Solar Panel Construction

Solar panel construction is not too complex (especially for a DIY person). Numerous average homeowners have installed solar panels in their own homes, and many have also built the panels with their own two hands. As long as you can use basic tools and do some basic wiring, you can do both, build your solar panels from cells, and mount them where you want. Read on, and you will learn more about the components and the construction of different solar panels.

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Flexible Silicon-Based Solar Panel Construction
Flexible solar panels are one of the least powerful types of commercial solar materials. These panels can be used to get your “feet wet” when learning to build solar-powered systems, or to power low-wattage devices (a cell phone, laptop, small TV, etc.).

These panels represent a flexible substrate covered by a thin conductive layer (e.g., silicon). Silicon absorbs the sunlight and diverts it to the inverter in the form of electric. The inverter converts DC electric into regular AC electricity. To use the generated electricity, you need to simply plug into the battery charger connected to the panel. There is no glass used in the construction of such flexible panels. The panels may come either as separate cells which you can solder together, or as panels with cells already soldered together. The panels have various sizes and shapes, and are excellent for trips. However, flexible panels are too weak to power regular home appliances.

Regular Silicon-Based Solar Panel Construction
The powerful rigid-framed silicon-based solar panels are the ones that are placed on the rooftops or onto standalone poles, to power the home with electric. There are three main types of silicon that these panels can be based on: Monocrystalline silicon (most efficient), Polycrystalline silicon (medium efficient), and Amorphous silicon (least efficient).

These solar panels are constructed of solar cells - thin combined slices of semiconductor (e.g., silicon) with one positively charged surface and one negatively charged surface, and an electric field in between. The semiconductor absorbs the sunlight and transforms it into electric in the electric field. Next, this direct electric current passes through conductive coating into an inverter, which converts it into regular alternating current for home use.

Pool-Heating Solar Panel Construction
Pool-heating solar panels don't use any semi conductive materials, such as silicon. These panels are made of specialized plastic or advanced rubber. They are usually placed on the roof of a building, where they get heated by the sun. These panels circulate the water from the pool to the roof (onto the heated solar panels) with the aid of a pump, and then send the heated water back to the pool. Such panels can also be unglazed or glazed (more expensive and efficient panels that can be used even in temperatures below freezing).

Dye-Sensitized Organic Solar Panel Construction
Dye-sensitized organic solar cells are currently in the experimental stage, and are rarely available commercially. Such cells have two layers - an organic dye that donates the electrons, and spherical fullerenes (carbon molecules) that accept the electrons. After the charge has been separated, one part of it goes to the anode, and another part goes to the cathode, thus supplying direct current, which can be converted into the regular alternating current through an inverter.

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