In the 5th video of the Green DIY Energy “Build your own solar panel for less than $100” series, you get to learn how to assembly your Do It Yourself (DIY) solar panel.

The most challenging part of making the solar module is already done. The tough part is to solder all the Photovoltaic cells together. Now that they are all joined together, it is time to connect the positive and negative home run wires to extract power from the cells.

Blocking Current Backflow

Many people do not know this. The solar panel creates current when exposed to sun light. The current can be used to charge a battery. What happens at night when there is no sun light?

As a matter of fact, current from the battery will actually flow back into the solar cells. This means, the PV cells is becoming an electric load that will drain power from the battery.

How do we overcome this problem? We use a simple blocking diode. The blocking diode is to be installed on the positive home run wire.

The function of the diode is to block any backflow of current into the cells. It is a very useful little component that will maximizes your residential solar power system.

Here’s a tip. If you are using a charge controller to charge the battery, you do not need a blocking diode. The charge controller will do the function of the diode by maintaining a “one way street” for the current to flow.

Covering The Solar Cells

When it’s time to cover the solar cells in the solar panel, use a piece of clear Plexiglas. It is important for you to choose a Plexiglas that is UV proof.

Reason for this is because the panel will be exposed to sun light and UV ray most of the time. A normal Plexiglas will turn yellow after some time. The yellow surface will reduce the total amount of sun reaching the PV cells therefore reducing the power output.

When sealing the panel, make sure every joints are tight. You don’t want any moisture getting into the panel. If moisture caused by rain or show were to get into the panel, it will get trapped under the Plexiglas and affect the panel performance.

Using Screwdriver Instead Of The Drill

When you watch Bryan Clark, the host in the video installs the Plexiglas, you will see the right way of securing it to the panel.

He uses stainless stain screws. He drives the screws in initially with the drill but stop when the head of the screw is about to reach the Plexiglas.

The last couple of turn on the screws is recommended for you to use a screwdriver and crank it manually. This will give you a better feel and control of the screw. You don’t want the screw head to reach all the way into the Plexiglas or you will crack it.

If you want to know more on how to make your own solar panel for under $100, check out the Green DIY Energy program. For a comprehensive review of Green DIY Energy, go to www.greendiyenergyreviews.com

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Related web pages
1) Green DIY Energy Reviews – Is Green DIY Energy Another Scam?

2) Photovoltaic module – A photovoltaic module or photovoltaic panel is a packaged interconnected assembly of photovoltaic cells, also known as solar cells.

3) Power Your Home With Wind Energy For Less Than $140?

One of the popular home renewable energy guides on the internet is the Green DIY Energy program. If you didn’t know, you can find the program at www.greendiyenergy.com.

Due to its popularity, many people are wondering whether Green DIY Energy is a scam. It is a fair assumption and I decided to write something about it.

What Green DIY Energy Promises

When you land on the main web site, there’s a big bold title that says “The Secrets of Building Your Own Solar Energy…for less than $200”.

I guess the key question here is, can you make a DIY solar panel for less than $200?

If a normal person can’t do so, it is fair to say Green DIY Energy is a scam.

So I’m using that as my control criteria to judge if the program is a fraud.

Making an Inexpensive Solar Panel

There are a total of 4 e-books that comes with Green DIY Energy. 2 of the manual cover DIY solar panel while the other 2 e-books talk about DIY home wind generator.

When I read the manual on solar panel construction, the actual recommended cost is only $98, not $200 as mention!

I was thinking, why are they raising the bar for themselves? Wouldn’t it be an even bigger challenge to work with such a small budget?

Here’s the catch, the Green DIY Energy solar panel plans focus on only 1 solar panel, not the whole home solar power system. A complete system would definitely cost a lot more.

Some people misunderstood this and thought they can build a complete residential solar energy system with only a couple hundred dollars.

A complete solar system has multiple components. You will need the DC disconnect, charge controller, circuit breaker, battery bank, power inverter etc. Even if you can get the parts cheaply, you would need a budget of at least $1000.

