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Author Topic: . Making solar panels etc .  (Read 4253 times)

RUSTYME

  • Joined Oct 2009
. Making solar panels etc .
« on: May 11, 2014, 07:11:13 pm »
As always i am trying to do something cheaply .
I was thinking there must be a way of creating a pv set up for less than the thousands of £ that an off the shelf one costs .
I have seen the poly crystalline  cells  for sale on ebay , but most seem to be seconds , with minor faults .
Is it possible to make viable panels whilst making an apreciable saving on ready made ones ?
I have no electronic knowledge but can use a soldering iron and i used to make my own pc's from off the shelf parts , saving a fortune .
So i can follow instructions .
No need to say " go and spend £4-£6000 on a ready made setup " , the money does not exist full stop . The odd few quid here and there for parts is however doable .
Any practical advice gratefully received , Russ .

mab

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • carmarthenshire
Re: . Making solar panels etc .
« Reply #1 on: May 11, 2014, 11:42:36 pm »
Making your own panels is doable but if you want them to last then you need to do it right using the right materials. There is a good series of how-to's here from someone who's done it:-


http://www.fieldlines.com/index.php/topic,145005.0.html


And I don't think there's a huge saving now that solar panels are relatively cheap, although if you can source a piece of low-iron tempered glass with a frame for free like in the above article then it may be worthwhile


depending on how much power you want you can buy a decent setup for much less than 4000 - If you want a few LED lights and a radio you don't need much power at all - a 100w panel, an old car battery and a cheap solar controller may do; if you want to run an old chest freezer 24/7/365 via an inverter then you will need something rather more substantial involving a decent traction battery and maybe 1500-2000w of solar with suitable controllers.

RUSTYME

  • Joined Oct 2009
.
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2014, 11:26:32 am »
Thanks mab . I have no access to any bits and bobs , all would need buying in specificly for the purpose , so maybe a bit of a no go in respect of making cheaper than buying ready made .
Lights , radio and mobile phone charging are the main wants .
I have a small solar battery charger (from maplin , charges aa , aaa , c and d batteries ) , seems ok .
Looks like it will be a case of get as much solar panel power as i can afford as and when .
Thanks again .

cloddopper

  • Joined Jun 2013
  • South Wales .Carmarthenshire. SA18
Re: . Making solar panels etc .
« Reply #3 on: May 19, 2014, 10:39:53 am »
There is a church not too far away from you with them set along the south facing wall on the ground ???  :roflanim: :roflanim: :roflanim:
Strong belief , triggers the mind to find the way ... Dyslexia just makes it that bit more amusing & interesting

RUSTYME

  • Joined Oct 2009
.
« Reply #4 on: May 20, 2014, 02:08:08 pm »
They are there for the underground hotel permanent residents radios .
I think God refused planning permission for them to go on the roof .

ggennett

  • Joined May 2014
Re: .
« Reply #5 on: June 05, 2014, 11:13:57 pm »
Thanks mab . I have no access to any bits and bobs , all would need buying in specificly for the purpose , so maybe a bit of a no go in respect of making cheaper than buying ready made .
Lights , radio and mobile phone charging are the main wants .
I have a small solar battery charger (from maplin , charges aa , aaa , c and d batteries ) , seems ok .
Looks like it will be a case of get as much solar panel power as i can afford as and when .
Thanks again .
If your only going to use it to power low wattage devices then even a small system would be good enough the main thing is to get a good storage batery or bateries. You should be able to get a 200w panel charger and a decent batery for about £400 if you shop around. Then if you had any mains powered item like lights and small pumps like central heating you could use a small inverter to turn the 12v into 240v. Large items like freezers and washing machines will have to be connected to the mains.
The big 4kw systems usually output a very high voltaged and designed to be connected to the mains supply for the house and you get money back for any power you supply to the network.
The first thing to do would be replace all your bulbs with led ones or even connect the light wiring circuit to the 12dc and run 12v led lighting as this would be more efficient at lighting your property as you would not have to use an inverter to power mains lighting.
The panel can be mounted on a tilting stand instead of the roof to reduce fitting costs and allow you to move the panel to improve the amount of direct sun light it gets during the day.
If your somewhere windy might be worth while looking at a cheap wind turbine for thos long windy winter nights.
You will be suprised at how little energy you need once you start trying to reduce it, even the modern large led tv's only use 40-50watts the same as the old style bulb.
A bit of a pet subject of mines so hope I did not rant on too much
Cheers
Gary

RUSTYME

  • Joined Oct 2009
.
« Reply #6 on: August 13, 2014, 08:40:26 pm »
Sorry for late reply gary . Forgot to check back .
I am moving off grid completely , into a caravan , no leccy on site or any mains anything .
Unfortunately , my way of life means no money either  , well almost none , during the summer about £10-£40 per week . Most of that goes on haylage in winter .
So doing anything that requires money is very slow to happen .
I have seen a 250w solar kit on amazon , for £519 . I think that would cover my main needs , lights , radio , mobile charging etc , with a small fs tv as a bonus , maybe a laptop too if i can get a cheap s/h one .
So the main setup can be 12v dc . If i could get a 3 way fridge that would be handy too , but i know that is hitting a 250w system hard , but i could run it mainly on gas , with dc being the backup system .
In the mean time , i will be using oil lamps and wind up radios etc .
If money allows i can knock up a 200w windmill , got a 200w 12v jogging machine motor around here somewhere , also got a disabled scooter motor , again 12v but can't see the wattage , but it works .
The bits that go between windmill and battery are maybe the problem for me , as i am a numpty regarding electrics and circuits etc .
Thanks for the reply though .

 

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