

the Sun and converting it into electrical energy that, in turn, hasmany practical uses.

Solar panels have the ability to convert solar energy into

electrical energy because of their photovoltaic properties.


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Photovoltaic actually means light (photo) and electricity

(voltaic).

The cells in solar panels are made up of semi-conductors, withsilicon currently the most widely used. When the suns rays hit

the surface of a semi-conductor, a reaction takes place. The

chemical makeup of the solar panel absorbs the energy, and

the energy causes electrons to break free of their atoms and in

the process they create electricity.

With todays technological advancements, the latest solar paneldesigns have improved their absorbing and retaining properties

relative to the Suns energy output.


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Building Your Own Solar Generator

But what most people dont even consider when thinking about

getting a solar panelis building their own!

Its not hard to do, its cheap, and it will provide amazing

results!

And while most people probably think its too hard or technical

to build their own solar panelthe truth is, anyone can build

their own!

Most people dont realize they can build a panel that can easily

rival commercially built ones but for $1,000s less...

But before we start going over how to build a homemade solar

panel, you first need to get acquainted with the different ways

you can use solar panels.

So to start with, we are going to go through a number of

practical applications that solar powered systems have

Some of these setups are more complicated and expensive than

others; however, we want to make you aware of all the ways

you can use your solar panel before you actually build yourown.

*If you dont understand how everything works together in the

different setups we talk about below, dont worry because


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youre not suppose to yet! This will all be explained in detail

later. Just read about the different setups below and try to

absorb as much as you can. By the end of this guide everything

will make sense and youll see us actually complete and hookupa finished solar panel


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Different Solar Panel Applications

*note: in case youre not familiar with the individual parts listed

in this section, please refer to the next section for completedescriptions.

Application 1: Portable Solar Power System

This system is excellent for outdoor use. The best place to store

your battery bank and electrical equipment would be the

garage or you can build a custom made shed instead. Byinstalling a DC-AC inverter you can run your appliances from a

second loop fed by the solar generator.

The portable solar power system can even handle an 800 watt

refrigerator, so just imagine how much you will save if you run

your fridge off of this system. In fact, this type of solar system

guarantees you your money back after just a few weeks ofservice.

Listed below is the basic setup for this system but there are

other add-ons you can consider if you happen to have extra

money to spend (which well talk about later). You can also use

multiple solar panels and batteries with this if you want.

Here is how this system connects

Connect the (1) energy source (in our case a Solar panel12V is

fine) to a (2) Charge controller to a (3) Battery to a (4)


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Inverter to the (5) Household loads (Laptop, TV, DVD player

etc.)

This is a cheap and simple way to set up a solar power systemthat costs less than $200. You have the option to either buy an

expensive solar panel from a store and use it in this manner or

(what we recommend) follow our do-it-yourself guide in this

book and build your own. Then you can connect your solar

panel to your household loads (wellshow how to do this later)!

Options:

In this set-up you may need to construct a battery box because

batteries are optimized for warmer temperatures. This will also

help protect your kids or pets from electrocution and also keep

your entire system organized and tucked it.

Adding a system meter is also a good idea. This will measurethe power distribution between the inverter and battery. The

system meter will be able to detect the status of your battery

as well as power usage (more about this later though).


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Application 2: Grid-Intertied Solar Power System

You should use this solar power system if you still want to be

connected to the main power grid. *this system is also knownas on grid, grid-tied or a utility interactive solar electric system.

If the solar power system can generate more power than what

the household appliances can consume then this will cause

your electric meter to turn backwards. This in turn will credit

your account and you can use those credits for future power

consumption when less electricity is produced because ofuncertain weather conditions. This arrangement is called net

metering or net billing.

*Please consult your local electricity provider or stats regulatory

agency for further information.

This is how the system comes together:

(1) Energy source Solar panels (2) Array DC disconnect

(3) Inverter (4) AC Breaker panel (5) Household loads (6)

Kilowatt per hour meter (7) Grid

Application 3: Grid-intertied Solar Power System with Battery

Backup

Below is a flow chart of a grid-intertied solar power system

including the battery backup.


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The backup battery serves as a temporary power supply when

maintenance is done on the system or if cloudy weather yields

low electrical output.

(1) Energy source Solar panels (2) Array DC disconnect

(3) Charge Controller (4) Deep cycle battery (5) System

meter (6) Main DC disconnect (7) Inverter (8) AC Breaker

panel (9) Kilowatt per hour meter (10) Grid (11)

Household loads

Application 4: Off-grid Solar Power Setup

The flow chart below is for the off-grid solar power system

setup. A backup generator is required in this setup because

there will be times when the Sun wont shine its brightest.

(1) Energy source Solar panels (2) Array DC disconnect(3) Charge Controller (4) Deep cycle battery (5) System

meter (6) Main DC disconnect (7) Inverter (8)

Generator (9) AC Breaker panel (10) Household loads


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The Parts in a Solar Panel

In this section we will be discussing the basic parts and

terminologies associated with solar panels. We will give you aquick overview about the items and their uses. This should help

you familiarize yourself with these terms so when we reference

them later youll know what were talking about.

(1) Solar panels

Photovoltaic panels or PV panels, as they are commonly called,are the core component of a solar power system. PV panels

capture and converts sunlight into direct current (DC)

electricity.

