How To Build A Solar Panel - Part 9

[wingnut4427]

Please Note ! When You are charging a battery the reaction with the acid inside creates an output of Hydrogen gas & in an inclosed space it can build up & cause an explosion. Make sure Your batteries are well ventilated.

[TheFujimoto420]

lol. Using solar to charge a battery, to charge a battery, to charge yet another battery. Priceless!

[eliden]

why not walmart's everstart marine battery?

[eliden]

u got aim or skype or some sort of chat or email, i need help with mines.

[lona3001]

thanks

nice job

[TheFreemanuk]

how big a system do i need to run a 400w bulb for 12 hrs a day ????

[zerodegrees8]

I have two 700 watt inverters :D

[nizhonglian]

You are a super man! I like this video.^o^

[VABEACHTRIKKE169]

Nice job! 

[galtzur21]

y whould i make 1 if its not efficient?

love it non the less.

[bobinmissouri]

oh by the way GREAT VIDEO 50stars*********

[bobinmissouri]

on making this about how much would it cost is it cheeper to make one or to buy one?

[Madcow800]

Hi Rob i got a question as to ways of hooking the solar panel up. When i hook it up do i have to connect it to a battery and then to the house or can i hook it up directly to the house and sell my free power to the grid? How can i go about doing this?

[paperfeed]

Hi Robert, in your video you say that it is not wise to connect high wattage appliances to this set up, will it damage anything in doing so or is it just a case of the battery will run out extremely quickly?

[RobertSmith3]

@paperfeed No, since my inverter can only handle 200 Watts, it makes no sense to hook up something that requires 300Watts, as that device simply will not work with the inverter. Or if you have multiple devices plugged in at the same time that when combined Watt wise are greater than 200 Watts, the same issue occurs. So it has nothing to do with the battery or solar panel, I was referring to the inverter. Hope that helps :)

[paperfeed]

@RobertSmith3 Oh I understand thanks! :)

So it's ok to hook up appliances with a higher power consumption than what is being outputted by my solar panel, just so long as that wattage does not exceed that of the inverter?

[RobertSmith3]

@paperfeed Yes, if you hook up devices that require a large amount of watts, they will just drain your battery quicker. Your devices are not running directly off the solar panel if you have a battery involved like I did.

[paperfeed]

@RobertSmith3 Thanks for clearing that up, you are a very smart individual and your videos have been very informative indeed :)

[DJControllerC]

I noticed you recommend a 10amp charge controller, each one of of those 3inch by 6inch polycrystalline cells you use for your panel is usually rated at 1.3-1.8watts, .5volts and 3 - 3.6 amps- so the power produced by your panel is well over ten amps- how is only a ten amp charge controller effective? Im confused about the ratings I guesse.

[RobertSmith3]

@DJControllerC Well I'm not sure when I stated this in the series of videos, but when you solder your cells in series, the "voltage" increases, not the the "amps". So your panel produces 18v or so, and only 3.5A for the entire solar panel. If you want the Amps to increase, you hook the solar cells up in parallel, but your voltage will be lower.

[DJControllerC]

@RobertSmith3 thanks for clearing that up and answering all my questions- If you added another identical panel in parallel the amp rating would go up to 7amps then?

[RobertSmith3]

@DJControllerC Yep

[DJControllerC]

@RobertSmith3 thanks for clearing that up and answering all my questions- If you added another identical panel in parallel the amp rating would go up to 7amps then? thanks again!

[ichy1234]

@DJControllerC power sources wired in series means that only the voltage increases while amps remain constant. Sources wired in parallel will increase amps, but voltage is constant. Look up circuits wired in series and parallel. The idea with these is that you wire the cells in series, then the panels in parallel.

[DJControllerC]

I've noticed that Home Depot sells a 500watt window AC unit- I have built a 60watt panel using the exact same cells you use here (.5 volts per cell right?)- my question is- if I used your same battery and charge controller- how long could I run a 500watt ac with lets say an 800watt inverter connected to the battery?

[RobertSmith3]

@DJControllerC You need to know how many amp hours the battery has, then you can use my solar tools over at SolarTechTown to find out how long you can use the device/s.

