My Home Solar Panels

Frequently Asked Questions

1. QUESTION:
   can I make electric solar cells at home?
   for a boy scout demo. dose not have to be effecient, just work.

   • ANSWER:
     Yes you can. Search for "cuprous oxide solar cell". An example is linked below.

     You can also make a dye-based cell at home.

     Both of these technologies will put out less than 1 milliwatt - if you wire several of them together, you might be able to power an LCD watch or calculator, but that's about it. The output is easily detectable with a digital multimeter.

2. QUESTION:
   If a typical home uses 390 kWh of electricity per month, how many square meters of solar cells would be requir?
   In a sunny location, sunlight has a power density of about 1 kW/m2. Photovoltaic solar cells can convert this power into electricity with 15% efficiency.
   If a typical home uses 390 kWh of electricity per month, how many square meters of solar cells would be required to meet its energy requirements? Assume that electricity can be generated from the sunlight for 8 hours per day.

   • ANSWER:
     Michelle, John is quite correct in his math. The only problem with the problem as it's stated is that the average solar panel is closer to 11% efficient. There are some leading edge ones that claim to have reached as high as 18%, I don't know if they have been independently tested yet, but most run between 10 and 13 %. So about 11 square meters should do it based on your weather forecast.

     We actually live in a solar powered home. Our panels are advertised at 12% efficiency, they are multicrystaline. Our entire array takes up 155 square feet, or about 15 square meters. Our home uses about 300 kwh per month, and in the summer, we usually have a little excess, meaning by 2 pm on sunny days, our batteries are full and can't hold any more charge, so for an hour or two, the panels only power the small loads in the house, and the rest is wasted. This is necessary though, so that after a few cloudy days, when the sun comes out, there is extra to bring the batteries back up as well as run the home.

     Are you working on a homework assignment, or just doing research? There are some better places to get info on this subject than asking hacks like me online. Solar Energy International would be my first pick, and some of the renewable energy associations too. I will put some names and links below for you. Also, there is a great periodical that covers this stuff right down to the nuts and bolts, Home Power Magazine. It is actually where we got started 11 years ago, now we have made it here. Check out some of the websites and do some of your own research, you'll be well informed in the end. Good luck, and take care, Rudydoo

3. QUESTION:
   If you could, would you produce Hydrogen from solar cells and water in your home for your own car?
   It takes pure water for electrolysis. Bottled or purified.
   Should be done only when there is surplus energy, at off-peak hours.

   • ANSWER:
     No, because it requires a lot of energy to extract hydrogen via electrolysis. Off peak hours are at night, when there's no Sun to provide power to a solar cell. Additionally, solar power technology is currently not very efficient, so you couldn't get much hydrogen from the process.

     On top of that, you'd need a way to get the hydrogen from your house to your car, and a car that can burn hydrogen as fuel.

     It's an interesting idea, but simply not feasible.

4. QUESTION:
   How do I grow a home made solar cell?
   i am not sure if this is possible. Is there a simple home made photoelectric cells

   • ANSWER:
     here you go nice and easy, i tried the copper thing, its lame but it works, then one made out of blackberries,cmon? they show you how below at one of the links

5. QUESTION:
   If a typical home uses 385kWh of electricity per month, how many square meters of solar cells would be require?
   In a sunny location, sunlight has a power density of about 1kW/m^2 . Photovoltaic solar cells can convert this power into electricity with 16% efficiency.

   • ANSWER:
     The Earth4Energy kit suggests one of those popular alternative energy devices that prove to drop home energy costs by 50-80%. The kit also shares information on where to purchase free batteries required for your project. These batteries store the alternative energy making it a portable energy resource. You can take them anywhere, for any use!

6. QUESTION:
   If a home uses 390kWh of electricity per month, how many sq. meters of solar cells would be required?
   Assume that electricity can be generated from the sunlight for 8 hours per day.
   In a sunny location, sunlight has a power density of about 1kW/m^2 . Photovoltaic solar cells can convert this power into electricity with 16% efficiency.

   • ANSWER:
     If you can convert at 16% efficiency, then You only get 160 watts per square meter. Multiplied by 8 hours = 1280 watt/hours per square meter. Multiplied by 30 days = 38400 watt/hours per square meter, or 38.4kWh per square meter.

     390 / 38.4 = 10.15625 square meters of solar cells.

7. QUESTION:
   how to build solar cells to produce hot water in my home. need help, anybody!!?
   I live in the caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago,the climate is tropical. lots of sunshine all year round.

   • ANSWER:
     solar panels produce electricity which you can use for your home's electrical needs. You would have to have an electric hot water heater to use solar cells to heat the water.