PV panels, just like all other electric-generating machines, are

measured in watts. Furthermore, the maximum power output

of the panels will depend on the weather conditions (since theyrely on sunlight to produce energy).

You must determine the total amount of household loads that

you use and match it to the rated output of your PV panels in

order to get the panels you need. There is a method thats

called array where you can neatly combine the PV panels to

save space. *We will talk about different wiring configurationslater in this book.

(2) Array DC disconnect


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It is also important to integrate a DC disconnect into the system

whenever youll need to do maintenance. Turning the power

off is much easier when you use a DC disconnect mechanism.

(3) Charge controller

Using a charge controller will prolong your battery life. This

device automatically protects battery overcharging. It can

detect when the battery bank is fully charged and then it opens

the circuit to stop the current from flowing endlessly. There are

also smart charge controllers that restrict night timedischarging of the battery.

(4) Deep cycle battery

This is the ideal battery to use in your solar power system

because this type of battery has the ability to store all of the

energy your PV panels produce. You can also purchase deepcycle batteries in junk shops (*theyre also commonly found in

golf carts and forklifts).

(5) System meter

A System Meter measures how full your battery bank is. This

unit also allows you to see how much power is currently beingdistributed. This device basically lets you know that your solar

electric system works.

(6) Main DC disconnect


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This device serves as a bridge or switch between the inverter

and the battery bank. The main DC disconnect is for

maintenance purposes.

(7) Inverter

Your PV panels collect the Suns energy and store it in the

battery bank as direct current (DC) electricity. The inverters job

is to turn the DC signal into an AC signal so that youll be able to

run your household appliances (because devices such asRefrigerators, TVs, VCRs, Computers, etc. run on AC electricity).

However, should you decide to not use any appliances that run

on AC electricity, you could substitute it for a DC input. *Most

car parts stores sell DC input devices at an average price of $10.

There are also inverters which you can buy at most electronicshops which can be plugged into power sockets. These

inverters actually feed electricity back into your home through

a normal power socket.

(8) Generator

You may have to use a generator if your solar electric system isnot tied to the main power grid. A slight disadvantage with

solely relying on sunlight for your electricity is that it changes all

the time and if you decide to completely remove yourself from

the power grid, the generator can be your alternative energy


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source when its cloudy or night time. You can also use it when

youre doing maintenance work.

(9) AC breaker panel

The AC breaker panel is where all the electrical wirings of your

house converge and are fed by the main electrical source. The

electrical source can be from the grid, solar power system, a

windmill electric generator, or our energy producing motor.

You can usually find this device outside of a building, in thegarage, or in the utility room encased in a metal box. There are

different standards by each country or state that specify how a

solar power system can be connected on the AC breaker panel

so check with an electrician or your power company before you

do this.

*note: in most countries the law requires you to be aprofessional electrician to assemble your own grid inter-tied

solar electric system and connect it to the AC breaker panel,

otherwise its illegal.

If you dont want to connect your system to your breaker panel,

you can just have your appliances run from the AC inverter. It is

actually cheaper and easier to run your appliances through theAC inverter anyway.

(10) Kilowatt per hour meter


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If you have a grid-tied connection you most likely will have a

kilowatt per hour meter installed on your home. It monitors

both the incoming electricity from the grid and the outgoing

electricity to the grid from your solar power system.

Your solar electric system may sometimes produce more

electricity than what youre using and in turn it reverses this

meter!

(11) Grid (utility grid)

The utility grid is a distribution system that provides the main

power supply from power plants into your house and your local

area (unless of course youre an off-grid user).

(12) Household loads

All household loads are AC powered and these includeeveryday household appliances (*note: these devices are

plugged in an AC socket).

Well that pretty much wraps up some of the basic

terminology we will use in this book so its about time to start

building our solar panels!

However, we have a special little trick we want to teach you

first!


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How to Get Free Solar Panels

Now that weve talked covered:

How solar panels work

Common applications for solar panel systems

And common parts in a solar panel

Were about ready to show you how we build our own

homemade solar panel (and how you can too)!

But before we get into how to build a solar panellet me first

tell you about a cool trick to possibly get some free solar

panels

If you happen to pass by construction sites, you may have

noticed that all their signs are typically solar powered. But as

time goes by these signs get damaged from weathering, baddrivers, or natural causes.

Now, if you take a closer look at these signs (you will have to

pull your car over and get out) you will find a tiny sticker which

has the phone number of the traffic sign rental contractor in it.

Call this number and ask for the shop maintenance manager orhead mechanic. Then ask if they have any damaged panels for

free. Its almost certain that all traffic rental sign contractors

have slightly damaged or cracked PV panels.


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Since they dont have the budget to fix these most of the time,

they often replace them and just throw the old damaged ones

away! And even though these panels dont work 100%

efficiently theyre free (or greatly discounted)!

If youre lucky enough to score a few of these free panels you

can:

Reseal the cracks with silicon glue

Soldered electrical wirings back into place.

Try to be friendly and make sure that you give them yourcontact number and ask them to give you a callback in case

theyll have more panels to give away for free in the future.

