DIY Solar Panels - Making my own. (1 Viewer)

Feb 27, 2011
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I have made a start on making my own solar panel at last.

I cut all the tabbing wires tonight which took longer than the soldering did.
I then tabbed all the cells which was a lot easier than I expected.

Tomorrow I have to assemble the aluminium frame and buy the glass.

After that the hard bit which is connecting all the strings and doing the EVA encapsulation.

I will do a full write up with photo's after I finish. It's proving to be an interesting project so far and I hope I will have a 144Watt panel by the time I am finished.::bigsmile:
 

Jim

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Sounds great. Any idea what all the component parts will cost Karl?
 
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Gromett
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Hot air gun £14
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Soldering Iron (needed a better one) £12
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Aluminium Frame £35.00
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Solar Cell, Tabbing Wire, Flux Pen and Diode £70
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EVA Encapsulation Film £10.35
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MPPT Charger £58.50
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All I have to buy now is cable and Glass. I guess £25 for the rest.

So about £140 for the panel parts plus tools and carriage for each item.
I need this one fast so it is going to be ugly as sin. If it works ok the next one I make I will construct a vacuum system to give a better finish.

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Gromett
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Much better. The defects are really really small.
 

1948

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I will do a full write up with photo's after I finish. It's proving to be an interesting project so far and I hope I will have a 144Watt panel by the time I am finished.::bigsmile:

Look forward to reading it in due course
good wishes to the project

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1Oll

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Have Vacuum Press.

Hi, I have a large heated (or not). Vacuum press made by Hotpress. We use it for laminating photographs. Based in Macclesfield 5 mins from Hilldweller. What is the thickness and dimensions of the panel for laminating. If it will fit you are welcome to give it a try.
Regards Brian.
 
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Gromett
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It's about 1mtr by 1mtr. Probably a little large but thanks for the offer ::bigsmile:
 

Terry

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Hi Karl keep us posted on this please
terry
have you any plans etc, for making one ? I may have a go myself :Eeek:

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Gromett
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have you any plans etc, for making one ? I may have a go myself :Eeek:

I have started. If I can get the glass today I will finish it today as well I think.

Karl
 

Terry

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Hi Karl go to your local double glazing unit makers :thumb: make sure they give you normal glass and not the solar reflective stuff :winky:Also if you are using toughened it will take 3 - 4 days to order
terry
EDIT they may know of a ali d/g firm that can supply the framing for you or if lucky there skip may have some old secondary glazing panels in it-always worth a look
 

1Oll

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It's in inches!

Vacuum press size 67inches x 41 inches!
 
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Gromett
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I have found a glass supplier. The glass ideally should be low iron solar glass. This will cost me almost £40 + VAT :(

41 inches is 104cm. Is that an internal measurement by any chance? I am tempted to take you up on the offer, you are quite a way away from me and it will take 3 hours to get there and 3 to get back plus diesel. I can't make up the strings until I am ready to bond them and I think that will take a few hours so it will be a long day :Doh: How much do you charge?

Karl

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hilldweller

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I have found a glass supplier. The glass ideally should be low iron solar glass. This will cost me almost £40 + VAT :(
Karl

It all looked so simple. £70 for the cells to make a 140W panel. Let's go.

I was tempted. But it's not looking good cost wise right now.

I saw something like £1900 for 10 off 100W panels somewhere, that might be the way to go. Bryan style !
 
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Gromett
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Yup, it's starting to look a bit marginal on the costs front.
However I am sure I can get the glass price down or just use normal glass which will be about £10.

I think it's still possible to do 140 Watt for around £160 which using the wrong glass will lose about 5-7% so say its £160 for 120 watt still comes out quite good in comparison to premade ones.

If I were starting from scratch again I would probably just go for the premade 80Watt @ £149 and buy one each time I had enough cash. However if I wasn't a full timer and had my workshop again I would make a vacuum machine and make a bunch of these panels. My big problem is not enough space in the van to store while I wait for the glass to be delivered.
 

