HOW TO MAKE A SOLAR PANEL:

If you are here to learn how to make a solar panel, then you are in the right place. I will help you make a 63 watt panel. The procedure is quite simple and is outlined below.

STEPS TO MAKE A SOLAR PANEL:

1. Make a template for your solar cells. You will need a regular cardboard, plywood, a staple gun and tile spacers for this process. The tile spacers serve the purpose of keeping even the solar cells. Use a ruler for alignment and jigsaw to cut your plywood.

Put your frame together once the template is ready. Cutting a 1x2x8 piece of wood for the outer frame will do. Make sure the outer frame is not too high to create a hindrance to the sunlight. This can be achieved by screwing those pieces onto the 2×4 pressure treated framework.

Apply the siding paint as well as the deck on the frame.

2. Assemble the solar cells keeping in mind that the bottom part of the cells is the positive side. Connect the cells in series using tabbing wire and soldering iron. Thirty six cells will give you 63 watts.

Use a bus wire to connect three solar cell strings. The bus wire will curl up to create one long string.

3. The frame and pegboard should have two coats of paint. Put carefully the cells inside the frame so you can get a rough idea of where to insert the screws then remove them. Screw the pegboard down.

4. The positive and negative connections need to run out. Drill two holes for this at the end of the frame.

5. To glue down the solar cell strings to the pegboard, you will need silicon.
Solder your bus wire to bond the solar cell strings on one end. Confirm the voltage once you solder two strings instead of waiting till all solar cell strings are connected.

6. Once the solar strings are set up in your choice, the gauge wires are ready to be soldered. You can ease the soldering process by connecting connectors on the lead ends of the gauge wires.

7. You can make the inside of the panel look better with the use of wire mold strips running along.

8. At this point, test the voltage of the panel by taking it outside in daytime.

9. You will need to hook up a deep cycle battery to an inverter and charge controller. The process is simple. Connect charge controller (solar side) to the panel connection. Connect the other side of the charge controller to the deep cycle battery. Hook the battery and the inverter and you are good to go.

10. There should be even pressure for the security of your Plexiglas on the edges of the solar panel. For this to be, the same outer plywood frame you have at the bottom covering the plexi wood should be spread at the top. The screws you are using should be made from pressure treated lumber, and should be carefully drilled to avoid cracking the glass.

11. At this point, the solar panel should have a junction box installed. When the solar panel is hooked to the battery, there is backflow of current so if the charge controller does not control this, it is advisable to bring a blocking diode along with the junction box. Put the diode outside the panel so that if it needs replacing you will not have to open the whole package. Check the voltage again before mounting the panel on your roof.

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Solar energy does a lot of great things. It can power our homes, our businesses, and even run the air-conditioning in our cars. One of its many applications is powering fountains. Solar powered outdoor fountains have been around for some time now, but the last few years have seen some great products come out, making solar products more stylish and efficient than in years past. Here’s a look at all you need to know on using solar panels to power your outdoor fountains.

The first thing to consider is whether you want a fountain that comes with the solar panel and accessories or whether you want to make your own. Making your own isn’t that hard, as we’ll discuss later, but some people prefer the convenience of having everything ready to go right out of the box. For fountains that come with a panel, you’ll most often find them either mounted in the basin or outside the fountain attached by a cord. Pre-mounted ones are well positioned to get as much sun as possible, while those outside the fountain offer more versatility in where you place the fountain. For example, you could have your fountain on a shaded patio but keep the panel out in the yard to it gets plenty of sun to keep it running.

If you’re more of a do-it-yourselfer, there’s different ways to go about using solar power to run your fountain. A few companies manufacture solar kits that give you everything you need to transform your electric fountain into a 100% solar powered one. These typically include a solar panel, a few fountain heads, a pump, and all the wiring you need. Some may have a stake for the panel if it’s one that sits outside the fountain. Certain kits are made to convert electric fountains and others are made to transform something that’s not a fountain, like a planter, into a fountain.