The second best place to get free (or discounted) PV panels is at

solar panel distribution centers themselves. The on-going

technological advances in solar panels give you an opportunity

to get your hands on the distributors outdated panels because,believe it or not, most of these outdated panels will be marked

for the trash if they cant give them away! We know this may

be hard to believe but only brand new panels are allowed on

the store room floors and these distributors only have so much

storage room.

So as you can see, there are a few ways to get amazing dealson solar panels. All you have to do is make a few calls and ask a

few people if theyre willing to give you their damaged or

outdated panels and before you know it you may have a few

$1,000 solar panels for free (or for a huge discount)!


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So before you build your own solar panels with our instructions

below, we recommend that you try your luck with the

techniques we mentioned in the above section first (becauseyou cant beat free solar panels!)

however, if you arent able to find any free/discounted solar

panels then its time to build your own!

So lets get started


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How to Build Your Own Solar Panels

The rest of this book will focus on how we constructed a

customized solar panel. Our main goal when we built our solarpanel was to construct a quality system that could rival a

commercial unit (but for a fraction of the price).

We definitely accomplished this and youll see exactly how we

did it so you can follow along and build your own too!

So if youre ready, we want to take you all the way from thestart of our project until we finished it so by the end of this

book, you have your own solar panel built and powering your

home and appliances as well!

Lets begin

We were able to acquire many of the materials we used in oursolar panel for free or for volume discounts andbecause of this

we were able to build our solar panel for a very low cost. Well

show you where we bought most of our supplies later but try to

be resourceful and search around for the lowest prices you can

find.


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Basically our solar panel is set up as a box that houses multiple

solar cells in an array formation (*note: the devices responsible

for doing the actual energy conversion from thermal to

electrical energy are the solar cells). And we arrange those solar

cells into panels because the panels are designed to protect the

solar cells from outside elements.

Getting Solar Cells For Cheap

One of the main stumbling blocks people have when buildingtheir solar panel are getting solar cells for a good price.

However, one thing a lot of people fail to realize is that these

solar cells can be found for very low prices on Ebay. Why Ebay?

Well, because people use Ebay to sells their old cracked or

slightly damaged solar cells at a fraction of the price of

unblemished solar cells (*note: other sites also sells cheap used

solar cells so check around. We recommend Ebay because thatswhere we bought ours). Butas long as the solar cells you find

dont have too bad ofdefects, they should work perfectly fine.

*note: weve also provided instructions at the end of this book

that show you how you can build homemade solar cells in case

you dont want to purchase them. However, for an easier,

cheaper, and faster way to get your own solar cells wed

recommend you buy them from Ebay. But if youre more of a

Do It Yourself kind of person than you will find instructions at

the end of this book to build your own. Building your own can

get bit technical though so we recommend you just buy them

from Ebay instead


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In any case let us proceed!

We purchased several bricks of 3 x 6 mono-crystalline solar

cells. It took 36 solar cells wired in a series to make one panel.

And each cell produced about a 1/2 Volt.

An array of 36 mono-crystalline solar cells in series connectionwill produce about 18 volts of DC current which is more than

enough to charge a 12 volt battery. (Yes, you really need that

high a Voltage to effectively charge a 12 Volt battery).

*note: these mono-crystalline solar cells were as thick as paper

and were as brittle as glass. They were very easy to damage so

be careful when you get yours.

Furthermore, once you find some solar cells you want to buy

you should note that they are typically dipped in wax before

they are shipped to help stabilize them during shipment to


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prevent any damages. Removing the wax to extract the panels

can be quite challenging. So if you get solar cells that do not use

wax to ship them you will find that its much easier to assemble

them; however, theyll also have a much greater risk of being

damaged while their shipped (*so keep that in mind when

youre buying your solar cells).

Youll also notice that most PV cells you find have metal tabs on

them. This is good and we encourage you to look for cells with

metal tabs because these serve as electrical conductors. Keep

in mind that you will be soldering a lot of wires onto the metal

tabs so if you purchase solar cells that dont have this feature

you will have a lot more soldering to do. So wed recommend

you spend a little extra for the metal tabs as it is for your

benefit.


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We ended up buying enough solar cells to make two panels. We

also bought extra cells because we figured some would be

damaged during shipping (and in case we accidentally damaged

any of them during building).

Even though we got the 3 x 6-inch sized solar cells, you can get

bigger or smaller cells if you want. However, when you buy

your solar cells take these things into consideration:

PV cells under the same category gives off the same

amount of voltage regardless of their size. So, the number

of cells required will not change as well. The electrical pressure (current) which is measured in

Amperes varies with cell sizes.

Total power output is equated as Power (Watts) = Current

(Amperes) x Load (Volts).

So the more space the cells occupy the more power they

supply, unfortunately, theyre going be considerably heavier.On the other hand opting for smaller cells will save you space

but at the same time will be lousy at producing the power

required. If you attempt to mix different sized cells it will only

hurt you because the current capacity will be limited by the

smallest cell and this will limit the entire panel.

The 3 x 6 inch PV cells topped our choice because they make

about 3 amps of electricity each. We should be able to get at

least 18 volts if we connect 36 of them in series. In the brightest

day the whole solar panel should be able to deliver around 60

Watts of power. And this power will be fed into our battery


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banks which can then run our household appliances. *keep in

mind that 60 Watts is achieved at optimal weather conditions.

