GreenGuySolar partnered with Local Mobile Exposure is proud to bring you Master Solar Faster Volume I!

Written by GreenGuySolar and Local Mobile Exposure with content driven off of personal and/or professional experiences

making solar modules.

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Master Solar Faster Volume I

SOLAR! Wait, what is it?

Index

Page 1

When we think of solar power, large fields of solar panels come to mind in the

deserts of California, and Arizona funneling energy through a very complex and

expensive system with a lot of government regulation and control. While this may

be true in a sense, it’s not the stigma that this industry will hold shortly since we are about to show you truly how basic and simple it can be..

What if it was possible to build your own solar panel for under $100.00, or even with raw materials found already around your house? Even better - it’s not only

possible to do this, but also to easily pipe this electricity into your home!

Depending on weather you end up not only generating/paying for all your electricity consumption, or if you supplement the power company’s provided

electricity, you may be receiving credits from your electric company or bills that

look like your last fast food bill..

These possibilities along with some/all of the tax write off’s, state and government

incentives, etcetera, catapulted me right into this industry when it was determined there was no myth behind these incredible oppertunities you can create!

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Before diving into how to put together a panel lets discuss some of the solar term essentials. We believe it

vital to understand the industry and components in order to become successful with the practical application.

In this manual we will be teaching you how to create an electrical generator capturing the sun’s energy for

active use of your choosing. This guide focuses on small systems used to charge a series of batteries but the actual possibilities are as endless as any other electrical source. Below I have highlighted several terms to give

you basic knowledge of how solar power works.

A solar panel: We believe is best defined as a direct current (DC electricity) generator that is powered by the

sun. a battery charger. When exposed to sunlight it produces DC current much like a battery charger that

runs off standard household 110 volt current. A panel alone can operate DC items directly such as pond

pumps, or electric gates directly or it can charge DC batteries of which can EASILY be converted into AC electricity of which is that used by you resoundingly on a day to day basis.

PV (Photovoltaic) solar panels as described by us: The cells within these panels generate electricity after sun generated photons impacts them, knocking naturally stored electrons free in the solar cells elements. From

there they are forced through your network of wired cells as pure, DC electricity. Electrons are immediately

replaced in the solar cells and the process is never ending! One experiment that I have conducted with these

has proven 100% true with all my data thus far – direct sunlight is not needed with PV solar panels as there driven essentially off the energy created by the sun as soon as it breaks the horizon for you. When this

happens, the photons are flowing and the process is started! I have much more to offer on this topic and my

research therein so please stay posted for future breakthrough books on how to apply this knowledge with your needs..

PV solar cells: in our opinion are the most commonly used amongst individual consumers in part because the

solar cells are easiest to obtain and cost a fraction of what others do. Other solar options out there are more advanced options that we believe only would complicate your current learning on the fundamentals right

now (These benefits and applications will be discussed in subsequent volume we may put out). In this

application the pump or electronic gate would only run during sunlight hours.

A solar charge controller in our words: This is the insurance on your entire project. The solar charge

controller will protect your batteries from sending in more volts, amps, or overall charging than they can

handle. In addition, they protect your solar panels from any reverse current that would come from the battery(s) once their current outweighs that of the solar panel.

Volts in our words: This is the intensity of energy (I like to call “the zap”). Batteries are often rated at 12 volts of power that basically is the least amount of volts needed from your panel(s) to charge it. The volts of

the battery itself will fluctuate regularly with the charging, but as long as you understand for now that this is

the minimum needed to charge them, you’ll be set. We may later provide further guidance on how to optimize your panel output’s efficiency because believe it or not, the amount of charge in the battery actually

determines this.. Your normal household runs 110 volt current. Larger items, such as welders, and house

hold stoves run at 220 volts.

Amps in our words: This is the current of the energy and the most overlooked component of this whole topic

of solar energy (I like to call this “the punch”). While the volts are important to exceed the minimum

standard to start the charging process, the amps are the meat and potatoes behind filling your batteries. Best way to understand this is to go look at your cars battery charger/trickle charger/jump starter and look at

your options. All the options surround amps instead of volts, right? This is because the volts will consistently

(w/all options) be just enough to get into the battery and the amps will determine the desired outcome your

trying to accomplish with the charger.

SOLAR TERMONOLOGY - ESSANCIALS

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This is VERY important to understand because a firm understanding of

this will determine, in my professional opinion, how successful to

any/all degrees your going to be. We will likely go far more indepth

on this topic later in a more advanced volume to come.