     You can also use geothermal systems to heat your water.

     see these web sites:
     G E Solar: Caribbean Solar Systems
     http://www.grec-energy.com/Products/Solar/solar.html

     Here is a link to Encore Energy Systems power in the Caribbean:
     http://www.encoreenergyinc.com/page.php?page=article&newsid=85

     --

8. QUESTION:
   is it possible for me to make solar cells at home? how? 10 points!!!?
   how do they do it? tell me in steps and take ten points.

   • ANSWER:
     Yes it is possible! Making solar cells is easy and cheaper than buying them. Buying them is expensive, so making them is better.

     Another reason people do not buy them because they are expensive. Most solar panels cost in the tens of thousands of dollars. What most people do not know is that there are tax credits that can be earned from using renewable energy sources. These credits can help pay for some of the cost of the solar panels. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits . These credits can make the already cheap, homemade solar panels, even cheaper.

     1st: Go to http://tiny.cc/solarandwind

     2nd: Read the guide and follow the instructions. This guide gives great information on how to build your own solar panels. It really makes it extremely easy. Here is a link to the guide: http://tinyurl.com/easysolarwind

     3rd: Spend a couple weekends on this project. It does not take a lot of time to build solar cells.

     4th: Invest in a battery to store this energy for other times when you need it.

     The guide is like an ultimate, packed book on renewable energy. It not only comes with information on how to build solar cells, but also wind turbines, biodiesel, and batteries. It is worth your money. I highly recommend this guide, based on experience: I used it successfully.

9. QUESTION:
   Is it possible for us to manufacture high powered solar cells in our home?
   In China, Taiwan, Korea, and other East-Asian countries they make digital watches, calculators, and other small electronic devices in their homes at villages. And they sell those as home-industry grown products world wide with very cheap rate. My question is, is it possible to manufacture very cheap but powerful solar cells in our homes in India? Is there any such technology or portable machines available? Because, India has a very rich source of sunlight throughout the year, and if we can produce solar cells in our villages, there will be a boom in solar energy production in India. Now available solar chips are very costly, as they are produced under highly controlled dust-free environment of factories of big manufacturing companies.
   Some big manufacturing companies may try to propagate the theory that only they can produce all the electronic goods of this world only under their factory sheds, but the real truth is, a digital watch/wall clock is sold in the footpaths of Kolkata city in India at the rate of Rupees 20/- or 40/- only, whereas, in hi-fi shops, a digital watch costs around 300 Rupees, and a wall clock used to be sold at Rupees 500/-. I myself bought a calculator from a vendor in Sealdah rail station at only Rupees 20/-, which would cost then 10 times more in a decorated electronic goods shop.

   • ANSWER:
     NO

10. QUESTION:
    how can you make your own solar cells for solar panels?
    i see these things all over the internet on how to make 'home made solar panels' but all of them require you to buy the solar cells and nothing tells you how to make your own. So how can you make your own solar cells?

    • ANSWER:
      Firstly, to address the link pointed out by bwise; that's hardly what constitutes what we mean by a "solar panel" is it? sure that can be a solar cell, but I'd like to see anyone build an array of these and get 175W of energy and compare the size difference between what we mean when we say "Solar Panel".

      Ok, to the asker, i a not sure what you are referring to when you refer to these online "guides"; but if there is anyone one out there that has a a process of building solar panels from materials made in the home, not only is he going to become a billionaire but also I want a share of it

      So, just to give you an understanding of what a solar "cell" is made up of and the complexity of the process in producing it, you will understand that to make a solar panel, you NEED to BUY the cells indeed.

      Solar panels are made up of "solar cells", for sake of completeness. The solar cells on the other hand are made up of semiconductor technology, which is basically the stuff that runs our world today, commonly known as "chips" or computer chips. These "chips" that are in almost EVERY single electronic device that exists today can be made with different parameters to exhibit and/or exploit its various properties. Having said this, if you have a slight knowledge of electronics you will know what LEDs are. LED is an acronym for Light Emitting Diode. This is a device which when a voltage is applied, emits light as its name suggests and uses very little power. These are made with tiny chips enclosed in translucent housing so the light can be seen.

      The solar panel works on the reverse principle. A solar cell has many LED like structures engineered to work in the reverse process. When the light hits these "cells" the electrons are energised by the photons (a light component) and they are mobilised producing current; i.e. electricity.

      Now silicon, a semiconductor material is made from sand. (YES sand, like that of the stuff found on the beach It's heated up to to a molten state, purified...etc etc... and then cut to circular discs called wafers, doped with boron or another depending on the required parameters, the stencil being applied and stuff.... all this being taken place in a multi million dollar semiconductor facility with clean rooms and where all the personnel working there are covered head to toe in white suits and masks whose breath might even be dangerous for the products being developed....

      So, as you can see this is a very very very complicated and expensive process hence for anyone who has a much cheaper alternative, that is why I would want to be a part of it as it would be an electronic revolution.

