Make a Small Solar Panel

Not only is it quite possible to Make a Small Solar Panel, it can be a fun project too. There are lots of sites detailing exactly how to go about it, as well as many e-books and other electronic resources to call on. So, rather than adding yet another set of instructions to an already healthy range, this simple page is intended to give a good overview of the principles involved when you decide to Make A Small Solar Panel. That read, you can then further your efforts by following one of the links shown, or by reading up in one of the books shown opposite.

How Does it Work?
Simply put, a solar panel uses the photovoltaic process whereby light causes an electrical charge to flow in a given material. If you're going to Make a Small Solar Panel, then there are really two routes by which you're going to achieve your photovoltaic reaction. options open to you, unless you're an eccentric millionairre with access to a superconductor manufacturing facility, are as follows:

The half way house approach. Herein you Make a Small Solar Panel by purchasing the constituent parts from a suitable electrical supplier. This isn't the cop out it seems - you can buy pre manufactured photovoltaic cells and / or solar cells from specialist suppliers. The difference between the two is that the photovoltaic cell will convert light from more sources than the sun, the solar cell just being good with actual sunlight. You then assemble the remaining electronic parts required to produce your solar panel of choice. As mentioned above, there are various titles and eBooks available detailing how to go about it. One such example is the eBook "build Your Own Solar Panel" by Phillip Hurley.
While you're probably not going to power your house with the output of these efforts, the next is even less likely to be replacing your relationship with General Electric.

The whole-hog start-to-finish Make a Small SOlar Panel project. This is more the kind of approach you'd take if you were really just wanting to explore how it all works and to be able to say 'I made a solar panel' to your friends and colleagues. Here, the vital difference is that rather than buying in pre-made cells, you kick off by making your own photovoltaic medium. Rather than going for the silicon-based solution, this home-grown approach relies on the semiconducting / superconducting, photovoltaic properties of Copper(I) Oxide / Cuprous Oxide. This is the red oxidised powder. The oxidisation process also produces a black powder oxide, Copper(II) Oxide but that's of no use to us. The very brief overview of why it does what it does is that Copper(I) Oxide has a very dense polariton level. Polaritons are the result of photons mixing with a conductive material at a given wavelength. The energy from this mixing is what gives you your electricity.

So, if you're going to Make a Small Solar Panel, the first step is to produce your Copper(I) Oxide. Simply put, copper is heated. Doing this at home (after taking all relevant safety precautions and reading up on exactly what you're doing), the copper need be nothing more exotic than roofing flashing, albeit very clean roofing flashing. It's heated for a long time in order to make it easier to remove the unwanted Copper(II) Oxide, though most should have flaked off during cooling.

Your solar cell will then consist of this oxidised panel in salty water together with a fresh, non-oxidised copper panel of the same size. The charge produced is tiny, but it's electricity and proof that you know how to Make a Small Solar Panel.

In addition to the resources shown on this page, there is a complete run down on this second approach to be found at

solar panels making the news

US Bancorp commits $105M to solar-panel venture SunRun - Bizjournals.com
20 Nov 2008 at 6:46pm
US Bancorp commits $105M to solar-panel venture SunRunBizjournals.com, NC - 8 hours agoResidential solar power company SunRun has landed a deal with US Bancorp that will let it continue a rollout of residential-scale solar panels. ...SunRun lands financing for solar panel leasing CNET Newsall 24 news articles

OPEL Installs 9.5 kW Solar System - MarketWatch
20 Nov 2008 at 8:53pm
OPEL Installs 9.5 kW Solar SystemMarketWatch - 5 hours agoMalton added, "A sun tracker mounted system captures significantly more solar energy because the solar panels can follow the sun's path throughout the day ...

PIE to make solar panel cables next year - Malaysia Star
20 Nov 2008 at 11:19pm
PIE to make solar panel cables next yearMalaysia Star, Malaysia - 3 hours agoBy DAVID TAN GEORGE TOWN: PIE Industrial Bhd plans to make solar panel cables next year to diversify further its manufacturing capability and mitigate the ...

Payback plan to invest in solar energy - The Australian
20 Nov 2008 at 2:07pm
Payback plan to invest in solar energyThe Australian, Australia - 12 hours agoThe report by Access Economics for the Clean Energy Council comes after Australia's biggest solar-panel factory, BP Solar, announced it would close its ...

Is solar the right fit - Gainesville Sun
20 Nov 2008 at 3:26pm
Is solar the right fitGainesville Sun, FL - 11 hours agoService technician Scott Helms, with Perry Roofing Contractors, installs a solar panel system for Solar Impact on the rooftop of Tutoring Zone in ...

Solar panel overcapacity expected in 2009, says The Information ... - DigiTimes
19 Nov 2008 at 4:37am
Solar panel overcapacity expected in 2009, says The Information ...DigiTimes, Taiwan - Nov 18, 2008While solar energy panel sales have and will continue to grow at a rate of about 40% per year, market research firm The Information Network indicated that ...XsunX VP of Engineering to be on Thin Films Panel at the Green ... MarketWatchall 15 news articles