A Solar Charge Controller regulates the amount of electricity that is put into a battery. Once the battery is fully charged, it prevents any/all

overcharging of which could lead to but is not limited to explosion of

said battery. When you use some of the stored energy, it automatically starts to recharge the battery during sunlight hours.

Watts in our words: This is the sum of the volts and amps produced from your solar panel energy produced during the long term. Is the

end result of your work product with both the volts and amps. It’s very important to apply your understanding of this term in the design phase of making your panel because you

will need to weigh your options with cell size and power with the given frame size your going to use to see if the outcome your seeking is obtainable.. More will be discussed later but the basic calculation to determine

watts is Volts multiplied by the Amps equals your Watts.

Volts: This is the intensity of the energy. Batteries produce 12 volt power. You commonly see this power in RV’s, or motor vehicles. Your normal house hold runs 110 volt current. Larger items, such as welders, and

house hold stoves run at 220 volts.

Batteries in our words: Are the bank for your solar earnings. There are many different options for batteries in

your solar setup but it needs to be clear that you DO NOT USE a regular car battery. Deep cycle batteries are

manditory because they can handle the deep discharge and recharge cycles safely. The prefered battery is a sealed lead acid deep cycle battery. Deep cycle batteries are rated in amp hours, this will tell you how many

amps your battery can store and also dispense per hour.

Power Inverters in our words: turn DC electricity from your batteries into regular useable AC electricity exactly as it would be used in your home outlets.

Grid Tie Inverters in our words: hold similar characteristics as the charge controller as they prevent excessive input into your home along with preventing any possible reverse flow into your solar setup. These are

absolutely incredible little computers that measure the electricity flow through your home only to barely

exceed it. By doing this, everything plugged into one of your sockets (TV, refrigerator, lights, whatever..) will

be running in part/in whole off of your solar power! Once your solar power directly from the solar panels or batteries are not able to supersedyour homes electrical current, the natural tenancy of the electrical current

will be to try and work itself backwards into your grid tie inverter. At this point, the computer will again

spring into action but this time creating a complete barrier to prevent any reverse current of which could it shuts down. So basic, yet very often explained to the contrary by companies as they want you to buy their multi thousand dollar inverter when all you really need to purchase is one for under a hundred dollars…

ESSENCIALS CONTINUED

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What tools do I need?

What tools are you going to need to build your own solar panel? Below are the critical tools that we highly recommend:

Work Station

Latex Gloves

Rosin Flux Pen

100% Silicone

Silicone Edger

Solder

Soldering Iron

Electrical Tape

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Tools - Continued SOLAR CELLS

The choice you

make for your

solar cells can

truly make or

break your panel. Regardless of size, ALL

traditional solar cells tend to generate close

to the same voltage - .5 volts per cell. With

that said, it’s very important to determine the

size of panel your going to make then choose

the cells to get the volts needed. For

Example, please look at the picture of the

panel I made on the top of page 3. This panel

is made of cells that are 4in x 4in square and

I was able to use 42 cells. These cells have

just over .5 volts each so the panel is rated

close to 24-volts (.571 volts per cell x 42 cells

= 24-volt panel). Had I used 6in x 6in cells I

would have been able to fit in 20 cells and it

would be rated as a 12-volt panel.

A Peg Board purchased from a Lowes or Home

Depot for a few dollars will be your best purchase. Each peg is a inch apart so this simple

piece of peg board serves as a ruler as well as a

safe surface to solder tabs on your cells, dabbing your flux pen to get the liquid flowing, measuring

your laminate/bus wires/tabbing wires/tedlar

backsheet/etc! To put it into perspective on the

value of this purchase, I use my two pieces of pegboard I purchased years ago still on a daily

basis..!

Wood or plastic Shim to spread encapsulant

Small weights to hold cells in place

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Building Your Panel

Now that you have an idea of the tools and materials you are going to need, let’s get started figuring out what solar panel is right for you, and how to build it. This manual serves two purposes. First is a step by step guide that will show you how to build your own solar panel, but the second purpose is to create understanding maybe consider switching the order of these to match the flow above.. For you to get the most out of the manual, I suggest you read and personally practice each step before you start to embark on the preceding step. After reading each step you will have a clear picture on how each piece of your panel goes together, and if you have questions while building your panel, reference this guide during the process.

Let’s get started shall we!

Step I – Planning

1. The optimal place to put your solar panel is where it will have the most exposure to the sun. There are two things that will allow it to get optimal sun light. The direction the panel is facing, and the angle your panel is placed.