The Main Test

Okay, back to the topic, can we make a solar panel for only $98?

Based on the project costing as shown in the Green DIY Energy e-book (diagram below), the biggest cost is on the Photovoltaic (PV) cells which is $67.50.

Hence, 69% of the budget is on the solar cells alone. If we can validate the cost of the solar cells as recommended, then we can prove Green DIY Energy’s claim.

The solar panel design is capable of generating approximately 18 volt and about 75 watts of electricity. The panel would be sufficient to charge a conventional 12 volt deep cycle battery.

As it turns out, you will need 36 pieces of 3” x 6” PV cells for the solar panel. The origin of the solar cells is from Ebay. So let’s have a look in Ebay.

Cheap Solar Cells at Ebay

I did a search on Ebay to see if I could find some inexpensive solar cells. It took me about 10 minutes of searching.

The closest offer that I could find is a 36 pieces of 3” x 5” solar cells selling for $56.50. See the screen shot below.

The Conclusion

So far, the DIY solar panel project costing as recommended in Green DIY Energy is pretty accurate.

In the e-book, they spent $67.50 on solar cells. When I search in Ebay, the actual price offered for 36 pieces of PV cells is $56.50.

So is Green DIY Energy a scam?

From my research, the recommendation is quite valid. So, it is not a scam.

They promised that you can build a homemade solar panel for less than $200. My guess is, if you were to follow their instructions to the letter, you can get it done for less than $150.

==> Click here to visit Green DIY Energy now!

Related web pages:
1) Green DIY Energy Video Review – Build Your Own Solar Panel

2) Is It Possible To Power Your Home With Wind For Less Than $140?

3) Deep cycle battery – A deep-cycle lead-acid battery is designed to deliver a consistent voltage as the battery discharges. In contrast, starter batteries (e.g. most automotive batteries) are designed to deliver sporadic current spikes.

In the second instructional video of Green DIY Energy “Build your own solar panel for less than $100″, there are 3 sections. In the first section, the host, Bryan Clark talks about the multi-meter. In the second section, he covers the Photovoltaic testing block and finally in the third section, you will learn how to construct a solar panel frame.

The Ins And Outs of Multi-meter

One of the most important tools you’ll need to have when building a home solar panel is the multi-meter. The function of the multi-meter is to measure the voltage and current generated by the solar cells.

If you have never used a multi-meter before, this video will give you’re a quick walk through of all the features on the device. It is important where and how you connect the testing rod. It is also imperative where you set the dial on the multi-meter. If you are not careful, you will get an incorrect reading from the device.

Making a PV Cell Testing Block

Why do you need a PV cell testing block? More importantly, what is it?

A solar cell has a front side and a back site. There are electrodes on the front and contact points at the back. Before we use the solar cell, we want to know if it is in working order.

If you are buying cheap solar cells from auction site such as Ebay, you want to check each and every cell to make sure it is working. To do that, you have to check the current it is producing with the multi-meter.

To get the correct readings from the solar cell, the testing rod of the multi-meter has to touch both the front electrodes and back contact point at the same time. As you can see, this is quite a difficult task.

To make the testing easier and faster, Byran is showing us a device specially made to help you with the testing of the solar cells. It is call the “PV cell testing block”.

Building The Solar Panel Frame

In this section of the video, Bryan walks us through the process of making the solar panel frame. In this section, you’ll learn to calculate the amount of power that will be generated by a series of PV cells. The calculation will involve a basic formula.

The idea is to make a solar panel that will generate 18 volts. To do that, you have to connect 36 solar cells in series. The question is, how do you arrange them in the solar panel to have to most efficient rating?

From the video, you will see 2 popular arrangements of the PV cells. You can either use the 4 cells across x 9 cells down or 3 cells across x 12 cells down arrangement. Each arrangement has its own advantages and disadvantages.

For more information on the homemade solar power system guide, check out the comprehensive Green DIY Energy review on this web site.

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