Build a 60 Watt Solar Panel

Step 2 Build the box

So what is a solar panel anyway? It is basically a box that holds an array of solar cells. So I started out by building myself a shallow box. I made the box shallow so the sides wouldn't shade the solar cells when the sun comes at an angle from the sides. It is made of 3/8 inch thick plywood with 3/4 X 3/4 pieces of wood around the edges. The pieces are glued and screwed in place. This panel will hold 36 3 X 6 inch solar cells. I decided to make 2 sub-panels of 18 cells each just so make it easier to assemble. I knew I would be working at my kitchen table when I would be soldering the cells together, and would have limited work space. So there is a center divider across the middle of the box. Each sub-panel will fit into one well in the main panel.

The second photo is my sort of back of the envelope sketch showing the overall dimensions of the solar panel. All dimensions are in inches (sorry you fans of the metric system). The side pieces are 3/4 by 3/4 and go all the way around the edges of the plywood substrate. also a piece goes across the center to divide the panel into two sub-panels. This is just the way I chose to do it. There is nothing critical about these dimensions, or even the overall design.

Comments

[redstarsrbija]

Construction materials are always measured in imperial in Canada and the US so don't worry about it :)