2. What are you planning on doing with the solar generated electricity? What you decide to do with the

fruits of your labor can drastically determine where the panels may be best located.. For example – if

this is for a back up system at a remote location, you may be best storing batteries in a shed apart

from the living structure

3. How permanent are you going to have this panel be? Being able to keep your panel/solar array in consistent sunlight is very likely going to be quite impossible given of the curvature of the earth, time of day, geographic location your at, and time of year it is. This is more advanced stuff, because the easy answer is physically moving your panel as the sun moves. Moving your panels is very labor intensive and short of having a machine do it for you, I would not recommend. With that said, find your location first then plan out where and how they are going to be installed. Solid planning in this phase of the process could result in you changing your location from a larger one to a smaller one (or vice versa) of which could directly correlate with the size of panels your going to make.

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Step II – Size Factor

Your solar panel can be as big, or as small as you want, you need to consider how comfortable you are with going GREEN. Some people want to place their panels like a badge of honor. Others need to hide their panels because of annoying neighbors, or for other reasons.

There is a very important reason to pick the right size for your solar panel. Your panel needs to create enough volts to be effective. Remember your solar panel has to produce 12 volt or more to effectively charge a battery. There is good news, a good rule of thumb for solar cells; cells produce right around.5 volts each regardless of the size. It varies, but you are going to get close to a little more than .5 volts per cell. Additionally, another important rule of thumb to remember is your input charging your battery/batteries (aka “battery bank”) must superseed that of the batteries themselves. Thus, if you are charging one 12 volt battery you would want to use a 12 volt solar panel to affectively charge it. Once your volts equal or supersede that of the battery/batteries, then the amps can affectively push through and do it’s job. Otherwise, if your solar panel will not produce the amount of volts equal or greater than that of the battery/batteries, your actual captured electricity produced from the solar panel is going to be reduced.

Step III – Cell Factor

There are several things to remember when working selecting the size of your cells. Cells range in size, most common cells are 4”x4”, 6” x 6”, and 3” x 6”, and bigger does not always mean better in this case. Like above, you need to remember you panel needs to produce 12 volts or more. Lets look at a common size panel in the table below.

24" x 30" Standard Solar Panel

Number of Cells Type of Cells Volts/Cell Volts

42 4"x4" 0.5-0.6 21-25.2

20 6"x6" 0.6 12

40 3"x6" 0.5-0.6 20-24

In the above example, the 4” x 4” cells would produce the most volts, however the 3” x 6” cells would produce enough volts to be effective.

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This calculation is critical, because you can go through a lot of work, and end up with a useless panel. Lets look at another example.

18" x 24" Panel

Number of Cells Type of Cells Volts/Cell Volts

24 4"x4" 0.5 12

12 6"x6" 0.5 6

24 3"x6" 0.5 12

With a panel 18” x 24”, you could only use the 4”x4” cells, or the 3”x6” cells to produce enough volts for the panel to be effective. Remember at this size both cell types would only produce just enough volts to charge your panel. Remember I mentioned earlier, the rule of thumb is each cell will produce about .5 volts. If a cell or two are below .5 volts your panel might produce a little less than 12 volts. Keep in mind if your panel does not produce enough volts to charge your battery, so if your close to 12 volts, you might think about adjusting the size of your panel to produce a few volts over 12.

Lets go over the calculation for how many cells you will need. Lets say you are using a panel 24” x 30”, Lets go over the calculation if you were to use each size cell.

24” x 30” using 4”x4” cells. 24” x 30” using 6”x6” cells 24”x30” using 3”x6” cells

Calculation:

24”/4” = 6 24”/6” = 4 24”/3” = 8 30”/4”= 7.5 30”/6” = 5 30”/6” = 5

How many cells:

6 x 7 = 42

and

4 x 5 = 20 8 x 5 = 40

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STEP IV: Prepare Your Work Station

You now know where your going to put your panel, how big your panel is going to be, and how many cells you need to put on your panel for it to be effective. The next step, preparing your workstation is a simple step, but very important nonetheless. You will have a much easier time working on and protecting your panel if you do a little bit of preparation before you begin assembly.

You should have a place where you can keep your panel undisturbed for a couple of days. You will be using some material that will need to dry, and cure for a couple of days, so you will need to keep your panel stationary for a couple of days.

Next you need to gather the tools and material you will need, and have it in close proximity so everything is right with you when you need it.

STEP V: Pre-cut tabbing wire for the individual solar cells

Once you have your workbench all put together, and you have gathered all of your tools. The first step in actually making your solar panel is pre cutting the flat wire to be able to connect the solar cells together.

