PV Gap

Rebecca Said:

How to create your own solar cell at home ?

We Answered:

It is cheap and easy to make a solar cell at home. However the power you will get is so tiny you can hardly measure it. You can't compete with industrial made solar cells.

The energy used to make this cell you will *never* recoup. Its a net energy loss with this one so you aren't going to save the planet:

Brandon Said:

how to build solar cell at home?

We Answered:

you can't reasonably build a photovoltaic cell on your own.

you could build a solar thermal collector which would heat water for home use. Unfortunately hotwater is probably one of the most minor use of energy in the home.

Gina Said:

how can you make your own solar cell at home and how do they work?

We Answered:

There is no possible way you could make your own solar cell at home. At least not a practical one. It takes a large factory with lots of specialized machinery and chemicals and engineers to do this.

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Jimmie Said:

Is it possible to make a SOLAR CELL without all that expence at home?

We Answered:

It's possible to create solar cells to heat up water - although in practice without precision equipment I imagine it would be very hard).

The basic premise for solar heating cells is you run a very thin stream of water under the sun - the water gets warmed up and deposited into a tank. Then it just cycles round and round - every time it passes through the Sun it warms up.

You need a very hot country for it to work well - but it's a fairly simple concept.

As for photovoltaic cells (solar cells that produce electricity). There is no way your going to be able to make them at home.

Sorry.

Although the BASIC principle is fairly easy to grasp (Photon's of light are absorbed in a semiconductor; an electron hole pair is formed; the electron diffuses to the pn junction and drifts across - forming a current) they are stupidly intricate devices that are so expensive to produce the companies that make them make a loss on every one (they only stay afloat because of government subsidy into green power)

Katrina Said:

If I put HHO generator powered by external Battery(charged by solar cell at home) into my car--Will it work?

We Answered:

This hydrogen fuel from water is nothing but a scam.
Big claims are being made simply to make it easy to seperate people from their money.
For the real story on hydrogen powered vehicles go to www.doe.gov
Hydrogen fuel cells ar used to generate electricity to power electric vehicles.

Ramona Said:

How to make a cheap, nontoxic solar cell (ok to be inefficient)?

We Answered:

Powering an air conditioner is a tall order. That's actually a lot of power. The kind of photovoltaic cells you can make in your garage would not power an air conditioner even if you were able to cover your entire roof with them.

While it is true that the manufacture of solar cells uses resources, typical silicon solar panels will pay back their energy cost (including the cost to make the aluminum frame, glass, etc) in about 4 years. After that, the electricity they produce is cleaner than burning coal, natural gas, or many other forms of energy.

Also consider your end goals. If what you really want is a cool room, saving money, and energy, invest in extreme insulation and energy-conserving appliances.