      So in conclusion, I would say from what I know and have conveyed the home production of conventional solar cells by us enthusiasts is pretty much impossible. Though, I would appreciate it if you could if you could give me a few of the links that you are referring to that sparked this question. I think it will be an interesting read at worst.

      Hope this helped.

11. QUESTION:
    Could your home become energy self sufficient using solar power?
    Can solar cells power your home?

    • ANSWER:
      It depend on where you live and the design and construction of the home. The location determines the number of days of sunlight vs cloud cover and average local temperature. If you live in Portland Oregon, you will never get enough sunny days to power the whole house every day. Also, if you live in the desert southwest, unless your home is extremely well insulated the air conditioning will need more power to deal with 100 F temperatures than solar power can provide.

12. QUESTION:
    Is it possible to make a SOLAR CELL without all that expence at home?
    i know its a silly queston, solar pannels are very very expencive and its very difficult to attain stroked silicon, but if any1 of u have any idea by which SOLAR CELLS can be made at home plz tell me.

    • ANSWER:
      It's possible to create solar cells to heat up water - although in practice without precision equipment I imagine it would be very hard).

      The basic premise for solar heating cells is you run a very thin stream of water under the sun - the water gets warmed up and deposited into a tank. Then it just cycles round and round - every time it passes through the Sun it warms up.

      You need a very hot country for it to work well - but it's a fairly simple concept.

      As for photovoltaic cells (solar cells that produce electricity). There is no way your going to be able to make them at home.

      Sorry.

      Although the BASIC principle is fairly easy to grasp (Photon's of light are absorbed in a semiconductor; an electron hole pair is formed; the electron diffuses to the pn junction and drifts across - forming a current) they are stupidly intricate devices that are so expensive to produce the companies that make them make a loss on every one (they only stay afloat because of government subsidy into green power)

13. QUESTION:
    How does solar power cells work,how can they be made at home.?

    • ANSWER:
      Conventional solar cells are semiconductor devices. Energy from sunlight triggers electrons in a doped silicon layer to 'jump' and that creates the movement that is an electric current. (That's a really simplified version).
      The average person cannot make silicon solar cells at home.
      You can, however, make very low energy solar cells with copper. Here's a link: http://worldwatts.com/homemade_solar_cell/homemade_solar_cell.html

14. QUESTION:
    Where are the solar cells are avilable ? What are cost ? Can I make a siple solar cell in home ?
    Solar Cell- A silicon based pannel that converts solar energy into electrical energy.

    • ANSWER:
      Its called a PhotoVoltaic Cell, And they are quite difficult to make, but very easy to purchase.
      http://www.oksolar.com/solar_panels/cells.htm

15. QUESTION:
    How many sq ft of solar cells will provide 50% of the average fl home’s power needs? Cost for entire system?

    • ANSWER:
      What do you want to call the average?

      Wild guessing here so you can get the idea of how it works and be able to get your own answers.

      I think the average house uses from 500 to 600 kWh per month. So using 550 kWh, half is 225 kWh divided by 30 days is 7.5 watts a day. Florida gets about 5.5 hours of peak sun a day so you would need about a 1.3 kWh in panels. Now find a solar electric site like mine (smiles) and find the panels you want and see what size they are. 1300 watts would be 13 100 watt panels right?

      It is not that simple but should get you started.

      Enjoy.

16. QUESTION:
    If I put HHO generator powered by external Battery(charged by solar cell at home) into my car--Will it work?
    I plan to put HHO generator powered by another set of battery into my car. This extra battery will not be charged by car alternator but instead it will be charged by solar cell panel at my garage during parking. Any idea about it?

    • ANSWER:
      This hydrogen fuel from water is nothing but a scam.
      Big claims are being made simply to make it easy to seperate people from their money.
      For the real story on hydrogen powered vehicles go to www.doe.gov
      Hydrogen fuel cells ar used to generate electricity to power electric vehicles.

17. QUESTION:
    Hydrogen Cell and Solar for Home Use?
    I have heard of hydrogen cell technology for home electrical use. I am in the process of buying a home and want to know how to get one installed and the cost involved. I live in Florida and am also interested in solar power if you know anything about that.

    • ANSWER:
      You might try calling my friend Charles Virga at Choose Green Energy. Go to http://www.choosegreenenergy.com/ You're out of his area but he may have good advice. He is a nice guy and very smart.

18. QUESTION:
    who lives in a home with solar panels installed?
    I want a statistic, I am doing research, I am also trying to advocate the use of Solar cells. I welcome any criticism, information, opinions, anything that would be useful to my research. Thank You.

    • ANSWER:
      We have photovoltaic panels on our house. It's not a big money-saver in our case. I'm estimating it's going to be approximately break-even over its lifetime. Nevertheless, I'm quite happy with the system, and it's given no trouble since its installation in 2006.