If your solar cell is 4”x4” you will need a flat wire needs to be long enough to go across the top of the top cell you are working on, and the bottom of the cell below the cell you are working on. So if your cell is 4”x4” you will need two pieces of flat wire 8” long for each cell.

Tip: You need to account for the gap between cells. When the flat ribbon is soldered to the back of the cell below, it connects to the cell on two connection points that are about a centimeter up from the bottom of the cell. Plus the gap between the cells. If you just cut all of your tabbing wire 8” long, and do not account for the gap, you will come up short later when you’re connecting all of your cells together. This is actually perfect because if you look at the middle picture below, the last pad on the back of the cell that needs to be connected with the tabbing wire is short of the end of the cell itself..

In fact, if you measure exactly double the length of each cell while NOT factoring in the gap between the cells then the length should end up being just perfect because the tabbing wire will end on the last tab.

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STEP VI: Connecting the tabbing wires onto each solar cell

At this point you are ready to solder the flat wire to the individual cells without connecting any cells together. The best work station for this should include a stack of your cells that need to be tabbed in one stack, the pre-cut tabbing wires in the next stack, a flux pen, and your soldering iron. No actual solder is needed during any part of steps 6 and 7 and use of it will likely interrupt a very important focus you must have at all times right now – smoothly soldered cells with no “ridges”, bumps, etc in the tabbing wire. This is very important because when you are working on encapsulating your cells, it may not work well or at all if there are sharp, peaked ridges in the tabbing wire. Using solder will absolutely and easily cause this, which will result in it tearing through your laminate encapsulation or uneven silicone encapsulation depending on the type you choose.

We highly recommend performing the steps below on a piece of peg board as it will protect the surface under it to name one of the benefits you’ll discover over time.

1. First, make sure that each of the two pieces of tabbing wire your going to use for the first solar cell are straight and flat.

2. Second, dab your flux pen to make sure it’s moist. When doing this make sure not to touch the actual blue/solar cell face area with your fingers. If this happens, it will not ruin the cell but will certainly leave a acid remnant of your fingerprint on the cell. Using one latex glove on your non-dominant hand is a easy way to avoid this.

3. Run the white lines on the front side of the solar cell with the flux pen so all of the white area is coated.

a. **In order for the flux pen to be affective, you need to solder the tabbing wire while the lines are still wet. The rough timeframe between running the flux pen on the tabbing area and actually soldering the wire is generally 5-30 seconds.

4. With the soldering iron in your dominant hand, touch it to the tabbing wire at the top of the solar cell and slowly move from top to bottom of the cell. We believe that your best chance for a smooth solder onto the cell is going from top to bottom but we also recommend flipping your next cell on its side and going from side to side.

5. You will be repeating these steps for each solar cell your going to be using and we highly encourage you to add a couple extra in the unfortunate but frequent event one breaks on you while your learning this process.

The end results of this process will likely look like a stack of solar cells each with the wires dangling off the ends of them. The pictures below are examples of me doing this with three-inch square cells that only have

one tabbing bar going down the front.

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STEP VII: Connecting cells together in series

Its time to solder all of the cells together in the actual framed piece of glass your planning on using for the solar panel. We highly recommend doing it this way regardless of any other information you may come across on this subject. Fact is that minimum moving around equals minimal situations your faced with that could damage your cells. If you solder them elsewhere then have to transfer and flip/rotate/etc them into place on the piece of glass, give it a go. Just remember we told you not to because there is large possibility that your hours of work will be broken, damaged or un-tabbed.

Now, it’s very important to understand what purpose your first cell serves as it affects your entire panel. ***The bottom of the panel as seen in the top picture is the POSITIVE side of the cell. The crystal/front part of the cell is the NEGATIVE side of the cell. So, look closely at the first picture on this page. The two wires that are exiting the panel (to NOT be soldered to the next cell below it) are attached to the front side of the cell and then nothing else. Since the front side of the cell is the negative side, these are going to be the negative wires when all is said and done that go into your junction box. This is of utmost importance to fully understand before moving on as the last cell in this panel will need to have the two wires exiting on the same side of the frame as the first two are but starting and coming off of the BOTTOM of the cell. Just as you pre-cut the tabbing wires before, you should have two left over for the last cell and make sure to start them on the bottom exiting the panel. For the positive wires to work at all, they must start on the bottom of the cell while never being connected to a top side of a cell. The same principle holds true for the negative side. As the top picture displays, the negative wires are only soldered to the front of the cell (negative side) never touching the font side of a solar cell.

