DIY Solar Panel Kits

Make your own solar panels from as little as US$2.95 per Watt.

As PV solar power becomes more and more popular around the world as a clean, green means of generating electricity, the costs of photovoltaic solar panels (1) have remained stubbornly high - still at at least 4 pounds per Watt for large panels here in the United Kingdom. The weak dollar has made imports from China, Taiwan, and USA more attractive, but once the costs of shipping and customs duty are taken into account, prices are still high.

An alternative to expensive commercial solar panels is to build your own using solar cells. In this article we will look at DIY solar panel kits available from Silicon Solar Inc (2).

Making Your Own Solar Panels

Solar panels whether commerically-made or DIY-made are constructed by wiring solar cells together in an array. Pictured below is such a solar cell. The Silicon Solar kits are supplied with a set of solar cells, detailed assembly (soldering and wiring) instructions, interconnection material (metal ribbon), a soldering iron, and liquid solder for easy soldering.

Prices start from $48.95 for a 7.7V 1.04A 8 Watt panel kit ($6.11 per Watt), up to $169.95 for a 16.5V 2.55A 42 Watt panel kit ($4.05 per Watt). If you order more than 200 Watts of cells, the price drops to just $2.95 per Watt which is below Ł1.50 at today's (16th July 2007) exchange rate!

Home made solar panel - constructed from a kit

Click here to find out more about these DIY Solar Panel Kits (3), or to make a purchase. Silicon Solar Inc are based in the United States, however they offer worldwide shipping.

Web Link References

(1) http://www.reuk.co.uk/How-Do-PV-Solar-Panels-Work.htm
(2) http://www.siliconsolar.com
(3) http://www.siliconsolar.com/diy-solar-panel-kits.php

Article from REUK.co.uk:
http://www.reuk.co.uk/DIY-Solar-Panel-Kits.htm
Published: 16th July 2007
Š REUK 2009