Once youve received the delivery package for the solar cells,

make sure that you store them in a safe place so that they

wont get damaged before you install them in the panel. You

must understand that these solar cells must be handled with

care at all times. Mishandling and carelessness will turn your

money-saving investment into a useless pile of tiny crumbled

blue glass.


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Making the Solar Panel Box

Basically a solar panel is just a shallow box. So we built the box

as shallow as possible so that the edges would not block the

Suns light throughout the day. We got a 3/8 inch-thick

rectangular plywood board and surrounded the edges with a x inch-thick wood (we used wood glue and some screws to

hold them into place). It has just enough space to lock-in 36

pieces of 3 x 6 inch solar cells.

Also, right down the middle we made a separator to turn the

whole platform into a 2 sub-panel contraption that fits 18 cells

in each sub-panel. We did this to assemble the cells more

conveniently. Each sub-panel is the same size as the other.


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Above is the original sketch we did for the complete dimensions

of the solar panel. Weve also decided to have the dimensions

in inches (sorry to all metric system users). The side pieces are

3/4 by 3/4 and go all the way around the edges of the plywood

substrate.

And across the center we placed another piece to separate the

panel into two sub-panels. The overall design and the

dimensions of this will not affect the power production of your

solar panel in anyway. So you can design your solar panel

differently than this if you want. We actually encourage you to

explore and use your own creativity to see if you can come up

with your own (possibly better) design!


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This is what half of the main panel looks like in this photograph.

This has enough space to hold 18 pieces of solar cells. If youll

notice weve also drilled holes along the edges of the wooden

borders. This is going to be the bottom of the panel (*note: we

took the shot while the panel is inverted). These holes are

actually for ventilation purposes. They will help the moisture

escape and balance the air pressure with the surrounding area.

The reason why these holes are placed at the bottom of the

panel is to prevent rain and dew from getting inside. The center

divider that separates the two sub-panels should have holes as

well.

Update: Since we built this solar panel, we now recommend

that you increase the diameter of the vent holes to at least

inch. And to keep any insects, pests and dust from getting in

the panel, insulate the holes with fiberglass material at the


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bottom rail of the panel. However, the center divider holes do

not need to be insulated.

After that we cut two masonite peg-boards and matched their

dimensions with the sub-panels. They will become the

substrates where the sub-panel will be built on. We precisely

cut the peg-boards to loosely fit in the wells. But you can use

any other material for this and not just peg-boards. It just so

happened that we had a spare peg-board at our disposal.

Although, any thin, rigid and non-conducting material can be a

perfect alternative.


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Applying a Plexiglass Cover

The next thing we need to do is cover the panels with plexiglass

to prevent the solar cells from weather corrosion. We had to

cut two pieces of plexiglass because we didnt have one that

could cover the whole panel.

Also, its important to note that ordinary glass is too brittle to

use for this. It doesnt have the durable properties of plexiglass

which can withstand the force of falling objects that would

normally shatter ordinary glass.

*The picture above is what the finished panel should look like.


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Mistakes Happen!

Oops! This photo is a close up of where the two halves of the

plexiglass cover meet. In this photo we were drilling

countersunk holes around the edges of both plexiglass pieces

to screw them onto the panel using 1-inch drywall screws. Butbe cautious when youre drilling round the edges of the

plexiglass. Unlike falling debris, remember that youre

continuously applying force on it when you drill and too much

force can break it (just like we did in this picture).

Anyways we decided to keep this cover and just glue the shard

back into place and drill a new hole close by.


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Applying Protection to the Panel

Applying several coats of paint comes next. Make sure you

dont miss a spot because you want your solar panel to remain

protected from moisture and the weather. In the photo above

you can see that the entire shallow box we built has been

completely covered in paint!


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We also painted the peg-board. We made sure to put several

coats of paint on each side because the peg-board will curl with

prolonged exposure to moisture. And because the solar cells

will be glued to the peg-board, any curling could damage the

solar cells. So we took extra caution to make sure we really

covered it well!


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Preparing the Solar Cells

The solar panel platform should now be constructed so its time

to get the solar cells ready

As weve mentioned before, separating the wax from the cells

is a troublesome job to do. However, we came up with an

unorthodox but extremely effective way to take care of this!

1.First, get a large pot and fill it with hot water

2.Bathe the cells in the hot water

3.Wait for the wax to melt and for the solar cells to separate

*important: dont boil the waterbecause boiling water creates

bubbles and these bubbles will cause the cells to jostle against

each other and possibly cause damage. Also, boiling water may

be hot enough to loosen the electrical connections on the cells.


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We also recommend you put the cells in the water when the

water is only mildly warm and gradually heat it up on a stove toprevent thermal shock to the cells. Use plastic tongs and

spatulas also when attempting to separate the cells from one

another. But be careful in separating the cells because pulling

them apart too hard may cause the metal tabs to come off.

Hungry Anyone? ;)

Heres a photograph ofour full wax removal station!

In the upper right corner is the first wax melting stage of

the process

In the lower left corner of the photo is the next stage

which is hot soapy water for bathing the cells.


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And the final wax removal stage is the pot of hot clean

water on the lower right section of the photo.

*note: we maintained all the water temperatures to just belowthe boiling point.

