If you are wondering how to build a solar panel then you have come to the right place. I have been building my own solar panels for a couple of years and hopefully you can learn from and avoid all of the mistakes and pitfalls that I have encountered in the past.

The process may seem intimidating at first but so did riding a bike when you were first learning. After your first one or two you will be surprised at how simple and easy it really is. So let go of the intimidation and just jump in and get your hands dirty.

The truth is that you really can save a lot of money by building your own solar panels as opposed to purchasing the commercial models with a for a hefty price tag. These commercial models can cost up to $1000 or more for a single 100 Watt panel. But you can easily build these same exact panels yourself for less than $200. There is really not much to it at all.

The following solar panel that I’m going to show you how to build will cost you about $100 and is capable of generating 63 Watts of solar power.

How to Build a 63 Watt Solar Panel

How to Build a Solar Panel – The Materials

1. 36 Solar Cells (0.5 Volts at 3.5 Amps)
2. Solar Panel Backing
2. Bus Wire
3. Flux
4. Solder
5. Insulated Wire

How to Build a Solar Panel – Prepare the Solar Panel Backing

The first thing you will need to do is find a good non-conductive backing for your solar panel. This can be made out of plywood or plastic however the plastic will last longer. It is easiest to cut it down to the size needed to fit all 36 solar cells.

After you cut it down to size, if you are using plywood or any other moisture sensitive material then you will want to coat it a few times with a good UV and moisture protective paint. This will ensure that the panel does not break down due to sun damage or water damage.

How to Build a Solar Panel – Connecting the Solar Cells Together

Now that you have the backing finished, you can move on to connecting the solar cells together. To make this step as easy as possible, I highly recommend purchasing pre-tabbed solar cells.

For this step, you will want to align the solar cells together in single lines of 9 such that all of the tabbing wires are going in the same direction. You will also want to align the cell tabs so that the top solar cell’s tabs run underneath the next solar cell. This pattern should be continued for the entire length of the solar cells.

You will need to solder the solar cells together in this configuration using the flux and solder. First apply flux to both tabs, overlay them, and then solder them together using a soldering iron. You can do this in any combination but for simplicity use 4 rows of 9 cells.

How to Build a Solar Panel – Adding the Bus Wire

Solar cells are not very powerful by themselves but now you should have a row of solar cells connected together to operate as one much more powerful solar cell array.

There are two tabbing wire strips that are connecting the solar cells together. Cut some bus wire to give you enough length to span the two tabbing wires (perpendicular to the tabbing wires) of a single solar cell.

Solder the bus wires to the tabbing wires using the flux and solder the same way as described in the “Connecting the Solar Cells Together” step above. When looking at your solar cells, the end of the solar cell array that has the free tab wires coming out of the bottom is the positive (+) terminal. The opposite end of your solar cell array is the negative (-) terminal.

To continue reading How to Build a Solar Panel steps 4 through 7… see: How to Build Solar Panels in 7 Easy Steps (part 2)

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