Terry

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Hi Karl, I know next to nowt about solar panels :ROFLMAO: are the photo cells sandwiched in between to panes of glass or stuck onto a single sheet ?I had a large-ish panel-4ft x 2 ft- about 5 yrs ago ,and if memory is right it was in between 2 sheets.Anyway we had a think about putting it on the van and ended up smashing it in the bin :Doh:::bigsmile:If it is in between 2 sheets then the price of glass is approx 20 quid per sq mtr (£10 per sheet) or if you wanted solar glass- that has a coating on to reflect heat that works out at 27 ish per sq mtr-- If you used 1Oll vacuum press I assume that is like a big laminater would that allow you to roll it up and fix it on a curved surface?
terry

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Gromett
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Hmmm, Not going so well on getting the glass. I have been told that I would need 6mm Tempered glass.

The low iron glass costs £80 :Eeek:

Normal glass will cost me anywhere between £66 - £80.

Reading this http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?2230-Cost-analysis-of-glass-types There is only 5% difference in the efficiency so I won't be going low iron.

I am now looking at polycarb/plexiglass etc. Tempered glass will shatter and destroy the panel if caught by a tree.

Grrr. This is getting complex and potentially expensive :Doh:

Karl
 

Terry

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Hmmm, Not going so well on getting the glass. I have been told that I would need 6mm Tempered glass.

The low iron glass costs £80 :Eeek:

Normal glass will cost me anywhere between £66 - £80.

Reading this http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?2230-Cost-analysis-of-glass-types There is only 5% difference in the efficiency so I won't be going low iron.

I am now looking at polycarb/plexiglass etc. Tempered glass will shatter and destroy the panel if caught by a tree.

Grrr. This is getting complex and potentially expensive :Doh:

Karl

Hi Karl tuffy glass is about £30 per sq mtr double glazed so don't pat too much -- It will only shatter if caught on the edge but you are putting yours in a frame which will protect it :thumb: you can hit it with a hammer -gently :ROFLMAO:- without it breaking
terry

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There are two issues here. 1 is the face which is there to give the panel its strength and protect the cells from physical damage.

The second is the encapsulation which is to protect it from enviromental damage such as moisture/oxidisation.

For the face there is only one sheet, I won't be sandwiching the cells. I am looking at either glass or plexiglass/plastic sheet etc.

The encapsulation methods are either EVA or a liquid silicon.
The EVA is a sheet of a rubbery feeling plastic that you totally surround the cells in. So you would go glass, EVA, Cells, EVA
With the liquid stuff you place the cells face down on the glass and pour the liquid over.

For both systems a vacuum is ideal as it allows you to suck out the air bubbles.

With EVA I have seen people do it without a vacuum/oven by doing the cells face up on to a base material. However you still get some small air bubbles creases. With the liquid you can get rid of most of them but will still have some.

The EVA is much much cheaper. About £20 to do 1 square meter of cells. The QSil/Silgard is about £65 for a litre to do 1 square meter of cells.

I bought the EVA and am now wondering if it may be any idea to go for the QSil option.

If I use a plastic rather than glass front I think the EVA may not be suitable due to the temperature you need to get the EVA to to melt it and make it clear and bond....

Terry, is that Tuffy glass a laminate or tempered? Is it a trade name? Does it have any coatings on it to reduce heat transmission or something?
I don't want any special glasses as it may reduce the amount of energy reaching the solar cells. Yet another major problem.

In a perfect world where cost wasn't an issue. I would order the QSil and the 6mm low iron glass and take 1Oll up on his offer of the vacuum press. But all in this would add almost £200 to the panel and put it way over what I would have spent on a commercial panel.

I am now just mulling over the different permutation of glass/plastic/eva/QSil to see which will be the easiest/cheapest.