Using the plastic tongs and spatulas we slowly teased the cells

apart after bathing them in the hot water. Next wed transfer

them to the hot soapy water to remove the remaining wax.

Finally wed give the cells a final rinse in a pot of hot clean

water on the lower right corner of the picture.

After you do this, set the cells to dry on towels and be sure to

not throw the used water down your sink because the wax

might cause it to get clogged when it re-hardens.

The above process should remove most of the wax on the cells.

However, there still may be a thin film left on them. Dont

worry about this though because this will not be a problem

when you solder the cells (and it wont hurt the cells

functionality).

*note: giving the cells a solvent bath might do the job;

however, we wouldnt advise this because the kind of solvents

that can remove wax effectively are either toxic, flammable,

really smelly or possibly all three of these!


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Heres a photograph of the cells left to dry on a towel after

going through the hot water baths. At this point we would

advise extra caution in handling them because theyre

extremely fragile without the wax. If youre not going to install

them any time soon, it may be best to leave them in their brick

form for the time being. This should prevent any accidentaldamages.


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Installing the Cells on the Panel

Before installing the cells we carefully drew a pattern on the

peg-boards. We used a pencil to mark the spots so that the 18

cells would be spaced evenly on the sub-panel. Then we laid

the cells in an inverted position on the grid pattern andsoldered them together. Its important to remember that all of

the 18 cells in each sub-panel must be soldered and connected

in a series. Then both sub-panels have to be tied in a series

connection as well to max out the voltage required.

You may find this stage in the building process a little difficultbut dont get frustrated


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Try soldering two cells upside-down. Lay the solder tabs of one

cell across the solder points on the back of the other cell. Also,

space the cells carefully to match the grid pattern.

For this step we used a low wattage soldering iron and fine

rosen-core solder. We also marked the solder points on the

back of the cells with a rosen pen before proceeding.

*note: we soldered the cells as gently as possible because they

easily break when you push too hard.


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**important: if you are not sure how to solder the cells

together dont misinterpret the photographs and think we

soldered the cells in a parallel connection because theyre

actually in series. The sketch above shows the negative and

positive nodes of the cells and this is how a series connection

actually looks.

As you can see, the negative nodes on top have been soldered

to the positive nodes on the bottom of the cells. This is a series

configuration and it increments their voltage output. We kept

soldering this way until we had a string of 6 cells. And 3 strings

of 6 make a half panel.


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By repeating the process above we were able to solder a string

of six solar cells together. We soldered tabs from scrapped cells

to the solder points on the back of the last cell in the string of

six. Then we repeated the whole process two more times to get

three strings of six cells for a total of 18 for this half of the

panel.

Since all of the three cells needed to be configured in a series

connection, the middle string had to be rotated to 180 degrees

with respect to the other two. Furthermore, we got the strings

oriented the way we wanted them (still upside-down) on top of

the pegboard panel before the next step of gluing the cells inplace.


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To glue the cells in place we first had to put some clear silicone

caulk on the center of each solar cell in the string. Then we

placed a small blob of clear silicone caulk in the center of each

cell in a six cell string. Then we flipped the string over and set it

in place on the pencil line grid we laid out earlier. Then we

pressed lightly in the center of each cell to get it to stick to thepegboard panel.

*Flipping the floppy string of cells is tricky so be careful.

*Always keep in mind that the cells are very fragile so gently

apply pressure when youre putting them on the peg-board.

Apply the glue only at the center of the cells and dont use too

much of it. Both the cells and the panel will undergo physical

changes because of varying temperatures and humidity which


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will lead to flexing, contracting, expanding, and warping. Gluing

the cells too closely to the substrate will cause them to crack

after a while. But gluing them at only one point in the center

allows the cells to float freely on top of the substrate. This

allows them to expand and flex more independently and the

delicate solar cells won't crack.

*note: you may find it easier to instead solder tabs onto the

backs of all the solar cells. Then glue all the cells down in their

proper places. And lastly, solder the tabs together.

Heres what it looks like so far.


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In this picture we used copper braid to connect the first and

second string of cells together. *You could use solar cell tabbing

material or even regular wire. We used copper braid because

we had spares. The second and third strings also have the same

interconnection but are located at the other end of the peg-

board. We used blobs of silicone caulk to anchor the braid and

prevent it from flopping around.


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Testing Your Solar Panel before Finishing

At this point you can test this half panel and measure the

voltage capacity.

we got 9.31 Volts under a cloudy sky which means our panel

is working great! Next thing to do is get the other half panel

done.


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Installing the Panels and Connecting the Wires

After completing the two sub-panels, we went on to install

them each in their respective slots on our frame then we

connected the wires.

*Both sub-panels should have the exact dimensions that fit on

the main panel frame.

Then we locked the panels into place by using four small screws

just like the ones in the photograph.


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The central divider vent holes provided the space needed for

the two sub-panels to be wired together. As before, to maintain

the wirings in a neat and clean look, we used small amounts of

silicone caulk to stick them into place.


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Each solar panel in a solar power system needs a blocking diode

in series with it to prevent the panel from discharging your

batteries at night or during cloudy weather.

We used a Schottky diode with a 3.3 Amp current rating.

Schottky diodes have a much lower forward voltage drop thanordinary rectifier diodes, so less power is wasted. In our

example, we got a package of 25 31DQ03 Schottky diodes on

Ebay for only a few bucks.