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STEP VII Continued

***Make sure before completing your first string/row of cells that this fundamental noted above will hold true. An easy way to do this is to title each cell as positive or negative with the first being a negative using the same example we have been working with already. If your able to fit 20 6x6 cells into the panel, 36 3x6 cells, 42 4x4 cells, etc, the last one would always need to be the opposite of the one you started with. Thus, if you alternated negative, positive, negative, positive, negative, positive, etc, for each cell your planning on using and the first + last ones were different, enjoy making a panel that will work just fine. If not, you have to reconfigure your outline to make sure that the fundamental above hold true or it will not work properly. The first is negative if the tabbing wire starts on the front of the first cell. When you look at picture two, your going to place your next cell under the first then slide it into place. Doing this will

Once you have your glass in position, the first thing you need to do is place the first cell up side down on the panel. Because you are using glass to mount the cells to, you want to make sure the front part of your cell is placed against the glass.

The next cell goes right underneath the top cell. Now its time to use the weights I mentioned earlier. I use metal pipe connectors because they are heavy enough to hold the cells in place, and they are cheap. Once the cells are in place take the flux pen and apply to the tab are of the bottom cell. Now take your solder and soldering iron, and attach the flat wire to tabs of the bottom solar cell. After the flat wire is soldered to the bottom cell those cells are now connected together.

Now you need to repeat this process for the rest of the column. An easy way to keep the end wires out of your way at the start and end of each row can also be seen in this picture. Simply use a fingertip to pin down the tabbing wire to the glass while the weight is holding your cell in place. Then pull the tab inward creating a 90-degree angle that allows you to move the cells closer to the edge while also getting them away from the external areas that you may brush up against. Trust us, if you were walking around your panel and were to catch something on one of those tabbing wires, the string would move breaking much of your hard work. I’ve been there before when I was self learning how to do this and hope you never have to.

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STEP VIII: Connecting the string/rows together

Since each cell needs to alternate with how it’s connected to the next one (top side, connected to the

bottom of the next), you need to make sure your continuing this rule throughout the solar panel

WITHOUT exception. The bus wire is a important part of these panels and it’s not recommended to bypass using this with just normal tabbing wire.

As seen below, the wires that are exiting the last cell in the first row (bottom right) are coming off of the front side of the cell. Look closely at the bottom right cell and you’ll see that the wires on the bottom of

the cell are cut before it gets to the end. When soldering in my last cell into this row I made the 90 degree

angle with the tabbing wire as described in step 7 then simply clipped them short because there does not

need to be much coming off the cell to connect the bus wire.

After soldering the shortened tabs from the end of the first row (as seen in the picture coming off the front

of the cell on the bottom right), you must remember to keep alternating just like you did with each cell in the first row. Thus, the start of the second row would need to only be tabbed to the bottom of the cell since

the end of the first row was only soldered to the front of the cell.

This is the single most common mistake with putting these panels together in our opinion. If you do not alternate the end of the row and the start of the next one then all won’t work. You will have currents

working against themselves and it can even damage the cells. TAKE YOUR TIME DOING THIS TO

MAKE SURE ITS BEING DONE RIGHT – TIME WELL SPENT!

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STEP 8: Continued

The direction you’re laying the cells changes each time you do a row. The first row has the excess tabbing wire facing downward then when you start row two, simply rotate the upside down stack of cells you have 180

degrees to point the excess tabbing wire upwards (direction is based only off this picture). Below I will label the

pictures to assist in explaining this.

Loose wires from Loose wires from Loose wires from Loose wires from

front side up front side down front side up front side down

Row 4 Row 3 Row 2 First Row (1)

Pos/Back to Bus wire Neg/Front to Bus Wire Pos/Back to Bus wire Neg/Front to Bus wire

It is an absolute must to have a open mind about our wiring instructions or else it's very easy to get confused with

this.. One of the biggest downfalls for new solar technicians (as we call it - YOU) is that you get concerned with

connecting a positive and a negative wire together which is completely understood given the extreme physical danger

your would face if doing it in normal everyday situations. However, when connecting solar cells together, this is an

absolute must if wiring in series. Series wiring is by far the most common and practical way to put together panels in

the world as the main difference is that if one cell was to die, the panel would still function minus the one cells

output. If wiring in parallel, the entire panel is in serious jeapordy of not working at all.

**It is also very important to make sure and solder this bus wire, conneting the two rows together, as flat as possible.

If you do not pay attention to this, your cells could be lifted upwards due to the wire simply being bent and it will

cause major encapsulation problems as you would then require more liquid to fill the space between the cells.