For doing it all yourself, there’s a few things you’ll need. First, obviously, is a solar panel. You’ll want to get at least a 12-volt model with 10 watts of power so it’s strong enough to power the pump. Next, you’ll need a submersible pump, also 12 volts. Most solar fountains tend to run off smaller pumps, so anything from 30-75 gallons per hour should be sufficient. Make sure your pump has plenty of head height, which refers to how high the pump can lift water up. However tall your fountain is, you’ll want a pump with head height a full foot larger. To set things up, start by installing your solar panel. You can mount it in the fountain using brackets or place it outside of it on a stand. Next, put your pump down in the water reservoir and make sure its connections to the solar panel are secure. Get the tubing that runs through your fountain in place and you should be all ready to go. Bonus tip: consider getting a backup battery for your panel that can store the sun’s energy so you can enjoy your fountain when the sun’s not out!

Don’t forget about solar power next time you’re looking at outdoor accessories – they’re an easy way to enhance the look of your home while helping the environment!

About The Author – Melissa Anne is a writer with OutdoorLiving.com/learning-center/ who loves solar powered outdoor products. For more on solar fountains, visit OutdoorFountains.com, home to solar pumps, solar fountain kits, and all sorts of other outdoor fountains.

The post Solar Panels for your Outdoor Fountain appeared first on Solar Panel Lessons.

With the connection of a recessing economy and it’s cultivating interest in renewable energy has many people looking at the sun for answers.

Solar energy, a renewable form of energy that can be harnessed and used to power homes and other necessary buildings, is basically free if the right hardware is setup correctly. Unfortunately, installing solar panels can come with a hefty cost which not only includes the materials cost, but the labor and installation as well.

Wherefore, many have already looked to making their own  solar panels instead. Simple step-by-step guides along with the right materials can help anyone save money on the installation and on their energy bills.

Are Home Made Solar Panels Worth The Effort?

The difference in cost of home made solar panels vs. hiring a contractor is obviously far less. Savings can add up to 10,000-20,000 dollars, however there is much more than just the materials cost to think about.

“Making home made solar panels” means that you have to make them on your own, which can take a lot of effort and time, not to mention mental pressure if things don’t work like they should.

By the way, the installation is something else you have to worry about. Putting the solar panels on the home and receiving free sun energy is not entirely easy.

And finally, many of the home made solar panel instructions found on the internet and in kits found in stores are actually easy to do step-by-step. Simple step by step instructions combined with video tutorials of the exact process make building your own solar panels relatively pain free.

If you do buy a “how to make a solar panel guide”, the most important thing to realize is that there is work involved. Just buying the instruction manuals or the kits will not bring energy into your home. It’s only after you purchase the materials and actually do the work do things finally start to happen.

Whatever you do decide to do, good luck in the process and happy free energy to you!. Here’s to a cleaner environment and a cheaper energy bill!

The post Home Made Solar Panels Are The Answer appeared first on Solar Panel Lessons.

Hi, welcome to my GreenDIYenergy review blog! I bought this “how to make a solar panel” guide just about seven months ago because I had heard so much about greendiyenergy on the web. I searched around review sites and other websites that said it was a “scam”, just like I’m sure you have, and honestly all of those didn’t have the information I was looking for. I don’t like to spend a lot of money online, so I really wanted to make sure this worked before investing in it.

Well, I finally jumped in and bought it to see what it was like myself. I created this blog to show you what this product is about from a person who actually bought it, so you don’t have to go looking through all the “crap” out there to get the information you’re looking for.

Introduction to GreenDIYenergy

Welcome to my GreenDIYenergy review blog! I bought the guide just a few months ago because I had heard so much about it on the internet. I looked at review sites and other sites that claimed it was a “scam”, just like I’m sure you have, and honestly all of those didn’t have the information I was looking for. I don’t spend a lot of money online, so I really wanted to make sure this worked before investing in it.

Well, I finally bit the bullet and purchased it to see what it was like myself. This blog was created to show you what this product is like from a person who actually bought it, so you don’t have to go searching through all the “weeds” out there to get the information you’re looking for.

So What Is GreenDIYenergy?

The best way to explain it: it’s a book that walks you through how to build your own solar panel system from home.

Getting solar panels professionally installed can cost you an arm and a leg, although that depends on how big your house is. The small solar panels that get placed on the roof can actually be built from scratch, which is what this guide shows you exactly how to do.

I didn’t think it was possible at first, especially because I had no idea what the instructions would look like. I didn’t even know if I had all of the right materials and supplies, or if I could get my hands on them if I wanted to.

But I was glad, that this guide broke down everything in an easy to read, step-by-step manual. But not only that, the program gives a ton of tutorial videos that are easy to follow as well, which make building your own solar panels much easier.