      If you want an overwhelming amount of information on our install, our page is at

      http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/roderick/solar/photovoltaic.html

      Oh, and by the way, you might get more answers if you ask this in Home > Environment > Green Living

19. QUESTION:
    what makes solar cells impractical for home power? (besides the expense)?

    • ANSWER:
      Other than what Dr. Jello said. Batteries while alot better today are needed to store the energy for the nighttime and dark days. This is not a very efficient use of power. Solar is advancing and getting closer, but still has a long way to go. Without some sort of gas/electrical backup, solar has a hard time to deal with 5 days without much sun. Do to the DC to AC starting watts can also be of concern.

20. QUESTION:
    could i use lots of 6.7VmA solar cells to power my home?
    what if i used a .45V0mA
    say i knew my kilowatt hours per day on average, and i wanted to design my own solar panels by interlinking lots of these solar cells into the roof of my house, is it possible?
    say i knew my kilowatt hours per day on average, and i wanted to design my own solar panels by interlinking lots of these solar cells into the roof of my house, is it possible?

    • ANSWER:
      It's possible, but most likely neither practical nor cost-effective.

      Home built panels would not be allowed to connect to the grid, so you would need to make a standalone system with batteries. With the possible exception of some remote islands, a battery system always ends up costing more than the grid in the long run, at least at today's prices.

      Homemade panels will only last a few years at best. If you make them in such a way that they will last a long time, they will be less efficient and cost more than commercial panels.

      Finally, those cells are 1/10 watt each, meaning that you would need 10,000 of them to make a a 1 kW array. It's possible, but does not seem worth it, even if the cells were free. To get a feel for the work involved, maybe try making a panel out of 100 of the cells?

      I don't mean to be discouraging, just advising you of the considerations.

21. QUESTION:
    How to create your own solar cell at home ?

    • ANSWER:
      It is cheap and easy to make a solar cell at home. However the power you will get is so tiny you can hardly measure it. You can't compete with industrial made solar cells.

      The energy used to make this cell you will *never* recoup. Its a net energy loss with this one so you aren't going to save the planet:

22. QUESTION:
    how can you make a home-made solar cell?
    pls specify the material and the steps in making it

    • ANSWER:
      Check out this site, it shows low power alternative using cuprous oxide instead of silicon.

      http://worldwatts.com/homemade_solar_cell/homemade_solar_cell.html

23. QUESTION:
    Is it possible to make a solar cell utilizing a p-n junction at home?
    I need to make a physics project based on semiconductors. I found out that p-n junctions are used in solar cells. Can you give me a tutorial(or a link to one) on how to make a small solar cell demonstrating the use of p-n junctions?

    • ANSWER:
      Bell labs actually made a kit that had the silicon wafer and most of the chemicals needed.

      http://www.porticus.org/bell/belllabs_kits_se.html

24. QUESTION:
    If a typical home uses 390 of electricity per month, how many square meters of solar cells would be required?

    • ANSWER:
      Is that 390 kWh, or something else?

      If it's kWh, then the answer would depend on the location, and how many equivalent hours of peak sun that location gets. For example, suppose the area gets 5 peak equivalent hours of sun per day. Over 30 days, that's 150 hours. 390/150 = 13/5 = 2.6 kW = size of the solar array. If we assume 130 watts/m^2, then that's 20 m^2 of panels.

25. QUESTION:
    how to make solar cells?
    How to I make home made solar cells for my home that work?

    • ANSWER:
      they require special perfectly clean silicon doped (mixed with very specific ammounts) of phosphorus or boron. you cant make it at home because you don't have a method of measuring the exact amouts of phosphorus or boron or a room clean enough to do it in, and you don't have a way of melting the silicon. this has to do with why solar panels are so expensive. you might be able to make a solar collector, where you use mirrors to heat up a tube of melted salts or oil and use it to build water that turns a steam engine basically.

26. QUESTION:
    how can you make your own solar cell at home and how do they work?

    • ANSWER:
      There is no possible way you could make your own solar cell at home. At least not a practical one. It takes a large factory with lots of specialized machinery and chemicals and engineers to do this.

      .

27. QUESTION:
    how to built a solar power system in my home?
    my warm greetings to you
    my name is ahmed , i am from iraq ,i am an electrical engineer.. you know our hard circumstances , and i believe that sun power is the best , and i am so concerened , but we dont have solar cells here , my qeustion is .. how can i built a suitable solar power system to my home with out employing solar cells ? waiting for your kind answer with my best regards

    • ANSWER:
      ahmed,

      without photovoltaic cells you are going to have a hard time generating electricity. solar energy requires a lot of initial cost - a typical home installation in the US costs around ,000.

      the simplest kind of solar heating is to use the sun to heat water for the house instead of using energy to heat the water. that will save you some money.

      another thing you could do without PV cells is to build a solar concentrator -basically a large curved mirror or mirror array that will focus the sunlight to a single spot. this focused sunlight can be used to power a device called a stirling engine, which can be used to turn heat into mechanical energy. it's a mechanical device - if you are an engineer you could probably build one and then attach it to an alternator scrounged from an old car or truck.

      you should keep in mind that anything home-built is going to be pretty inefficient. even a 100W solar panel is about a half-meter square. i'm not sure what "hard circumstances" means, but if you don't have very much money to spend your best bet is probably something like wind power generation instead of solar. solar is great and you have lots of sun in iraq, but the technology is expensive and not very good at this point.

      at any rate, best of luck and stay safe.

