How To Make Your Own Homemade Solar Cell

View PDF | Print View
by: RussellStrider | Total views: 14 | Word Count: 471

A homemade solar cell can be a practical way to operate an array of household appliances or to power a whole house. The collector helps to transform energy directly from the sun into usable electrical power. The solar panel may be very easily made from the comforts of home with the help of basic tools. Building homemade solar collectors helps an individual to take complete advantage of the free energy produced from the sun without a heavy investment.

Advantages

A homemade solar panel delivers a wide array of benefits. It helps to save immensely on regular monthly electrical bills. When it comes to investment, it's less costly than the high priced pre-made silicon cells. Aside from this, the power harnessed from sunlight is environmentally friendly and doesn't give off any harmful gases into the atmosphere. It can be very easily designed to fit on any house. Additionally, the unused energy can be stored and later sold to utility companies for a fixed amount. Most importantly, it supplies the residents of the house with comfortable and healthy living.

Major Suggestions That need to be Observed When Making Solar Cells At home

First of all, you should ready the photosensitive element by cutting a 6x6 inch rectangular shaped piece from the copper sheet. This panel needs to be carefully scrubbed with sandpaper in order to get rid of any residue. The next step is to thoroughly heat the copper sheet at 900 degrees Fahrenheit with the help of a burner, torch, or another heating element.

The pane should be heated for around 15 to 30 minutes until eventually a black heavy coating shows up. When the sheet cools down, the black oxide cupric layer at the base has to be neatly scraped to uncover the red oxide layer which in turn will function as the photosensitive material for the homemade solar cell.

Following this, a different piece should be cut out from your copper sheet. The cuprous oxide treated pane as well as the untreated sheet should next be carefully inserted into a wide-mouthed plastic bottle. It's important to keep the sheets away from each other in order to avoid any short circuit. Following this pour a combination of 1 liter of water plus 2 tablespoons of salt into the bottle. However, about 1 inch of the top portion of the sheets needs to be positioned away from the water content.

Then, fit spring clips to both the treated and untreated panes. The lead from the untreated sheet needs to be connected to a positive terminal even while the lead coming from the cuprous oxide plate should be fitted to the negative terminal of a micro-ammeter. When completed, the cell must be placed in direct sunlight to use solar energy in an effective way. Following the steps explained above, a homemade solar cell will be constructed in an easy manner.

About the Author

Would you like to build your own solar panels? Be sure to visit Green Energy Do It Yourself for tips on how to make a homemade solar cell.

Comments

Add Comment