What Comes With the GreenDIYEnergy Package?

When you buy GreenDIYenergy, you get the following items:

• 7 eBooks on various topics of renewable and sustainable energy
• 2 Instruction Manuals on Building Wind Turbines (this is a bonus that’s included with the package)
• 6 Tutorial videos (like I mentioned, these are gold! – totaling over 60 minutes)
• Plus, you get links to 50 Free Online videos about renewable and sustainable energy
• 2 Instruction Manuals on Building Solar Panels

The price is very good at $49.97 (definitely less than I thought it would be in my opinion. The video tutorials alone are worth more than that, in my opinion). Besides, there’s a 60-Day 100% money back guarantee, and some email and online forum support to go along with it.

If you want to really take chance on this opportunity of this incredible do-it-yourself solar panel system and save an arm and a leg on installation fees (not to mention your reduced energy and heating bills!), then please click on the link below:

Click Here NOW to get your book now >>>

If you’re still wondering like I was “But what about all the other do-it-yourself solar panel systems?”

Well, I was thinking the same thing. In fact, I did a lot of reading on many of the others and asked a lot of questions too. As I mentioned, I don’t like spending a lot of money online, so I did a lot of thorough research before I was ready to take out my wallet.

These other programs, including Earth4Energy, Power4Home and Homemade Energy, Solar Energy Guide (just to name a few), all seemed like good products too, but what really helped me make my decision on this guide was the actual video evidence of the building process by Brian Clark:

Click Here NOW to get your book now >>>

The post Introduction to GreenDIYenergy appeared first on Solar Panel Lessons.

I’ve put together a list of the different websites and sources where I hang out when I’m not here writing for you folks. The list is short, but I can assure you will get value from these sites.

The Top Websites

Renewable Energy World

It has the top news about renewable energy, job, events, companies and more.

Grist

To get environmental new, commentary and advice this is the spot.

CleanTechnica

Clean tech innovation and views.

Next Big Future

Breaking news of disruptive technology that can majorly impact the future course of civilization. Answers for what matters? What is the consequence?

Inhabitat

Green design will save the world.

gizmag

New and emerging technology news.

Environmental Leader

Energy and environmental news for businesses.

Earth Teaching

Green technology news and reviews for Earthlings.

DeSmogBlog

Clearing the PR pollutes that clouds climate science.

GreenTech

As the name suggest, it’s about green tech.

GreenBeat

Green news and Green technology.

The post Eleven Green News Websites, Blogs, Business and Technology appeared first on Solar Panel Lessons.

Toyota has always been a leader in the hybrid industry. Recently Toyota made hybrid cars a more accessible by showing off the whole new Toyota Yaris subcompact hybrid at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. Hybrids right now run upwards of $20,000, and that makes it hard for the average  entry-level fuel conscious people.

The subcompact hybrid Yaris, is here now to, hopefully, change that . This B-segment car, made specifically for the European market right now — where smaller cars are much more popular than countries like the U.S, shows that Toyota is committed to downsizing its proven full hybrid technology. The Yaris Hybrid will go on sale in Europe next year, let’s hope that it comes to the U.S, if it ever makes it here.

Here’s what Toyota had to say about the obstacle with putting the HSD drivetrain into this tiny car,

“Introducing full hybrid technology into the B-segment has presented Toyota with several unique engineering challenges. The new powertrain must be optimized for installation within the vehicle’s compact, extremely efficient packaging design, without detriment to either system quality and performance, or passenger accommodation and loadspace.”

We haven’t yet got the full details on the price, size, engine size or MPG of the car, but we do know that the all-new Yaris 2011 will have solar panels on the roof like the 2010 Yaris to power the air-conditioning, when the car is parked to improve fuel efficiency.

Since this is a really tiny car, and its a hybrid the least I would hope this car to be is, over 50MPG or 60MPG.

The post Toyota Unveils Its New Hybrid Yaris Subcompact Model at The Geneva Auto Show appeared first on Solar Panel Lessons.

SMA the leader in manufacturing inverters for photovoltaic systems has gone and extra step to build a remarkable training facility in Niestetal, Germany. The structure and design screams out solar technology. It’s packed with photovoltaic systems and has zero-energy footprint into it’s clean modern form.