28. QUESTION:
    how many square meters of solar cells would be required to meet its energy requirements?
    In a sunny location, sunlight has a power density of about 1 kW/m2 . Photovoltaic solar cells can convert this power into electricity with 16% efficiency.
    If a typical home uses 385 kW/m2 of electricity per month, how many square meters of solar cells would be required to meet its energy requirements? Assume that electricity can be generated from the sunlight for 8 hours per day.

    • ANSWER:
      about a million

29. QUESTION:
    does anyone here have solar energy cells at their home? how efficient is it?

    • ANSWER:
      I recently had a salesman come out to my house and give me a presentation on solar panels.

      The salesman would not answer my questions about annual electric production.

      I found out later that the salesmen do not want those numbers released because the amount of electricity actually produced is so low that it is very difficult to sell these systems to people who know the true numbers for electricity production.

      I found out later that typical production for a 3,000 watt unit in my area is approximately 4,000 kilowatt hours per year.

      That is a pitifully small amount of electricity for the amount of money that this system costs.

30. QUESTION:
    How can i build a large solar panel for my home in country like Pakistan?
    I am very interested in making solar panels in Karachi, Pakistan. But cant figure out where i get solar cells? If there is some DIY methods please tell me.

    • ANSWER:
      you do google search and contact the companies which manufactures solar panel..or contact an expert in this field..

31. QUESTION:
    how to build solar cell at home?
    i want to build my solar cell for energy at home

    • ANSWER:
      you can't reasonably build a photovoltaic cell on your own.

      you could build a solar thermal collector which would heat water for home use. Unfortunately hotwater is probably one of the most minor use of energy in the home.

32. QUESTION:
    Can I buy solar silicon cells only and assemble my own solar panel made of insulated materials like plywood?
    Photovoltaic electricity is becoming one of the best alternarive energy source nowadays but still a little expensive. As ordinary electrice home user and solar power beginner, I am conscious of cost effectiveness. I understand silicon is standard material of solar cell which is just can not be manufactured at home so you must buy it, but can i make my own solar panel made of any insulated materials such as plywood or painted plain G.I. sheets with welded metal frame? Can I used 12v car battery and AVR as charge controller and a low cost bridge rectifier as inverter?

    • ANSWER:
      Absolutley, just make sure you include diodes so your batteries don't drain through the panels at night, and make sure everything is watersealed for obvious reasons

33. QUESTION:
    If my solar panel is to replace my roof, does it make my home less hot?
    I'm not sure what's my roof is made of, could be clay or concrete or decra. But you know this material absorb heat and subsequently travel all the way down into the house, that makes a house hot. Nevertheless, thought of going green, if i replace my roof with solar panel/cell, does it also make my home less hot since it does not absorb heat as much as conventional roof (solar cells are suppose to absorb light, right?)

    • ANSWER:
      From a purely theoretical standpoint, the solar energy that your panels convert to electricity can't make your house hotter.

      From a practical standpoint, the solar panels will shade the roof somewhat, especially if they are mounted on some kind of support a couple of inches above the roof plane.

      Hard to say how much of an effect this would have.

34. QUESTION:
    How can I make photovoltiac cell (solar cell)?
    Want to make a photovoltiac cell or solar cell at home. Can I make a solar panel by joining these cells? How can I find raw material for it?

    • ANSWER:
      They are made from highly purified silicon wafers that under go a series of depositions and etchings in a clean room environment.

      No way can you make one at home.

35. QUESTION:
    solar cells?
    We wondering where we could get solar cells for home use. we looked at helio's site, and was wondering if anyone else knew of any other places to get them, and have them installed. just wanted to know about cost and how it could help our 0 monthly eletric bill
    oh, i forgot to mention that im on the west coast, southern california

    • ANSWER:
      Check out www.sunwize.com . They have hundreds of dealers that will install all over the USA. They have a very large warehouse in CA and NY and their prices are the same as everyone elses. I know this because I have a dealership with them.

      You can send me an email if you like and I will be happy to give you more information. Or even price you a system but you would have to hire a local contractor to install it.