[DJControllerC]

I've noticed that Home Depot sells a 500watt window AC unit- I have built a 60watt panel using the exact same cells you use here (.5 volts per cell right?)- my question is- if I used your same battery and charge controller- how long could I run a 500watt ac with lets say an 800watt inverter connected to the battery?

[pocketfullofdirt]

Great videos! One of the best looking jobs Ive seen. Good work!

[typeXJuggernaut]

You need a sun tracker

[edgaritoaqui]

ok I have constructed 2 separate panels one mearues 18v the other one around 20 cuz I added more cells. I have connected the both using one single wire and measing the voltage on the other two wires. the reading I have is 2.3 v!!!! why is this so? dont suppose to be around 38 v? please help!!!

[nukebrotherhood]

Great vids Rob,

I liked them all, but how do we connect the system to our home or to the appliances, do we just hook them off the inverter?

thanks :)

[eallan21]

hey, If I am planning to hook my solar panel up straight to my grid/house, will i still need the charge controller? Can i just have the inverter? Thanks SOOO much! You are awesome! We really need these videos!

[ghostlover17]

I am very proud of you. What a wonderful series of videos.

[GospelTruth37059]

Im really amazed that was awsome ! Clap clap clap! Thank you for going slow for people like me lol. God bless thank you again!

[MegaSolidSteel]

so what does the charge controller do does it

take 18v and tun it to 14v until the battery is charged

take 18v and until the battery is charged

take 18v change it to 14v boost the amps until the battery is charged

[petetomaszek]

Great Set-up. The battery is dual-purpose. You should do just a deep cycle. I have pretty close to all the same components and have no problems at all. Nice video

[Billy982810]

What a great guy you are for doing this. You inspired me to try this. hope you don't mind if I might have a few questions..

[08maxout]

Great job, I'll be subscribing to your videos.

[johnnylifeson]

OK...

[solardiyguy]

thank you

[JimmyJacks00]

btw those inverters from autozone and oriellys are all garbage, I threw away 600+ dollars and purchased them all, they are all crap and low quality, high failure rates.

[RobertSmith3]

@JimmyJacks00 Also, I suggest to people to read the reviews for these components before buying, and the inverter I purchased from Walmart in the video had way more positive reviews than negative. I also suggest to everyone else that even if you do see 1 negative review or a few, see what the overall ratting is, as just because 1 person had a bad experience doesn't mean everyone did. Just check those reviews/ratings :) So far all my components work flawlessly.

[JimmyJacks00]

@RobertSmith3

Yeah I havent tried any of the inverters from wal mart yet, but ALL the invertors they sell at oriellys are crap and die after about 1 month of operation. Ive purchased every model they sell. even the fruity cop holder one, all garbage.

[danwat1234]

@RobertSmith3 You bought an inverter from Walmart!!?? Walmart is evil don't you know that? They encourage low-wage foreign workers to work in unfair conditions, etc

[DJControllerC]

@RobertSmith3 It would make sense that the product from wal mart should work ok- otherwise they would lose money on returns- harbor freight tools offers extended warrantees on inverters at a fair price

[jdbobey]

Love the videos. I have been searching and researching for a while and your videos are by far the best. I am a novice and now feel much more confident ot get started watching. One question. With the charge converter I do not need diodes for backflow? The charge converter takes care of that?

[RobertSmith3]

@jdbobey Most charge controllers prevent that, "but" not all. So it is something you need to check before you buy your charge controller, but it doesn't hurt to just put your own blocking diode in your circuit either.

[tedohho]

Great job Robert, my hat is off to you my man. Thanks again for the education and when my cells come in , I will know how to do this. May God Bless you and keep up the good works.

[sirmasterpimp]

How has your battery held up? I am thinking about exchanging my walmart everstart maxx group 29 (because of bad reviews) for a duralast battery. I really want an optima or a good trojan battery, but those are way out of my price range. If you also know of any other good deep cycle batteries, let me know.

[zliminator]

@sirmasterpimp I've heard someone recommend getting a Trojan T105. From where, I don't know yet.