HHS Architekten’s design is totally self-suffient no grid support to it, this demostrates the viability of large-scale independent building and green building design.

The purpose for the technology used and demonstration of self-sufficiency serves as great education to each student and inspires them to be bold in design in their fields. You can see behind the wall of solar electric a hallway lit by the day and heated by the diffused silicon cells place on glass. The solar panels go around the south wall and up to the rooftop, where they meet with a few ground-mounted 2-axis tracking arrays.

The SMA inverters are lined up in the foyer to be inspected by about 15,000 students every year. There are four classrooms sitting on the ends of the building, and the central assembly space. An internal battery also shares the main floor and gives energy when the sun goes down, making the building independent of the grid.

To prevent flooding the the 1600 square-meter academy is above ground for good reason. Uptairs has CHP system that adds to the solar thermal and electric systems in winter. It spins an electric turbine using biogas fuel and the stemming  heat from combustion is used to maintain internal heating throughout the building.

Durring summer, cooling is attained by a heat exchanger connected to a bore hole installation. A highly insulated shell lowers the necessary energy to keep internal comfort.

All of the equipment is easily available for display, and metering indicators relay the equipment’s status.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ALL THIS

Non status quo solar panel design and combination is important, but showing this technology is crucial for professionals to be able to combine that knowledge in their own work. SMA’s boldly designed Solar Academy is the best example to date.

The post SMA’s Great Looking Net-Zero Solar Academy in Germany Opens appeared first on Solar Panel Lessons.

A lot of space can be taken up by solar panels on the roofs of your home or backyard sometimes, but a company in Israel called Solaris Synergy is working with French EDF Group and they may have found a solution. It’s obvious we only have so much land, and stacking solar panels one on top of the other would not be efficient.

Placing floating solar panels on inland bodies of water. AquaSun, is the name of the project.

The panels still use silicon cells, which are less expensive than other types, but also prone to inefficiency caused by overheating. But because they’re on the water it’s said that this would not be an issue.  There’s reports of a mirror system that’s also to increase their efficiency, which also reduces the number of panels needed, thus reducing the cost as well.

A prototype has been designed and is set to be presented at the 4th International Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Conference in Israel. The plan is to see AquaSun installed for a nine-month test period in a basin at a hydro-electric facility in southeastern France by the end of September. By 2012 they hope to have great results in the performance of the prototype to bring into the commercial market.

It’s cool to see this sort of ideas coming up in the energy field. Who know where else will we see solar panels being installed.

The post Floating Solar Panels Project Aquasun in France by Solaris Synergy appeared first on Solar Panel Lessons.

Sometimes reading a book or an ebook about solar panels can get a little confusing if we’re not the technical kind of person. I myself find it easier to follow instruction on a video than reading when it’s a technical thing.

The first time I build my first solar panel it was done using the useful videos from a product a bought. But since I know not everyone can afford to buy it I’ve put together some good links to videos on youtube that can help you with your solar panel project.

Solar Panel Installation Videos

-A channel by the name of greenpowerscience had more than a few good solar panel related videos, but the

installation video I found was quite straight forward and simple to follow through step-by-step process. I like greenpowerscience because he does a good job at explaining everything thoroughly. Here is the video.

Under the googletechtalks channel they had an excellent overview of solar energy and solar panel installation. (57:44 minutes long)

Genersysolar had a video sort of promoting their company, no problem with that though, they do a good job at showing how to install a solar panel correctly very carefully. I would skip this video to around minute #1 and watch it from there on. Here is part one to installing a solar panel and here is part two.

Dave Dugdale was interviewing a professional installer that gave out some excellent tips on installing solar panels in different roofs. If you don’t have a regular shingle roof this might be useful.

Expert Village had more than just a few videos on solar panel installation. I found it hard to find one that explained the entire process from beginning to end, but I found a link to one video that could actually take you where all the PV panel install videos are. This video can take you to one of their shows and from their you’ll find related videos in the sidebar. Excellent resource and hopefully useful to you as well.

MicrosoftHohm I found some good tips that I had no idea about when installing a panel on a home. Before this video I had no idea what micro inverters where but now I know, hey you might learn something new too. Installing solar panels on a home was a good video.

I must say all these videos have been great help in my process of installing the panel on my home. I’m thankful to having the internet at all times to double check if I’m not doing something correctly or not, but I understand in other places around the world where people want to go green they might not have the luxury of super fast internet or availability at all times.