36. QUESTION:
    I want to become energy independent. Can anyone help me with Solar energy installation know how for my home?
    Do let me know how / company referrals on Solar Cells that must be cost effective so I can use energy from the Sun and become energy independent, thereby not feeling guilty of polluting the earth.

    • ANSWER:
      Try joining http://www.justfortheloveofit.org
      It's a freeconomy site, the idea is that people use their skills to help out people they don't know for free. (and make new friends) I know that in my area there are some people with amazing skills including solar energy installers. Join and see if there is anyone who can help you.
      If there isn't an installer there is bound to be someone with knowledge to help you further.

      Sorry to send you some where else and not give you any answers myself, but it may help!

      Spread the freeconomy goodness.

      Bright Blessings.

37. QUESTION:
    what accessories and structures are needed for installing solar cells used for homes and small scale?

    • ANSWER:
      The solar cells typically come already mounted on panels.

      These panels can be mounted directly onto a roof with screws, bolts, or various angle brackets, but usually, mounting racks are put onto the roof first.

      Most residential installations have a grid-tied inverter, a box that adapts and connects the DC solar electricity into AC line electricity.

      Other than that, it's pretty much the same was wiring anything new into the house, such as flood lights around the perimeter, or a built-in air conditioner.

38. QUESTION:
    Which of the following would be a feature included in a home being built using passive solar energy features?
    Which of the following would be a feature included in a home being built using passive solar energy features?

    a. tile floors
    b. photovoltaic cells
    c. solar panels
    d. natural gas furnace

    • ANSWER:
      a. tile floors to absorb day time sun/heat

39. QUESTION:
    How much does it cost do have solar power to run an average home? Wind power? hydro Power? How big is the unit
    This is for a science project so I need a valid source. By the question about the size of the unit I mean exactly how many solar cells, how many blades, depth of water, models for all(if possible). I'm not looking for someone to do my science fair project, I just need someone to point me in the right direction!!

    • ANSWER:
      a lot

40. QUESTION:
    Home-made solar cell phone charger difficulties?
    Hey I recently built myself a solar-powered cell phone charger for my Palm Pre using this these plans. http://www.instructables.com/id/Solar-Powered-Cell-Phone-Charger/

    The solar cell is a 6V 50mA and the DC outlet is 12V. My problem is when I plus the phone into the charger cable, it will pup up that it is charging but then the entire UI becomes extremely sluggish, making taps on the screen take several seconds to register until the screens settles into an entirely unresponsive state. Removing it from the charger does not fix this and and I end up having to pull the battery and do a hard restart.

    Any ideas why this might happen?

    • ANSWER:
      Have you checked to see that the voltage on your battery holder corresponds to the voltage requirements of your phone?

41. QUESTION:
    Can the average person make solar cells economically?
    To use for powering a home and/or possibly charging a car.

    • ANSWER:
      Depends on how you are defining "make."

      If you mean by assembling a series of individual manufactured cells, yes, you can do that, in fact some are already made, just plug them into your cigarette lighter of your car. http://www.northerntool.com Go to their alternative energy section.

      If by producing the actual cell itself is what you mean. from a clear substrate begining- No. There are a number of hazardous materials used in their manufacture. Chemicals like Cadmium, Nickel, and others. Not to mention the specialized nature of the equipment to construct them.

      Lindsay Publishing has published a book on how to make your own solar cell that really works, book of that name in fact, but the amount of current and ultimately power of that cell are so limited that they are not cost effective in any way other than as a demonstration tool. http://www.lindsaybks.com

42. QUESTION:
    how can building a zero energy home affects on it's exterior?
    I'm studying architecture , I have a research about using solar cells in homes, office building , factories .
    The research should combine between using solar energy and weather it affects on the shape of the building.

    • ANSWER:
      For solar energy (PV cells, Passive or otherwise) orientation and latitude will have an effect on the structure. Latitude will effect:
      1.) the the optimum angle the panels will be placed,
      2.) Temperature concerns and the seasonal amount of Sun light.
      3.) Snow loading and covering of panels. Will you need to use verticle panels to avoid snow coverage at the expense of teh optimum angle.
      4.) Average outside temperature will didtate the energy requirements of the home. (Heating vs Cooling vs Lighting)

      Energy requirements will dictate the size of the solar panels.
      Type of system (PV, Active Hot water, Passive Heating) all have different efficiencies and would require different amounts of surface area.

      A Trombe Wall Adds the cost of glass but doesn't provide a view as a stone wall is placed int=front of the glass.

      PV electric panels will require some utility space for battery and charger equipment as well as safe storage and easy access for maintenance.

      Active Hot water will require additiona utility space for a storage tank and pumps.

43. QUESTION:
    How to make a cheap, nontoxic solar cell (ok to be inefficient)?
    Current high-efficiency solar cells are apparently still bad for the environment (manufacturing) How would you make at home a cheap nontoxic solar cell using common materials? It's ok if it is not very efficient, but I was wondering if it was possible at all -- maybe just to power air conditioner.