Also, you will want to mount the diode inside the panel since

the forward voltage drop gets lower as the temperature rises. It

will be warmer inside the panel and the diode will work more

efficiently.

*note: more silicone caulk was used to anchor the diode and

wires.


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We also drilled an extra hole in the back of the panel just a

notch closer to the top to help get the wires out. We put a knot

in the wires for strain relief, and anchored them in place with

yet more of the silicone caulk.

Keep in mind that you have to allow all the silicone caulk to dry

before placing the plexiglass cover on and screwing it down.

*note: wet caulk gives off fumes that will leave a thin film inside

the plexiglass (as well as on the cells) unless theyre thoroughly

dried in open air before putting on the plexiglass cover.


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A silicone caulk was used to seal this exiting wire off of the

other side of the panel.


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We also added a polarized male plug to the end panel wires.

*note: since we also have a home-made wind turbine

generator, we will wire a mating female plug into the chargecontroller to serve as an alternate power source to charge the

batteries (aside from the solar panel itself).

*another note: It may have caught your attention that we used

a male plug for our solar panel. We understand that a lot of

people advise against this because of the risk of short circuits (a

lot of people would recommend a female plug instead).

However, the reason we used the male plug on the solar panel

is because there is a much greater danger of a short circuit on

the cable going to the charge controller and battery bank. The

solar panel can only supply 3 Amps to a short circuit at most.

However, the battery bank could pump hundreds (or possibly

thousands) of Amps through a short circuit. That is enough

energy to do serious damage. So we put the female end on the

cable to the charge controller.


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Although we do not dispute the dangers of putting a male plug

on the solar panel, we found this strange looking plug at Radio

Shack for a couple bucks and this helps solve the short circuit

problem. So now this device doesnt short out even unplugged.


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And this is the final output of the solar panel covered with

plexiglass (see the picture below). We havent sealed it shut yet

even though the screws are set in place because we wanted to

make sure that it worked before we did this.


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Sealing our Solar Panel

If everything is working then you can seal it off with more

silicone caulk or use an aluminum AC duct tape as an

alternative.

Next we tested the panels current output (*note: we did this

on a bright winter day).

The meter read 3.05 Ampsnot bad!


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This is a photo taken when we finished sealing the edges of the

panel with aluminum tape. We wrapped around the edges of

the panel enveloping the center seam as well. We also punched

holes where the vent holes were.

The photo below shows the finished product!


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Total cost of our Solar Panel

So how much did this solar panel cost? Well, we kept all of our

receipts and our final cost figures are below. Youre costs could

be more or less depending on what you already have on hand

(also you may choose to not get some of the optional parts we

talked about).

The amount weve spent on this solar panel is many times

cheaper than its commercial counterpart with a similar power

production. And because its so cheap to build your own

homemade solar panel, you can also build more panels to get

more power!

* note: solar cell prices on Ebay constantly change because of

factors like oil price hikes (and supply and demand). So if you


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are having a hard time finding solar cells for the same price we

got, be patient and keep searching.


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Final Thoughts

We've covered a lot of ground in this book and its great to see

that people (like you) are ready to make the transition awayfrom fossil fuels. One of the absolute best ways to do this is to

build your own solar panel.

And guess what

You now have all the information you need to build your own!

But dont wait too long to start your project because if you put

it off for too long or for down the road youll never do it! So

just start today (or as soon as possible) and within days you can

dramatically lower your electric bills, cut your carbon footprint,

and do your part to clean up this planet!

We hope you have truly enjoyed this book because we lovedputting it together for you.

Good luck to you and take care.


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Optional Section How to Build Your Own Solar Cells

As we stated at the beginning of this book, we want to show

you how to build your own solar cells in case you dont want to

buy them off Ebay (or in case youre just more of a Do It

Yourselfkind of person).

Its important to note that we recommend you just buy your

solar cells blemished off of Ebay if cost is a concern because

building homemade solar cells can be quite technical at times

and you will need some additional equipment as well.

But with that being said, we want to make sure we give you

every bit of information we can to build your own solar panels

(all the way down to making your own solar cells)!

We tried to make this section as easy as we could but we will

warn you that it does get a little technical at times!

So lets get started!

Equipment and Materials List

oSafety Glasses

oNitrile Gloves (Supreno)


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o1 glass squares with conductive coatings (indium tin oxide,

ITO) on one side

oDegussa P25 titanium dioxide (TiO2) (at least 12 g)

oClear, colorless dishwashing liquid

oDistilled white household vinegar (5% acetic acid, ~1 M)

oTweezers

oSmall metal spatulas

oScotch Magic tape

oGlass stirring rod

oBoxes of small Kim-Wipes

oPaper towels (lots)

oCotton swabs

oEyedroppers

o10 mL graduated cylinder

o20 mL graduated cylinder


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oEthanol wash bottles

oBlender

oDeionized water wash bottles

oOven capable of 450 C

oTongs for oven

oalumina sample boats for oven

oFire brick where all three sample boats can cool

oSmall glass petri dishes

oGraphite pencils

oBlackberries

oThin coffee filters

oTwo filter setups (each consisting of a large glass funnel, a small

glass funnel, a rubber stopper for the latter, and a lab stand)

o20 mL glass vials

oSmaller glass vials (if available)