The solution for them I found is have a guide or manual that can help you step-by-step of the solar panel installation process without the Internet. Here is a link to something that might help you, if you don’t want to be looking at videos at all times and you just want a guide instead.

Hope this article has been of great help to you and if you still have questions don’t hesitate to email me with any questions. I usually try to answer most questions once a day, if I have time. But for sure expect an answer asap.

For now good luck on your solar project and keep using the power of the sun.

The post Solar Panel Installation Videos I Found Very Useful appeared first on Solar Panel Lessons.

Note to the reader: Solar Panel Lessons respects all readers and focus on providing nothing but valuable information to you. I hope this review from someone who’s used the product can help you. To visit Green DIY Energy directly just click here

Hey guys and gals, I’ve setup this web page for all of you that are thinking about getting Green DIY Energy. If you’re skeptical like me I’m sure you’re thinking is just some kind of scam or something.

Nowadays with so much talk about people getting scammed online it’s hard to find valuable stuff that’s worth something, you know what I mean.

This short review of Green DIY Energy should give you an honest opinion, straight up with no hype or anything. Okay so let’s get to it, let me tell you what I thought about it after I purchased it.

If you’re thinking about buying Green DIY Energy, I know you’re wondering if it worth it or not, right? You’ve probably already read other people’s opinion of it online.

But let me just make it clear what to expect when you get it.

Pros:

• There’s a very interactive forum where you can interact with others
• It comes with a ton of bonuses (youtube videos, consumer guides, and wind power guides)
• All the tutorials are pretty helpful
• You have a Money Back Guarantee
• They manuals have pictures and diagrams very easy to follow

Overall this solar panel guide is pretty standard and I was happy with it.

As you see here is an example of the quality of the videos that come with the guide. They are pretty laid back, none of it really looks to over-promising or anything. Brian really goes out of his way to tell you every step of the way through the course.

The video pretty much took me through every step of the way, showing me what to do next after each step, and the cool thing is I just paused it while I was doing something.

Compared to other “how to make solar panels guides” this is the biggest reason I think Green DIY Energy beats all the competitors out there.  I was impressed with their videos.

Cons:

This was probably one of the hardest things to think of, but if I had to say something I didn’t like is the customer support was fair. But nothing else was very bad about it.

So after all the hard work and hustle building my own solar panels here’s my final conclusion of Green DIY Energy.

Final thoughts about Green Diy Energy

If you want to build your own solar panels from your home Green DIY Energy is of great help.

If you put it next to it’s competitors like Homemade energy, Power for home, and Earth for energy, Green DIY Energy blows them all out of the water.

The best thing about this product is that it doesn’t over promise you anything, it just delivers all the benefits you get from buying it.

I would say a lot of us going into buying these products thinking we’re going to start seeing huge savings immediately or that our entire energy bill will be cut off completely, when in reality we know that’s not going to happen.

So for everyone out there looking into getting Green Diy Energy be realistic, just one panel is not going to run your entire home, but if your goal is to create enough power for your house, expect to build more than one solar panel.

Just remember that it does take work to build the solar panel, it’s not just an easy process, but it’s fun if you like building stuff.

Okay I hope this really helps you out with whatever decision you make, but I’d say if you’re interested in it all buying it try it out and if you don’t like it just return it, there’s a 60 day money back guarantee anyway.

If you’re still doubtful and have questions,  just email me at jonathanhannsson@gmail.com shoot me any question you might have about Green DIY Energy. I been in your same shoes and it would be my pleasure to help you out anyway I can.

If you go now to their site I believe they’re running a promotion you can’t refuse. So right now would be the best time before they raise the price back to normal and you loose out on the deal.

Here’s what you’ll get today when you get it:

• 24/7 dedicated customer and technical support
• Video tutorials covering 7 aspects of solar panel construction
• Comprehensive parts and tools lists
• Thrifty DIYer guide – learn how to build the solar panels for half price
• IRS renewable energy tax rebate forms
• 60 day full money-back guarantee
• Step-by-step, fully illustrated construction manuals on solar and wind power

I would recommend this product to any friend or family member if they were NOT solar panel experts and were interested in saving money on their electricity bill. Green DIY Energy

Click Go Green to get GREEN DIY ENERGY it at a discount price!

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