When you build a solar panel, there are a number of things that need to be taken into consideration before you actually start. Start your project on the right foot. Get all the components together before you start; get a tool box with all the right tools and a manual which gives step by step instructions.

However, before all that it is important to understand what it is you want to end up with. There are many things you can do when you build a solar panel, you can build a small one for charging up re-chargeable batteries, or you can build larger 200, 300 or 400 watt panels to run home appliances and store excess electricity in a battery bank, or you can build 1000 watt panels and start a little business feeding electricity back to the grid.

Obviously, the main difference between building a 100 watt panel and a 1000 watt panel is the number of solar cells you need and the time to build it. Most of us, who build our own solar panels to generate electricity for our homes, do it so that we can drastically reduce the expense of actually fitting solar panels as they can be prohibitively expensive.

Now you know how large you solar panel is going to be, we now have to find a ready source of solar cells. Now you don’t want to pay a lot of money for them. EBay is always a good place to start when wanting to buy anything on the cheap, the only downside is that you can’t always get the exact thing you are after. The only problem with this is that if you can’t find the specific size and quantity of solar cells, what do you do then?

One very good option for you is to research businesses near to where you live and find the ones which use solar cells in the electrical products they use on a day to day basis. Find these organizations, contact them and start building rapport. Explain your project goals and the tight budget you are working to, so when they do get damaged solar cells, they will contact you to take them away. The best source of these solar cells are the businesses who put out traffic signs, for example, when repairs are being carried out to roads. The Companies name and telephone number can often be found attached to it somewhere. Traffic signs often get broken by manhandling or cars driving into them.

They don’t fix the solar panel if it is broken or chipped, they will fit a new one and chuck the old one in the skip. These damaged panels will still work fine, and if you know how to build a solar panel, it doesn’t take much to repair them in most cases.

This is the biggest pitfall you have to overcome, so go and find some local companies who are throwing away their solar cells and recycling them.

A final word, if there is one thing I want to drive home to you, is the fact you need to have a very good picture in your mind’s eye of what it is you want to achieve. If you don’t have that clear picture, you will build an array which has no useful purpose. It will be chaos and you will have a disorganized mess. Stick a picture on the wall and go and build it.

Different Types of Solar Panels

• Polycrystalline Solar Panels – Cast Polysilicon
• Polycrystalline Solar Panels – String Ribbon Silicon
• Thin Film Solar Panels – cadmium telluride