Even if I lose a load of efficiency from the cells I should still come out ahead in cost/watt but I will lose quite a bit of roof space/watt.

Decisions, decisions......

Karl
 

Terry

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Hi Karl tuffy is my abbreviation on toughened glass (tempered)
If you sandwiched your cells in between 2 sheets of 4 mm tuffy you could glue/seal the edges with silicon under £2 a tube :thumb: ( a tube will more than seal a 6 ft x 4 ft panel) and perhaps a few spots in the center.Then you can stick it into your ali frame and stick it to the top of your van :thumb: Bare in mind I said £30 per sq mtr done /made up into a D/G unit so the glass would be about £20 (£10 per sq mtr x 2 sheets)per sq mtr thus reducing your costs further.That of course if I am right in thinking the cells is in between 2 sheets of glass.
This is reminding me of my DIY sog :ROFLMAO:I had never seen one only pictures and could not work out what the micro switch was for until Vic told me how it turned the fan on when the sluice was open :thumb: Dead easy once you know :ROFLMAO:::bigsmile:
terry
 
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Gromett
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Ah, thanks.

I won't be using a double glazed unit as they cannot be guaranteed to maintain their integrity when being bounced around on top of a van. I really do need to properly encapsulate the Cells.

I have phoned round glass places in Louth, Grimsby and Boston and none of them can get below £60 for 1mtr of 6mm. And if memory serves it was around 45-50 for 4mm but that was low iron.

I am doing a lot more research at the moment.


Karl

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freelanderuk

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try these in trusthorpe near mablethorpe , i have had glass and polycarbonate sheet from them a lot cheaper than i could get of the net

Willson's Plastics (fabrications & Finishes) Ltd.


Supplies & Fits U P V C Windows & Doors

Address: The Hollies, Main Street, Trusthorpe, Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, LN12 2QE, UK
Telephone: 01507578442
Fax: 01507578442
Wilsons Glass


Glaziers & Picture Framing

Address: The Hollies, Main Street, Trusthorpe, Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, LN12 2QE, UK
Telephone: 01507441427
 
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Gromett
Feb 27, 2011
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Update:

I have ordered some low Iron glass for £40.
I have also looked into ways of reducing the costs somewhat.

I paid £43 inc shipping for my frame. I have found a local supplier who can do me the ally Angle for around £15. I would then need to hacksaw it to mitre join it which is pretty straight forward.

I am sticking (geddit) with the EVA solution as it is cheap, but may not be as pretty. I will let you know when I get it done.

I will give total prices once it is finished but I think it will still come in at under £140 for a 144 Watt panel. 80 watt panels seem to be rising in price and are now going for about £179 they were £149 2 weeks ago.

The Glass should be with me on Thursday, so hopefully on Friday 20th. I will have it installed and can give more information.

Karl
 

thehutchies

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And don't forget to factor in the satisfaction value of having built it yourself! :thumb:

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Gromett
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MASSIVE FAIL!!!!!!!! :angry:

I have spent all day today putting the solar panel together and had got the EVA pretty much bonded.
I did an initial pass with heat to get it stuck down then went to do the main blast of heat to do the bottom layer.

I lifted the panel up to check for air bubbles and lifted a little too far and BANG! Part of the top row peeled off and folded over knackering 2 rows of cells.

If I was to do this again I wouldn't go the EVA route it would definately be the QSIL method. EVA is great if you have vacuum oven but not so great with a heat gun.

£100 lesson learnt there.

Anyone want to buy a 1Mtr x 1Mtr low iron toughened glass in an aluminium frame Half price.

I don't have space to store it being a full timer and won't have time to have another go at making a solar panel in the near future.

Soldering the cells is really easy, no need to use any solder. Stringing them together was easy as I made a little jig.

Anyway. If anyone wants the glass/frame please let me know ASAP. I will be coming down to stratford show and can bring it with me. If no one wants it I will leave at my mothers until after the 3 shows I am going to.

Karl
 

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