[zerodegrees8]

heh about 2 hours with a 60 watt light... i use my laptop at camp on a smaller marine battery with a 700 watt inverter with a light on and my laptop is 135 watts... last alot longer then 2 hours.. think you need a new battery 0.o but great setup :)

[RobertSmith3]

:) Yeah at the time I was not sure of the right formula on how to determine how long it will last. With a 60 Watt light, you should be able to use it for about 18 hours. The battery there is a 12 volt 115 Amp hour battery.

[zerodegrees8]

yes that sounds right on the money :D but i am curious, how long does it take to charge your battery full.. I use a generator at camp to charge a couple batteries

[RobertSmith3]

I'm not sure as I haven't fully drained the battery yet, but I'm sure there is a forumla for that as well. Guess that's another Solar Tool I'll add later on to the website once I find out the forumla :D

[birdwing98]

Look for a DEEP CYCLE or DEEP DISCHARGE battery. A DUAL PURPOSE battery includes deep cycle and starting functions. I don' t think we need starting do we? Better to put all the money toward storage capacity and long life with many cycles.

[gcdrummer02]

You can also use something called a "Grid Tie Inverter". This will allow you to hook your panels directly to the power system for you entire house. Unless you produce more power than you consume, You shouldn't need to get a different electrical meter.

[YeeYIpWai]

cool....

[DivineSophisticate]

Is the blocking diode the same as a charge regulator???

[bulletjive]

No a blocking dioade controls the flow of electrons from and to the panel. A charge controller regulates power from the panel to the battery. (IE keeps you from over charging the battery)

[RobertSmith3]

In my system my charge control has that feature built into it, thus why I do not need a blocking diode, as a blocking diode prevents the backflow of current, and are usually only needed when you have a battery included in your system. Simply google "charge controller prevent backflow". Most CCs have this feature, but not all. My junction box also has a blocking diode inside it which you see in a later video, but I don't really need it, because of the Charge Controller.

[shartne]

wow thanks for making this series of videos it has helped me to understand how to build a solar panel and also how to hook it up to a deep cycle battery and a 110 converter. I wonder how much these cell cost each and where can I buy these cells at? May be I could start making these until I get enough of these to power my whole house. About how many of these do I need to power my whole house, batterys and pannels? would I hook them all together or just use them seperately.

[davidrrrd]

reverse current?

without diodes at night the power might flow back from batteries and the silicon cells would become heater elements and thats about all that should happen without the diodes.

[RobertSmith3]

I guess you have not finished watching the full video, as I do use a blocking diode in this solar panel system in the following videos.

[TheAksumite]

Hey its me again with more questions. Can you tell me how many batteries I can put on solar panels and wind turbines. Is two ok?

[RobertSmith3]

Part 11 to be exact. Also, most charge controllers have this built into, so I'm not sure if you knew that or not. So if you are not using a charge controller, you most certainly need some type of diode.

[rcmartin012]

Robert, awesome series. I am in preparation to embark on my first solar project. I look at englewood1961's comment that reverse current destroy's solar cells. I was under the impression that a diode prevents this but you didn't use one. Is this function performed by the charge controler? Thanks for the tutorial. This was the most comprehensive one I have seen yet.

[RobertSmith3]

Hi rcmartin012,

First, thanks for the comment.

Second, to answer your question, watch Part 11.

It explains that, but quick sum up, yes most charge controllers have this built in already. Not all, but most. I used a junction box on mine as you can see in Part 11 which has a Blocking Diode inside already.

Let me know if that helps after watching part 11.

[englewood1961]

You are checking short circuit voltage, not the load current. You need Vmp and I mp to find Pm, maximum power. Reverse current destroys solar cells.

[RobertSmith3]

Very true, however, we have to keep in mind that for the typical Do It Yourself (DIY) person, they usually do not have the equipment necessary to test these the actual Imp/Vmp/Pm. For most DIY solar panels, we by default test the open circuit/short circuit rather we say it or not. So my goal here in these videos is to keep things simple and follow the approach of a regular DIY solar panel, and not a fully professional built and tested solar panel. Of course if you can afford a MPPT go for it.

[tupac93013]

great video now i have all i needed to know i still have questions but your videos help alot. thank you.

[RobertSmith3]

No problem, feel free to ask your question here, as I may know the answer or know where you need to go to find your answer :)