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oBinder clips

o Iodide electrolyte solution in squeeze bottles

oDigital multimeters with clean, new alligator clips for leads

oLarge porcelain mortar and pestle

oScale and weighing paper or weighing cup

**WEAR GLOVES AND SAFETY GLASSES AT ALL TIMES UNLESS

INSTRUCTED ON THESE PAGES

Preparing the TiO2 Suspension

Materials Used:

Degussa P25 titanium dioxide (TiO2)

Scale

Weigh paper or weighing dish

Metal spatula

Large porcelain mortar and pestle 10 mL graduated cylinder

20 mL graduated cylinder

Small glass vial (20 mL, smaller if available)

Vinegar


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Deionized water wash bottle

Paper towels (not specifically mentioned, but chances are

youll need them)

Steps:

1. Measure out 12 g of Degussa P25 titanium dioxide on the

scale using weigh paper or a weighing dish, and put into a

mortar and pestle.

2. Measure out 18 mL of vinegar in the 20 mL graduated

cylinder.

3. Measure out 2 mL of deionized water in the 10 mL

graduated cylinder.

4. Transfer the water to a small glass vial, and add two dropsof clear, colorless dishwashing detergent to the vial.

Gently stir them so that no foam or bubbles may come up.

5. Add about 30 drops of vinegar to the titanium dioxide in

the mortar and pestle.

6. Mix thoroughly until the mixture is uniform and free of

lumps.

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until all 18 mL of the vinegar is used.


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8. Add small amounts of detergent and water to the paste,

and very gently stir it, being careful not to produce

bubbles or foam.

9. Let the suspension sit for 15 minutes.

Preparing the Blackberry Juice

Materials Used:

One container of fresh blackberries (containing at least 10-12

berries)

Blender



Two filter setups (each consisting of a large glass funnel, asmall glass funnel, a rubber stopper for the latter, and a lab

stand)

Two coffee filters

Two small glass vials (20 mL)


Paper towels (not specifically mentioned, but chances areyoull need them)

Steps:


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1. Put one container of fresh blackberries into a blender,

counting the number of blackberries.

2.For every 5 blackberries used, add 2 mL of deionized waterto the blender, using the 10 mL or 20 mL graduated

cylinder (make sure it is clean first).

3. Cover the blender and run it on the lowest setting (1) until

the mixture is mostly liquid; then increase the speed to a

setting of 3-4, and run for another minute.

4. Ensure that both filter setups are ready and that a fresh

coffee filter (in the large funnel) and a clean 20 mL vial

(below the small funnel) are in place in each.

5. Pour the liquid from the blender into the large funnel at

the top of each filter setup, make sure that you evenly

distribute the liquid mix between them; each filter setupwill not be filled instantly so wait until the level in the filter

drops before you add the remaining liquid mix.

6. Occasionally agitate the filters by bunching up the edges to

form what looks like a little back and gently shaking them

up and down against the large funnel, in order to speed

filtration. The filtration process will take a while so in themeantime this would be a good time to prepare the

titanium dioxide coated slides; the filtered blackberry juice

will be used later.


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Preparing the TiO2 Films

Materials Used:

Two 1 square glass slides with special conductive coatings

on one side

Kim-Wipes

Ethanol wash bottle

One multimeter set up to measure electrical resistance Scotch tape

One glass stirring rod

Paper towels

Metal spatula

Eyedropper

Titanium dioxide suspension (made earlier)

Glass stir rod Petri dish

Oven

Tongs for oven

Fire brick for oven

Steps:

1. Clean both 1 square glass slides gently with ethanol and

Kim Wipes.


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2. Using a multi-tester check which side is conductive;

normal resistance reading of the conductive side is around

10-30 Ohms, the non-conductive side, however, has a

higher resistance that will not register in the multi-tester.

3. Clean the area where youll be placing the square glass

slides on, its conductive side needs to face in an upward

position, while the other square glass slides conductive

side faces downwards. To prevent the slides from coming

into contact with one another, tape them to the lab bench

with a Scotch tape like in the figure below, leaving most ofthe surface of the slides exposed and only covering a thin

strip (as shown here, about 2 mm wide) on either side:


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Place a third piece of tape over the top of the conductive

slide, as shown, covering a larger area (about 5-6 mm wide):


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IMPORTANT THIS IS THE HARDEST STEP, SO PLEASE READ

EVERYTHING HERE BEFORE STARTING.

Remember that what were aiming for here is to get a nice,

smooth titanium dioxide film on the conducting slide; the non-

conducting slide is a non-factor. Using a metal spatula or an

eyedropper (depending on how liquid the suspension is), take a

small amount of the titanium dioxide suspension you madeearlier and spread it in a thin line just below the last piece of

tape, on the conductive slide.


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Immediately take a glass stir rod, held horizontal as shown, and

in contact with the tape, and slide it (dont roll it) in order to

spread the suspension smoothly, first moving downwards, then

reversing direction. Do this 2-3 times or until the film on theconducting slide is smooth. Add more of the suspension if

necessary, but do it quickly, as it will dry rapidly. If something

goes wrong, you can carefully wipe the slides off and try again.

When you are successful, you should have something like what

is shown below.