15

At this point, we suggest you very carefully move your panel outside or to a naturally lighted room in your home for a quick test before moving any further. If you were using any type of weight as mentioned

previously make sure that it’s out of the panel as to not shift causing damage to the cells. Additionally, make

sure that the ending ribbon wires (that are placed at a 90 degree angle as noted in the steps above) are not

touching the metal frame.

We recommend using a set of sawhorses, or something that can put the solar cells off the ground a couple of

feet while still exposing them to sunlight while still upside down. **This can be done inside of your home during any part of the day when the sun is up. This is what we normally do and it significantly reduces the

amount of travel time with your unprotected panel.

Now take a voltmeter and touch the positive side to the positive set of ribbon wire (the wires that start on the bottom and exit the panel), and the negative side to the negative set of ribbon wire (the wires that start on the

top and exit the panel). You should have something registering on your voltmeter at this point and if you

don’t see any movement and/or readout, reverse the positive and negative sensors as they may actually be backwards. You might also put it on the lowest setting because if your inside or there is not much light

available, it may be registering but just at a much lower rate than your volt meter is set for.

Don’t worry about what the reading is as this will fluctuate depending on the actual amount of sunlight the

cells are exposed to AND the amount of volts able to be generated from the cells your using. As long as your

voltmeter is set to a very low VOLT setting, and it's registering properly on your meter you should be good to

continue to the next step. If the meter is not registering it could be for a couple of reasons including or not including possibilities noted above. If all else fails, you should check to make sure your using the voltmeter

properly via the owners manual or another individual.

FAQ: Photovoltaic solar panels utilize light photons from the sun. As soon as the sun rises, photons are

rapidly moving through the atmosphere and begin impacting your solar cells. In our words, the electrons that

are contained throughout the makeup of your solar cells are knocked loose by the photons. From there they are attracted into the string ribbon gaining more and more energy while flowing from cell to cell throughout

the panel where they eventually end at the junction box and out of the panel as usable DC electricity!

STEP IX: Test, then TEST YOUR FIRST TEST!

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STEP X: Encapsulate

Now we are going to go over how to preserve and protect the cells in your panel. There are two basic ways to

encapsilate your panel and we are going to go over them now. These two options are: Silicon liquid

Encapsulant or EVA laminant. First we are going to discuss what we believe to be the most cost affective but

hard to perfect method - EVA laminant**.

EVA laminant option

EVA laminant encapsulation can be done in a couple of ways. Step one is to first cut one or two pieces of

laminant that extend the length of the glass and also a piece of backsheet the size of your cell area. Ideally, you

will use two pieces of EVA to first encapsulate the front of the cells while they are face up resting on the

backsheet, then the back of the cells if your able to carefully separate the laminated cells from the backsheet. OR, you will have to laminate the backside of the backsheet to try and secure a airtight seal coming from the

back as well. If the complete seal cannot be made, your panel is still 100% functional but subject to natures

elements if you use it anytime there is moisture, insects, etc present. **This way of encapsulation has a much higher probability of breaking your cells or not securing an airtight seal but we are going to go over this option

nonetheless.

If you are going to attempt to encapsulate your cells this way, here is one way that the process is going to look like along with the specific steps we recommend you take during it. Process: Your going to place backing to the

rear of the cells carefully so ultimately you'll be able to not damage or have the cells shift when flipping the

panel right side up for encapsulation of the top part of the cells.

First, place a piece of backing to the rear of the cells that is the same size of the glass. We normally use a piece

of tedlar that your can purchase via EBay or the internet but you can also use other materials depending on what you would like to do. Some of the other options we have tried include foam board or shower lining. Next,

use two inch increments of tape around the back of the backing to adhere one inch to the backing and one inch

to the outside part of the panel's frame. Make sure that this is secure as next you will be flipping the panel right

side up and any movement could damage your cells. Once the panel is right side up, you can begin to remove the tape from the outside of the frame which will lower the backing and the cells to the table top your going to

work on.

You will now need a heat gun, hair dreyer, or small torch that can be purchased from your local hardware store.

The specific heat setting is up to you but needs to carefully be used as to encapsulate the laminate to the cells

and not melt the laminate to the cells also causing bubbles in the laminant. To start applying heat to the

lamination, make sure your a couple of feet back from the surface. This is very important because if the heat is to extreme, the lamination will melt and bubble very quickly. You have to live with how that looks as long as

you have the panel.