    • ANSWER:
      Powering an air conditioner is a tall order. That's actually a lot of power. The kind of photovoltaic cells you can make in your garage would not power an air conditioner even if you were able to cover your entire roof with them.

      While it is true that the manufacture of solar cells uses resources, typical silicon solar panels will pay back their energy cost (including the cost to make the aluminum frame, glass, etc) in about 4 years. After that, the electricity they produce is cleaner than burning coal, natural gas, or many other forms of energy.

      Also consider your end goals. If what you really want is a cool room, saving money, and energy, invest in extreme insulation and energy-conserving appliances.

44. QUESTION:
    Are there any ROI studies regarding concentrators and tracking systems for solar cells (PV)?
    I'm considering installing an on-grid full solar array for our home and was wondering about ROI of solar concentrators and solar tracking systems as opposed to a solar array simply mounted to our home's roof.
    I'm aware of the costs, tax benefits, and utility company benefits which all bring this into the realm of possibility.
    I'm in New Mexico so I have plenty of sunshine!

    • ANSWER:
      You might want to check out this website.

      It will cost you a pretty penny to have one installed. Make sure your home roof is designed for it.

      Good luck.

45. QUESTION:
    What is the chemical process that takes place in a solar panel?
    On a chemical level, how does a solar panel work? What are the chemicals inside it that react with one another, and how are the chemicals arranged and assembled with the other materials?

    Specifically, I'm trying to determine if I could build a solar cell at home, even if it is very inefficient. Any information is appreciated.

    • ANSWER:
      Nothing chemical at all - solid state physics at the quantum level - photon of light knock electrons off silicon which are freed to form an electrical circuit that we can use as power.
      Because nearly pure silicon is required, there is no way you can build one of these at home.
      Heating solar panels are not chemical either - just physical.

46. QUESTION:
    In a sunny location, sunlight has a power density of about 1 kW/m^2. Photovoltaic solar cells can convert this?
    In a sunny location, sunlight has a power density of about 1 kW/m^2. Photovoltaic solar cells can convert this power into electricity with 14% efficiency. If a typical home uses 380 kWh of electricity per month, how many square meters of solar cells would be required to meet its energy requirements? Assume that electricity can be generated from the sunlight for 8 hours per day.

    • ANSWER:
      Let's say you have 1 square meter of panels. Then you get 8 hours x 1 kW/m^2 x .14 = 1.12 kWh of energy per day.

      If you have 2 square meters, you get 2.24 kWh's per day.

      If you have N square meters, it's 1.12N kWh's per day.

      Scale that up to a month (use 30 days for a month unless advised otherwise), and you should be able to solve for N.

      Sanity check: the answer should be between 5 and 20 square meters.

47. QUESTION:
    Why isn't there an electric car available with solar cells on the roof/trunk?
    Your car runs out of gas - that's a problem. Your electric car runs out of battery power - simply park and have lunch and let the sun partially recharge the batteries, then you're on your way. Once your home or work or a store, either plug it in to an outlet or hook it up to a solar collecter car port for a faster re-charge. How many of you would buy an electric car with solar cells? I wonder what the current technology efficiency level is for recharging a small 2 seat compact anyway? I think it's time - who wants to go into business with me?

    • ANSWER:
      Becuase it would end the oil business

48. QUESTION:
    Building a SOLAR PANEL with ebay SOLAR CELLS?
    Hello all and thank you for helping!

    I'm building a solar panel with solar cells from ebay and I wanted to know what supplies will I need other than 1.Solar Cells 2.Soldering Gun 3.Solder 4.Flux Pen 5.Tabbing 6.Tabbing Wire 7.Bus Wire 8. Materials for the frame 9.12 Volt Batteries

    What kind of power inverter do I need if I'm trying to charge 12 Volt Car Batteries? I need these supplies to be-able to handle a moderate amount of power because I want to keep adding on cells to my panel. I pretty much know how to make the panel but what all do I need to connect the home built Solar Panel to the batteries? I'm willing to spend around 0.00 to 0 for all the parts total a side from the solar cells. I have 140 3x6 cells I should be buying another 60 and want to make a panels that will charge car batteries. I need to know what parts and equipment I will need aside from the solar panels to to charge them. Equipment that that tells me how much power is flowing and if the batteries are charged are not. Thank you all for viewing my question I am very appreciative to all who help and answer.
    -John

    • ANSWER:
      the wattage of your power converter will depend on how much power you want to be able to use at any given time. buy one as big as you can afford, you could always add another converter in parallel later if the first one you buy isn't big enough. the power converter will be used to convert the 12 volts from the batteries into 120 volts to power light, etc. solor panels should produce 12 volts and basically directly connect to the batteries.

