In this instructable, I will give you a practical guide to building a large solar panel from broken solar cells.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: Tools needed
To start making solar panels from broken solar cells you need a few things.
1. 15-25 watt soldering iron
2. Light duty 60/40 electronics rosin core solder (radio shack $5.00 for a roll). You can use a silver solder, but I think its too expensive, and the difference in resistance is minimal. So I just use regular old electronics solder.
3. Multimeter
4. Pencil eraser
5. Solar tabbing pre tinned ribbing (ebay 100 feet is like $20 bucks)
6. A good flat sturdy working surface ( I use a piece of glass, but whatever you have will do)
1. 15-25 watt soldering iron
2. Light duty 60/40 electronics rosin core solder (radio shack $5.00 for a roll). You can use a silver solder, but I think its too expensive, and the difference in resistance is minimal. So I just use regular old electronics solder.
3. Multimeter
4. Pencil eraser
5. Solar tabbing pre tinned ribbing (ebay 100 feet is like $20 bucks)
6. A good flat sturdy working surface ( I use a piece of glass, but whatever you have will do)
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
this is a really great guide but im kind off stuck on my own project
I am running a 24V battery bank for my wind turbine and want to add solar to the same bank so far i have bought 110 3"x6" solar cells rated as follows,
0.5v x 3.5a = 1.75w each
this is what im thinking off so far please correct me if im wrong in any part of it
to get 24V i need 48 cells in series and 2 sets in parallel (94 cells in total 24V + 7a) to make the most of my cells im thinking of building a 26.5V panel (104 cells in total 26.5V+7a)
is this the right way to go about it or should i lower the volts and increase the amps going to my battery bank and if so will it still store a a 24 v charge?