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Carefully remove the top piece of tape first, and then place

your finger (you should be wearing gloves, make sure theyre

clean ones) on the uncoated area where the tape just was (see

below), being sure not to touch the film.

You may need assistance in doing this procedure so while you

hold the slide down, get somebody else to peel off the two

pieces of tape and have them do it gently by pulling it from top

to bottom. The non-conducting slide will come loose at some

point. Take the slide whose conductive side has been coatedwith the titanium dioxide film and cover it with a glass petri

dish. You may leave it on the bench for this.


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Remove the tape from the other slide then gently wash away

the titanium dioxide suspension from it on the sink. Use

ethanol and Kim-Wipes to finish cleaning it. Clean the glass rod

in the same way.

Once you are done cleaning things, the coated glass slide

(above, at right) you placed under the petri dish on the bench

should be dry (make sure it has had at least one minute to dry;

longer is fine). Take the dried glass slide and put it into an oven

at 450 C. The slides need to be taken out of the oven after 30minutes of heating, and allowed to cool.


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Staining the TiO2 Films with Dye, Carbon Coating the Counter-

Electrode, and Constructing the Cell

Materials Used:

Small petri dish

Eyedropper

Filtered blackberry juice

Titanium dioxide coated 1 square glass slide

Uncoated 1 square glass slide with special conductivecoating on one side

Multimeter

Special graphite pencil


Ethanol wash bottle

Kim-Wipes

Paper towels Two binder clips

Squeeze bottle of iodide electrolyte solution

Cotton swabs

Steps:

1. Put a couple of drops of blackberry juice on a small petridish using an eyedropper Just enough to cover the entire

bottom of the dish and form a pool a millimeter or two

thick.


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2. Now put your cooled titanium dioxide coated glass slide

into the petri dish and allow it to soak with the juice,

ensuring that the coated side is faced downwards. Check

the time when you do this because youll need to soak theslide for at least 10 minutes.

3. While you are letting your titanium dioxide film soak in

blackberry juice, take your other clean glass slide and

identify the conductive side with a multimeter; the

resistance of the conductive side will be 10-30 ohms, while

the non-conductive side will be too high to measure.

4. After identifying the conductive side of the slide coat it

with a graphite pencil. The best way to do this is to

position the slide at an angle where light is reflected off of

it, that way you will know which part of the surface is

graphite-coated and which is not.

Make sure that the slide is completely coated in graphite,

including the corners. Once the slide is coated, be sure not

to touch the coating with anything. Hold it up by its edges

only.


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While working on the other slide, your titanium dioxide coated

slide soaked in blackberry juice shouldve reached the 10

minutes threshold. If not, wait until it has. Check the slide to

see if the titanium dioxide film it has a deep purple color all

throughout. If it does not, wait until it does.

Once it does, carefully pick it up, handling it by the edges if you

can and ensuring that you do not touch the titanium dioxide

film. Examine the film from the other side (the side on which it

is coated) in order to verify that it is deep purple throughout on

that side as well. If not, put it back in the petri dish as before

and let it soak longer, first adding more blackberry juice to thepetri dish with an eyedropper if necessary.

After being soaked in the blacberry juice, the titanium dioxide

film should now have a deep purple hue all over, there should

also be no bright white spots visible.

This time youll need to wash the slide with deionized waterfrom the wash bottle, but be careful not to touch the titanium

dioxide coating and do this over the sink.


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After doing the above steps, repeat the whole process and rinse

away all the water using ethanol from a wash bottle. It is very

important at this point that no water remains in your film. Next

is to place the slide face up on a clean paper towel, using a Kim-Wipe gently dry it. This slide is now ready for use, and must be

used very rapidly so as to avoid significant exposure to the air

(which results in oxidation of the dye in the blackberry juice and

loss of photosensitivity).

First is to identify the graphite-coated side of the glass slide.

Place this side face down on top of the dry, blackberry juicesoaked, titanium dioxide coated side of the other slide, in such

a way that the two slides are offset (see the diagram below; the

titanium dioxide film should just be covered). Now youre ready

to construct the cell.

Pick up the two slides carefully, maintain their contact with

each other and do allow them to slide off of each other, anduse binder clips to attach the two.


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Once theyre firmly clipped together, you can now add the

electrolyte solution. Position the cell in a way that one of the

steps is faced upwards towards you, using the eyedropper take

a few drops of the iodide electrolyte solution at the pointwhere the two slides meet (see below).

You will see that the solution is slowly drawn into the cell by

capillary action. In order to ensure that the solution completely

saturates the cell, loosen one of the binder clips, then clip it on

again, then loosen the other binder clip and clip it on again.

Repeat this process until the iodine solution has clearlysaturated the entire cell, and then ensure that both clips are

once more firmly attached.


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Clean away the iodide solution off of the slide from where the

droplets first fell using a cotton swab, make sure that no iodide

solution remains. It is very important that all of the excess

solution is removed.

Your solar cell is complete!

*we recommend that you use a multi-tester at this point andattach you cell to the multi-tester using the alligator clips, the

figure below shows how its done (be careful not to allow the

clips to touch both slides though).

Test the cells using the multimeter and determine its behavior

in the light and in the shade, check voltage and current output

to see if its functioning as it should be.


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construcción de paneles

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