PART 4: $100 70w Solar Panel DIY project

After having good success with adding a small solar panel at my home I thought I would try to design and built one myself with the goal of having it near as good as a commercially purchased panel. No wood. No paint.

In PART 1 I covered project objectives and I went over the design alternatives.
In PART 2 I covered the basic parts and initial frame concept.
In PART 3 I covered aluminum frame design considerations, options, and selection of approach.
In this PART 4 I cover cutting out the backing material and early cell tabbing work.

Video capture was done with a Casio EX-S12 camera. Video editing was done with Microsoft's Movie maker.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• solar
• solar panel
• solar energy
• diy
• how to
• engineering
• solar cells
• tabbing

[MrHorsetail]

What is FRP?

[Fearlessthinker]

@MrHorsetail Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic. The kind I got is polyester based which is UV stable.

[Fearlessthinker]

@Fearlessthinker Just ask them.  It comes in 4x8 sheets.

[MrHorsetail]

@Fearlessthinker what department at Menards or Lowes do you find this stuff in?

[Fearlessthinker]

@wtam69 The main reason window glass breaks with hail is that there is only one layer and so the glass is easy to puncture leading to instant breakage. My scheme is to "sandwich" the glass/cells/FRP so as to not give the glass the freedom to be punctured so easily. I've studied a number of small solar panels and the glass they use is only 1/16"thick and sandwiched. I don't plan to make a bunch of these until I see how it holds up. BTW, this particular FRP is UV stable - like a boat hull.

[wtam69]

@VWRabbitdiesel It's wall covering. It'll keep the moisture out and maybe keep the moisture in ( when you silicone the edges). I worry about the glass cracking though.

[VWRabbitdiesel]

@wtam69 Ok what is FRP?

[wtam69]

Keep up the good work. Now I know what FRP is.