49. QUESTION:
    Solar PV Cell how made at home?
    These days in Pakistan and in other countries face power shortage while we have planty of Sun light unfortunately the Solar Tecnology is too expensive and we have lack of knowledge. If we made a solar cell then our invertor who charge Battery from electricity can do from sun light without touching electrcity.

    • ANSWER:
      You may want to think about building your own solar panels…

      Let me start off by saying we (Agua-Luna) are a non-profit organization that live, promote & teach 100% “off grid” living & complete self sufficiency”. To give you an idea of this, we typically don’t leave the Ranch but once or twice a year.

      The following steps were taking directly out of a DIY guide I offer to those who would like to run their homes on solar power, reducing their monthly utility bills or even selling power back the electrical companies. The entire guide is available at http://www.agua-luna.com/diy_guides.html. It’s pretty simple but if you have any problems feel free to email us directly at info@agua-luna.com we can walk you threw the process.

      Materials you will need…

      A sheet of copper flashing from the hardware store. This normally costs about .00 per square foot. We will need about half a square foot.
      Two alligator clip leads.
      A sensitive micro-ammeter that can read currents between 10 & 50 microamperes. Radio Shack sells small LCD multimeters that will do, but I used a small surplus meter with a needle.
      An electric stove. My kitchen stove is gas, so I bought a small one-burner electric hotplate for about . The little 700 watt burners probably won't work -- mine is 1100 watts, so the burner gets red hot.
      A large clear plastic bottle off of which you can cut the top. I used a 2 liter spring water bottle. A large mouth glass jar will also work.
      Table salt. We will want a couple tablespoons of salt.
      Tap water.
      Sand paper or a wire brush on an electric drill.
      Sheet metal shears for cutting the copper sheet.

      The first step is to cut a piece of the copper sheeting that is about the size of the burner on the stove. Wash your hands so they don't have any grease or oil on them. Then wash the copper sheet with soap or cleanser to get any oil or grease off of it. Use the sandpaper or wire brush to thoroughly clean the copper sheeting, so that any sulphide or other light corrosion is removed.
      Next, place the cleaned & dried copper sheet on the burner & turn the burner to its highest setting.
      As the copper starts to heat up, you will see beautiful oxidation patterns begin to form. Oranges, purples, & reds will cover the copper.
      As the copper gets hotter, the colors are replaced with a black coating of cupric oxide. This is not the oxide we want, but it will flake off later, showing the reds, oranges, pinks, & purples of the cuprous oxide layer underneath.
      The last bits of color disappear as the burner starts to glow red.
      When the burner is glowing red-hot, the sheet of copper will be coated with a black cupric oxide coat. Let it cook for a half an hour, so the black coating will be thick. This is important, since a thick coating will flake off nicely, while a thin coat will stay stuck to the copper.
      After the half hour of cooking, turn off the burner. Leave the hot copper on the burner to cool slowly. If you cool it too quickly, the black oxide will stay stuck to the copper.
      As the copper cools, it shrinks. The black cupric oxide also shrinks. But they shrink at different rates, which makes the black cupric oxide flake off.
      The little black flakes pop off the copper with enough force to make them fly a few inches. This means a little more cleaning effort around the stove, but it is fun to watch.
      When the copper has cooled to room temperature (this takes about 20 minutes), most of the black oxide will be gone. A light scrubbing with your hands under running water will remove most of the small bits. Resist the temptation to remove all of the black spots by hard scrubbing or by flexing the soft copper. This might damage the delicate red cuprous oxide layer we need to make to solar cell work.
      Cut another sheet of copper about the same size as the first one. Bend both pieces gently, so they will fit into the plastic bottle or jar without touching one another. The cuprous oxide coating that was facing up on the burner is usually the best side to face outwards in the jar, because it has the smoothest, cleanest surface.
      Attach the two alligator clip leads, one to the new copper plate, & one to the cuprous oxide coated plate. Connect the lead from the clean copper plate to the positive terminal of the meter. Connect the lead from the cuprous oxide plate to the negative terminal of the meter.
      Now mix a couple tablespoons of salt into some hot tap water. Stir the saltwater until all the salt is dissolved. Then carefully pour the saltwater into the jar, being careful not to get the clip leads wet. The saltwater should not completely cover the plates -- you should leave about an inch of plate above the water, so you can move the solar cell around without getting the clip leads wet.
      now place in the sun with the magnified on top.
      The solar cell is a battery, even in the dark, & will usually show a few microamps of current.
      That’s it it’s that simple. If you’d a more detailed process & some pics (could

50. QUESTION:
    How do I install Solar Cell as an Alternate source of power for my home? Any references?

    • ANSWER:
      You can buy a kit at either [1] or [2] below. If you are just looking for installation instructions, there is a pdf at [3] below with instructions for installing a system.