With professional guides widely available nowadays, building solar panels in a DIY manner is becoming easy. Yes, many people will tell you it is as easy as connecting up some photovoltaic components, and exposing them to sunlight. Building your own solar power system is as easy as this -- really?
It might be not, especially if you are a beginner and you are building your first solar panel. To show you, I am going to reveal 4 common mistakes that most beginners will make. Well, some experienced DIYers do not even know about them.
Mistake #1: Miscalculation in the Number of Solar Cells and Battery Size -- Or No Calculation At All.
This is almost the most common mistakes. Most hobbyists do not make careful planning before they start their project, and they just roughly estimate the number of solar cells and the battery size they need.
Estimation of the power and voltage your system will generate will almost always not work. You need to perform calculation and measurements to make sure that your solar cells can generate the amount of power and voltage you expect them to, and your battery capacity is large enough to store the energy for use at night and rainy days.
Nonetheless, don't worry. It is easy to perform the calculation. Also, take into account the estimated efficiency of your system, and power loss. Do not skip this step, because some small initial effort goes a long way in ensuring your solar power system runs well.
Mistake #2: Choosing Low Quality Materials
It is inevitable that we have to make cost vs. quality considerations when we choose materials for building solar panels. However, experience shows that parts that costs lower are not always a good deal -- usually the quality of the parts are compensated for the price.
You have to have an expectation of how long you want your solar power system to last. Commercially-built solar panels can last for around twenty years, so if you want to benchmark the solar panels you build with them, you have to consider getting more durable parts. However, if a system that can last you for around ten years is what you need, there isn't any reason why you cannot go for something much cheaper.
The rule of thumb is, do not sacrifice the durability of your solar panels with cheap cost like many hobbyists do. You might save some money initially, but at a long run, if your solar power system can run without any issue, you can save a lot on maintenance fee.
Mistake #3: No Proper Design for Frame
This is also one of the most common issues, but it can be avoided with some care. Most beginners do not have a proven design, so they make mistakes in choosing the dimensions of their solar panel frame or casing. And even if they do have a design, they usually do not remember to check the dimensions of the solar cells to make sure the cells can fit into the frame properly.
It is important to follow professional instructions in designing your sola panel frame. Also, make extra effort in choosing the right materials for your design. The frame functions to protect the easily brittle or broken solar cells. Both the dimension of your design and the materials you choose are key to ensuring your frame provides good protection, especially against improper handling and knocking during installation.
Mistake #4: No Proper Water Proof
Considering most parts of homemade solar panels are wood and metal, there is no reason why we should scrimp on water-proofing the system. Yet no proper water-proofing effort is a common mistake that many DIYers make.
In fact, statistics show that most homemade solar panels break down either due to improper handling or broken metallic joints. Vapor seeping into solar panels causes rust. This weakens the metallic joints, and eventually causing it to break down. This is especially evident if the solar panels are installed in area whose humidity level is high.
Solution? Get a high quality sealant, and ensure you seal any gap.
There are certainly many other pitfalls that we can encounter while setting up our DIY solar power system, but the above four are the most common.
It takes some experience before we could detect the pitfall and know the precautionary methods to take to prevent these mistakes. Having an experienced buddy to guide you along can save us some trouble. Otherwise, a good alternative is to get a detailed, step-by-step guide to help us to avoid the pitfalls that can bring down our DIY solar power systems.
It might be not, especially if you are a beginner and you are building your first solar panel. To show you, I am going to reveal 4 common mistakes that most beginners will make. Well, some experienced DIYers do not even know about them.
Mistake #1: Miscalculation in the Number of Solar Cells and Battery Size -- Or No Calculation At All.
This is almost the most common mistakes. Most hobbyists do not make careful planning before they start their project, and they just roughly estimate the number of solar cells and the battery size they need.
Estimation of the power and voltage your system will generate will almost always not work. You need to perform calculation and measurements to make sure that your solar cells can generate the amount of power and voltage you expect them to, and your battery capacity is large enough to store the energy for use at night and rainy days.
Nonetheless, don't worry. It is easy to perform the calculation. Also, take into account the estimated efficiency of your system, and power loss. Do not skip this step, because some small initial effort goes a long way in ensuring your solar power system runs well.
Mistake #2: Choosing Low Quality Materials
It is inevitable that we have to make cost vs. quality considerations when we choose materials for building solar panels. However, experience shows that parts that costs lower are not always a good deal -- usually the quality of the parts are compensated for the price.
You have to have an expectation of how long you want your solar power system to last. Commercially-built solar panels can last for around twenty years, so if you want to benchmark the solar panels you build with them, you have to consider getting more durable parts. However, if a system that can last you for around ten years is what you need, there isn't any reason why you cannot go for something much cheaper.
The rule of thumb is, do not sacrifice the durability of your solar panels with cheap cost like many hobbyists do. You might save some money initially, but at a long run, if your solar power system can run without any issue, you can save a lot on maintenance fee.
Mistake #3: No Proper Design for Frame
This is also one of the most common issues, but it can be avoided with some care. Most beginners do not have a proven design, so they make mistakes in choosing the dimensions of their solar panel frame or casing. And even if they do have a design, they usually do not remember to check the dimensions of the solar cells to make sure the cells can fit into the frame properly.
It is important to follow professional instructions in designing your sola panel frame. Also, make extra effort in choosing the right materials for your design. The frame functions to protect the easily brittle or broken solar cells. Both the dimension of your design and the materials you choose are key to ensuring your frame provides good protection, especially against improper handling and knocking during installation.
Mistake #4: No Proper Water Proof
Considering most parts of homemade solar panels are wood and metal, there is no reason why we should scrimp on water-proofing the system. Yet no proper water-proofing effort is a common mistake that many DIYers make.
In fact, statistics show that most homemade solar panels break down either due to improper handling or broken metallic joints. Vapor seeping into solar panels causes rust. This weakens the metallic joints, and eventually causing it to break down. This is especially evident if the solar panels are installed in area whose humidity level is high.
Solution? Get a high quality sealant, and ensure you seal any gap.
There are certainly many other pitfalls that we can encounter while setting up our DIY solar power system, but the above four are the most common.
It takes some experience before we could detect the pitfall and know the precautionary methods to take to prevent these mistakes. Having an experienced buddy to guide you along can save us some trouble. Otherwise, a good alternative is to get a detailed, step-by-step guide to help us to avoid the pitfalls that can bring down our DIY solar power systems.
An engineer by profession, through extensive personal research and exchanging information with the online community, Harvey Normad made himself an expert in DIY solar power system. Together with two other like-minded friends, Harvey set up a website on this topic. They are dedicated in posting their latest findings and insights on homemade solar energy system. Rich information, including steps to set up DIY solar panels, are shared. Visit the site for more tips of DIY Solar Panels [http://www.mysolarpowerproject.net/bestHomeSolarEnergy.php?tid=act0206].
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