How To Build a Solar Panel

Actually, most of solar panels are manufactured in a high quality controlled environment. But let's make a funny experiment building our own solar panel.

While the most efficient solar panels are made with silicon, in your experiment, we'll replace it with cuprous oxide : this is a material known to cause light to be transformed into electricity.

Ok ! But where shall we find "cuprous oxide" ? It won't be necessary to buy it : we'll replace it with a thin sheet of copper.

Don't forget to use a voltmeter as it is the only way to measure the very small amount of electricity produced.

You will need about one square foot of thin copper plate and two leads of wire and also two alligator clips, salt, a wide mouth glass jar and ordinary tap water.

Now you will need a hot plate or an electric stove on which you'll heat the copper sheeting. Place this sheet on the burner, turn it on high and let it ther for about thirty minutes.

During the heating process, you'll be able to see the plate turning colors and the heat will show the outline of the heating coil underneath the plate.

As the temperature gets hotter, it'll begin to turn dark until the entire sheet has a black coating.

When the entire copper sheet is black, turn off the burner and let it cool for about twenty minutes. As it becomes cooler, the black coating of cuprous oxide will begin to pop off the sheet and a thin coating of red will appear on the copper. This is this red coating that you will use to build your own solar panel.

While the majority of the black can be rinsed off under the tap, you mustn't brush it clean.

Connect the copper sheet with the alligator clips to the top of one side of the glass jar. Then attach another clean copper sheet to the other side of the jar.

Mix about two tablespoons of salt into hot tap water, making sure it will be dissolved before you pour it into the jar. Take care that this water doesn't get on the clips. Our 2 copper sheets should be under water with about one inch left exposed at the top of the can.

Carefully place the entire contraption to expose it to the sun (in the direct sunlight outside, or either in front of a window.

Now, connect the other side of the alligator clips to your voltmeter and you can see a small amout of power generated by the light through your own experimental solar panel.

There is a website where you can find more detailed articles telling how to build a solar panel.

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You could reduce that number by building your own solar panel system or by purchasing a used system.

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Using the power of sun with solar electricity is a benefit to the environment and to your home. Solar electricity is already being used to supplement power for a number of large cities in North America.

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