Everyone is becoming very environmentally conscious these days. This is a very good thing. We need to do more to help our planet stay healthy and pollution free, or in other words help the planet stay green. One thing that you can do to not only help the environment but also save you some money is to use solar energy instead of power from the electric company. This means that your power source is completely carbon neutral; it also means that you don’t have to pay an electric bill every month.

However, if you buy new solar panels directly from the manufacturer, you will find that they might cost upward of ten thousand dollars. When you factor in the cost of installation, you could be looking a price tag of thirty thousand dollars or more. That is why you should take the time to learn how to make your own solar panels.

The first thing that you need to do is get some solar cells. These are very expensive if you get them new. However, there are a lot of factory seconds and rejects that have small chips on the edges. Because their surface area is compromised, they won’t produce as many volts. However, these chips are generally very small; you’ll still be able to get them to work for you.

Also, you will literally be paying pennies on the dollar for them on an online auction site like Ebay. When you start to look around for kits on how to make your own solar panels, make sure to buy ones that are tabbed. They will save you a lot of time later.

When your solar cells arrive, you should build a box for them. A simple, shallow plywood frame will do. Drill some small ventilation holes in the plywood and add a layer or pegboard for added ventilation. Before you start any installation, coat both the frame and the pegboard with weatherproof paint. This will prevent the wood from warping over the years. Now it is time to install the solar cells themselves.

This will involve soldering and a little wiring. If you have never soldered before, find some scrap metal and practice adhering two pieces together. Once you have that down, you need to take the tabs that are attached to the solar cells and solder them together to form your panel.

Each panel that you make should have all of the same sized solar cells. That is because the amount of power that you will produce is no more that the amount that the smallest cell will produce multiplied by the number of cells.

When they are soldered, you need to run wiring along each cell, starting from the middle and moving outward. Then all the wiring should run to one plug that you can use to power batteries or the appliances in your home.

This is only an overview of how to make your own solar panels. If you want more specific information, especially about the wiring, you should consult an local expert or take the time to read a basic electrician’s manual.

Today, you might see a lot of shiny black squares on the top traffic lights, hazard signs, and even security cameras. It is even more common to see these squares on the roofs of people’s houses. If you have ever wondered what they are, they are solar panels. They are a way to get electricity to items that cannot easily be connected to the municipal power supply. They are also a way for homeowners to save on their electric bills by using less municipal power. Some people say they are the wave of the future and one of the ways that mankind will be able to wean itself away from its dangerous dependency on the every diminishing supply of oil and other fossil fuels. Since these items are destined to become more important in our future it worth the time to figure out how does a solar panel work.

So How Do Solar Panels Work?

A solar panel consists of large sheets of charged silicon that are mounted on a sunny spot. The rays of the sun are able to strike the silicon in such a way that it will produce electricity that can be used immediately, sold to a municipal power company, or stored in batteries for later use.

We all know that the sun is a very powerful power source; the energy of the sun travels millions of miles as light and heat to not only illuminate the Earth, but also to keep us all comfortable and not freezing to death.

Even in the dead of winter, the sun is still working to keep life as we know it going. Solar panels are a way to harness part of the sun’s power. In this case it is harness the photons. Photons are particles that are emitted by the sun. When a photon strikes a surface, it acts as kind of molecular hammer.

It can change the chemical composition of a molecule by adding or subtracting electrons in the outer ring. That is why the sun’s rays will bleach your clothing or heat up the inside of your car. It is also why solar panels work. So let’s go over a little more deep on how solar panels work.

Within a solar panel are two layers of silicon cells. The upper layer is negative, that means that it has too many electrons. The lower layer is positive and therefore has too few electrons.

Since all molecules would like to be neutral, it is very easy to get electrons to jump from one panel to the other. All it takes are photons striking the upper, negative panel and sending the electrons shooting down. Because this process keeps happening over and over, there is soon a buildup of electrons in the lower panel. The electrons are then drawn to copper electrical wiring that is soldered to the panels. The electrons move until they are stored in a battery or used to power an appliance. They will continue to move all day on a sunny day. How does a solar panel work, is now a technology mystery that has been solved, and solar energy is also the future of society and all of mankind.