Start moving your heat source slowly towards a cell in the middle of your panel and once you see the

lamination start to adhere, slowly waive the heat source back and forth moving up and down the panel in line

with the rows of cells themselves. Doing one half of the panel like this then moving to the second will move

any/all trapped air towards the edges and outside of the panel. Otherwise, you could end up with air bubbles within your panel of which is not damaging to the functionality but is an obvious visual blemish.

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After the front of the cells is sealed, the cells will look pretty dark and in looking closely at them it should

look melted completely over them. Your now ready to take a run at flipping the panel over and do the same to the rear of the cells. Again, you want to start far away from the lamination to ensure a slow, gradual,

heating process that does not melt your laminant resulting in bubbles. It is up to you weather you leave the

backing or take it off but just know that taking it off could result in damaging the cells depending on how

much of the laminant you adhered to it and also how you physically remove it. Repeat the same process above for the backside of the cells and you are ready to complete the final steps.

Silicone Encapsulation option – This is what we suggest doing over the EVA option..

Option 2: Silicone Encapsulation can be a little more expensive but is very low risk to your cells compaired to the EVA lamination process.

This process can take a little more time so you will want to bring your panel to a spot where it will remain

undisturbed for at least a couple days up to a week or so depending on the air temperature and humidity.

For example, if it is summer and temperature reaches 100 degrees + in the sun, you can place the panel outside in direct sunlight during the day and it will process within that day to to a couple hours.. On

hindside, if it is humid and cold outside, it might take a week + sitting at a secure location in your home to

process. These timeframes above are estimates using Sylgard 184 in the Fall/Winter and the cure time can

vary drastically depending on the described conditions. Please note that these timeframes are very rough estimates and the curing process could be sped up to a mere couple of hours. In fact, if you use Solar-Tite you

can and should plan on a curing timeframe of under a few hours to less than one hour. Solar-Tite costs about

half of what Sylgard does, it performs the same, but cure times can be REALLY fast if doing this in the sun and/or in hot conditions. If you don’t closely monitor your panel and evenly spread the encapsulant during

the first half hour, you could be severly cought off guard by the curing time. Results of this can lead to severe

bubles seen on the front side of the cells up to lumps on the backside due to trying to work out the airbubbles

when it’s almost completely cured.

There are several steps to this part. It really depends on how well you want your panel to withstand the

weather. If you live somewhere where the weather conditions are very harsh, you might think about doing all of the steps, if your weather is mild, you might think of modifying these steps for your area. The

encapsilation we have chosen is called Sylgard 184. You can find it on Ebay, and other locations on the

internet costing about $50.00 or so for the large and small containers. A small activator container of only a

few ounces is pured + gently mixed into the larger one by you before puring over the back of your cells. One purchase of these containers would encapsulate a panel approximately 2' x 3'***. It is very important for this

process to be done on either a glass table or with saw-horses so your able to easily look up at the front of the

panel from the ground. This way you can use your flat edged shim to carefully push out the airbubbles while your watching from the face side of the panel.

First you need to prepare your panel for the encapsilant. You will want to form a barrier of silicon around all

of your cells - not individually, but around the very outside edge of the glass. We recommend using white silicone as you will be able to easily see if there are any areas around your glass where the pured Sylgard will

seep through to the frame. You will want to put a fairly tall bead and we recommend that you cut the top of

the silicone tube to approximately 1/4" diameter from side to side of the opening. This will create a dam for your encapsilant which is very imporant given the cost.

Make sure you follow the directions on the Sylgard container and slowly mix the two containers together. Rapidly mixing the two will result in air bubbles seen throughout the gar of encapsulant which increases the

possibility of air bubbles being seen with your finished product. Next you take the encapsilant and pour it

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over all of the cells, until all of them are covered generously. We recommend starting in the middle and moving outwards just as described in the EVA

laminate process above. Doing it this way will push out the maximum

amount of air from inbetween the top part of your cells and the glass front of your panel. Most of the air inbetween the glass and cells will be pushed out

naturally so please be patient at first by using your shim to lightly cover the

back of each cell. You should periodiocally tap the sides of the frame to

initiate small vibrations to further assist with getting out the air.Next there might be some air pockets that need to be filled in and looking at the

frontside of the panel will assist you with locating these areas. Using your

shim, lightly scrape up some of the encapsulation that has rested excessively in other areas of the panel so you can fill in those needing areas. Once all the

air pockets/bubbles are out from inbetween the frontside of the cells and

glass you just need to wait until the liquid becomes firm to the touch.

