PV Gap

Beth Said:

How do you construct a solar panel to recycle energy, and what are solar cells composed of?

We Answered:

everyone wants to be a comedian......constructing your own solar cells is not possible to do and still make them cost effective. I have about 400 watts on top of the roof right now, and I am powering one room. its pretty expensive to get started, but after the initial investment the cost goes down, and so does your utility bill, I have the added advantage of still having lights and being able to power my fridge and have tv and phones when the power goes out during a storm,

I didnt start doing this to save the planet, and I dont hug tree's, I did it for more selfish reasons, my wallet! I gave up on trying to find deals on ebay, even bought a few books on how to make your own solar panels, I came to the conclusion that I personally could not build them for under 7/8 bux a watt, I get my panels from a company in New Mexico called affordable solar, most of the time I buy brand new panels from them for 4.50 to 6 bux a watt, WITH a warranty ;)

you can find them here

www.affordable-solar.com

hope this helps

Kathleen Said:

Small solar panel with mono-crystalline 5" solar cells?

We Answered:

It all depends on what voltage you need. Wiring them all in series will add up all of the volts. If they are cells and not panels (or modules), they are probably 0.5V each. So 6 in series would be 3V. If you wired two sets (or strings) of 3 in series, each would be 1.5V, when you wire the 2 strings in parallel, it will stay 1.5V but double the current (amps). If you wired them all in parallel, you'd have 0.5V, and 6 times the current.