By A Renewable Energy Enthusiast

I love going to Starbucks. One of the reasons I hang out there is for the good coffee and also for the free wi-fi. I get to look at people walking around and do my work there. It’s a great experience.

Sometimes I would spend a whole day there working on my laptop.

If you think about it, our laptop has become as common as our cell phone. With broadband wireless signal available free in most area, we can now use our notebook to work from anywhere we choose to.

There is one drawback though and it is the battery lifespan. We can only work on your laptop as long as the battery can last. Sooner or later, we will need to use our power cable to recharge the battery.

Starbucks realize this and they prepare power outlets for their customers. At some other places, it will be quite challenging to find a power outlet to recharge.

All of our mobile devices are held back by its battery life. How do we overcome this? One good solution to the battery life issue is with a portable solar panel.

If you are planning to shop for a personal solar power generator, the following are 6 factors you may want to consider.

1) Light Weight.

Weight is sexy, or rather the lack of weight is sexy. Just look at the Apple MacBook Air. It weights practically nothing.

If you are looking for a personal solar panel, why not get the lightest product. Hauling a notebook plus other accessories in your backpack can be quite heavy. You want to minimize weight as much as possible.

2) Water resistant.

I live in a country where it rains most of the time. Sometimes, I do get caught in a thunderstorm and get myself drenched. As a safety precaution, get a solar panel which is water proof. You don’t know when you’ll be caught in a heavy rain or even snow. If it is water proof, you don’t have to worry even if you were accidentally spill coffee on it.

3) Toughness.

Durability is an important factor. A flimsy solar panel may break if you were to pack it in a suitcase or stuff it in an airplane overhead compartment. You want it to be able to handle all the bumps and shocks of executive travel.

4) Reverse flow protection.

Reverse flow is a technical aspect of the solar film. When the sun is shining, the solar cells will generate power and charge the battery unit.

Without the reverse flow protection, the power from the battery will flow back into the solar cells when the sun is out.

5) Foldable.

Get a solar panel which is foldable. This feature makes the panel very easy to be packed into a bag or briefcase. The panel can be either folded like an origami or rolled into a tube for easy storage.

6) Amorphous solar cells.

Again, this is another technical aspect of the solar panel. Amorphous solar cells works even under low sun light. You will get a constant power output even if the panel is under cloud cover.

Related web pages:
1) Brunton Flexible Solar Module from Amazon.com

2) Powertraveller SM-GREY Gray Solarmonkey Solar Power Charger – Suitable for cell Phone, iPod, PDA, MP3 player and many other digital devices.

3) Ambigrid Review – Reviewing The Ambigrid E-book.

A couple of weeks ago, I did a blog post on how to find cheap residential solar panels. From the blog post, the best place to source for inexpensive solar cells is at Ebay.

The solar cells auctioned at Ebay are cheap because some of them are second hand goods. Some cells may even be damaged or cracked.

How would you know if the cells are in working condition? Simple, you have to test it with a multi-meter.

If you were to buy a box of PV cells from Ebay, your next step is to check each and every cell for cracks or chipping. Do a visual inspection on the cell. If there’s a big crack, chances are, it may not be working.

Measuring the Voltage and Current with a Multi-meter

When you have done with the visual inspection, your next step is to measure the current produced by the cell. To do this, you must know how to use a multi-meter. Set the testing rods in place and then turn the dial to measure current readings.

The front side of the solar cell, the bluish surface is the “negative” side. This is the side when exposed to sun light, the elections will exit through the electrodes. The electrodes are the metal ribbon strips. If the electrodes are gone, you may have to solder a new one on it.

On the back side of the cell, there are usually 3 contact points. This is the “positive” side.

Now, go outside and put the solar cell under the sun. We want to measure its power production capability when exposed to sun light.

Touch the testing rods of the multi-meter on the electrodes and the contact point. Make sure the nodes are correct. If you get this mixed up, you will get an incorrect reading.

If the PV cell is producing about 2.5 amps or more current under the sun, it is in good working condition. If you are getting a reading of less than 1 amp, the cell is not generating power efficiently and can be discarded.

Test all the cells that you bought from Ebay. If you are lucky, you won’t be getting too many damaged solar cell.

Is it possible to build your own solar panel for less than $100? Yes it is if you are willing to do some leg work to source for cheap solar parts and components.

To learn the tips and tricks on where to find cheap parts, be sure to check out the Green DIY Energy guide. For a comprehensive Green DIY Energy review, go to www.greendiyenergyreviews.com.

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

Related web page:
1) Reviewing Earth 4 Energy – Is Michael Hervey’s DIY home solar power guide the real deal?

A few weeks ago, I did a blog post on finding cheap solar cells on eBay. I wanted to see how many listings of inexpensive solar cells are there in eBay. So I went to eBay and did a search.

As usual, to find the solar cells, I just type in the phrase “solar cells” on the search box and hit the “Search” button. When I did the search on July 23rd 2009, there were a total of 1348 results.

Most of the results are a mixed of solar related books, tool kits, solar chargers, solar fan, etc. There are a couple of solar cells offers that I noticed.

To find the PV cells is pretty easy. All the listing come with a small picture. This makes the browsing process easier. To locate the solar cells offers, just look for the picture that resembles PV cells.

When you come across these offers, some of the cells are quite expensive. Here’s a trick that I learned from Michael Harvey of Earth 4 Energy e-book, look for cracked or chipped solar cells.

As it turn out, cracked or chipped solar cells are not totally unusable. Some of them can be repaired while other can still produce electric current but with less efficiency.

If you are looking for inexpensive PV cells for your DIY solar panel, use this criteria for your selection. I spent about half and hour going through the results and I actually found 7 good deals. You can see the screen shots on the top.

So what’s the next step? It is time to place your bid. Remember, in order for you to start bidding, you have to register as a user with eBay.

Assuming you’ve won the bid, you want to make sure the selling price is inclusive of shipping and transport charges. Since the solar cells are not in the best condition, you have to go through each and every cell to physically check its working status. I know this can be a pain but that’s the only way for you to save money on your home solar power project.

A complete residential solar power system is made from multiple components. There are many places where you can find cheap parts for your project. All you need is to know where to look for them.

If you are looking for ideas on how to save money on your renewable energy project, remember to check out Earth 4 Energy e-book. The information in the manual is priceless and can save you thousands of dollar.

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

2) Michael Harvey Earth 4 Energy Review

3) Solar Power’s Next 5 Game-Changing Technologies

4) Going Green: Alternative Energy: Residential Solar Power Systems