Remember that this type of encapsulation can cost you close to $55 a solar panel so it’s really important to not loose any of the liquid to the outskirts of the panels frame. I always use white silicone to form a wall close to the cells and I choose the white colored (100% silicone) one to make sure there are no holes where the liquid will seap through.

A very important tool for this part of the process is a simple wooden shim, wood stick otherwise given out for free at the hardware store to stir paint, etc as you’ll be DELACATELY be spreading this encapsulation all over your cells first, then moving from high collected areas to those that need more. MAKE SURE

WHATEVER YOU USE IS AT LEAST 6” LONG AND HAS A

FLAT EDGE.

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With or without the encapsilation process you have chosen complete, its time to put the backing which is the

final preservation step to for the panel. We use these panels in the harsh enviorments of the Pacific Coast where it rains a lot in the winter. Our approach might seem like over-kill, but this is an investment we want

to last for a long period of time. However, if you are in a very dry environment where protection from the

elements is not as needed, you can become creative with the endless simple types of backing that may be used. ***Regardless of the type you choose, make sure you protect the wiring and plan out how you are

going to lead them into the junction box. More on this will be discussed below on step 12 and we encourage

you to read over step 12 before acting on any of the choices in step 11. If you choose to have a backing as

described below, make sure you cut a hole just larger than the size of your junction box to fit through.

Realitively easy backing that can be used could be a thin shower liner purchased from your local hardware

store. Ultimately your looking for something water resistant and somewhat protective if there is anytype of blunt impact to the rear of the panel. Make sure that before adhering the liner to the back of the cells, you

have the spot for the junction box already pre-cut.

The industrial and more professional way to complete the same backing is to purchase an item called Tedlar.

This is the option we recommend you use as its fully weather proof and easy to seal to the backside of your

panel using 100% silicone caulk. Different incraments can be purchased on ebay or other suppliers found on

the internet. If your using this method or the shower lining method, make sure to use enough 100% silicone caulking to seal the backing onto the reverse side of your panel. This step is VERY important and we

ususally use an entire tube of silicone per panel on this step alone..

Now it is time to wire the junction box. You should still have 2 sets of ribbon wire still exposed. One positive

set, and one negative set. In this step we are going to need to use the the 4 mm Bus Wire that you used

previously to attach the diferent rows of cells together. You will need to cut 2 pieces long enough for your positive set of ribbon wire to reach your junction box, and a piece long enough for your negative set of ribbon

wire to reach the junction box. Once your have your 2 pieces of bus wire cut, you will need to souder one

piece of bus wire to the set of positive ribbon wire and one to the negative. Both pieces of ribbon wire need to be securely soldered to the bus wire.

Next you need to attach the positive bus wire into the junction box and onto the positive terminal and vice

versa for the negitive side. Your next step should be to use some silicone to secure down the junction box to the panel. We apply this generously around the outside edges of the junction box and also in the inside of the

junction box where the buswire enters into it. Make sure you put some silicon in the holes where the bus wire

enteres into the junction box to stop corrosion and seal the compartment.

Solder a blocking diode into the junction box. This will protect your cells from any back current that would

reverse from your battery bank. A picture is included of some basic instructions but just remember to review

the instructions that come with anything you purchase and it would also be a good idea to reasearch how to do this online if needed.

STEP XII: Junction Box

STEP XI: Backing

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The moment you have been waiting for. Now your panel is finished, you might think about attaching a

positive wire and a negative wire to your junction box long enough to you can reach your volt meter to them

when the panel is placed face up. Make sure to cut one of the two wires longer than the other. This is highly recommended so you won't have as much risk of the ends of your positive and negitive wires touching. Keep

in mind that this finished product is now a power generator just like a battery or socket so keeping the wires

from touching is of utmost importance for personal safety and preserving the panel itself.

Now take you panel outside, and use your volt meter attaching the postive to the postive wire from your junction box, and the negative to the negative wire of your junction box. You should be getting a reading

close to what you calculated earlier in the process. Fore your panel to work effectivly, you need to pe

producing more than 12 volts.

Thank you for reading our book and we hope this has guided your understanding of how solar panels are

built. With this basic understanding of building solar panels, you can explore the possibility anywhere from full “off grid” living to getting into this as a hobby. Please look for our next book on how to integrate solar

energy into your home. In our opinion solar energy is a great way to add a sustainable energy source to your

home and/or lifestyle, while reducing your monthly energy bills. We hope you will consider buying our next book Integrating Solar Energy into Your Home.

STEP XIII: TEST, TEST, TEST AGAIN!

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THANK YOU!

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