How it all startedLatest update May 1st , 2011
Mijn Zelfbouw Zonne(stroom)panelen !
Kijk ook op mijn 2e website : http://doctersnuggles2.come2me.nl/
en op het forum van zonnepaneel-zelfbouwers : http://forum.zelfbouwenergie.nl
This website shows how I built my own solar panels. I want to show that it is possible to do it and share my knowledge and findings free with anyone who also wants to build his own solar panels ! I believe in solar energy because it is pretty clean and in the future the world will need new sources of energy......
Update May 1st , 2011
The 10 "new" panels are now installed and working ! I have bought Sun inverters. I connected 4 panels to a Sun300G. And 2 sets of 3 panels each to a Sun400G inverter.All these inverters have a DC-input range of 22-60Volts.
Today I have seen a max power for the whole system of 18 + 10 panels (totalling about 1700Wp) of 1380 Watt. Yesterday 9,3 kWh was the total at the end of the day.
Now it is becoming a real solar system producing an estimated 1500kWh per year. Reducing my electricitybill by approximately 33%.
But I will continue to build more panels !! On the structure were the 10 new panels are there is room for 11 more.......(another say 850 Wp)
Update april 4th , 2011
My 18 panels have produced 170kWh since jan 1, this year. Also I now have 10 panels of the new "type" (meaning higher output) ready. I am building a new frame/structure to attach them to. I have ordered the SUN300G ( 22-60Volt) inverter and I am waiting for 2 of them. They will nicely match 4 of the new panels in series. So for now I will not use the SunnyBoy 1100.
To be continued.......
Update jan 5 , 2011
My first set of panels is still working great after the first full year of operation ! It produced 409 kWh. And that is indeed about double the figure compared to the halfyear figure.
I now have 18 panels operational so I can expect around 880 kWh this year. But I am further building new panels. Two allready are finished. These newer panels will have a higher output since the cells are better. I expect somewere between 40 and 50% better performance. (and that for the same price of about E 60 per panel, now about 75 to 80 Wp up from the 57 Wp of the first 18 panels) But I will need to build at least 12 of them before I can get them operational given the fact that I will use them with a SunnyBoy 1100 inverter and this inverter needs a pretty high voltage. So it will take a lot of time to make them........ But before the end of this year I hope to have them working. And since they will have that better performance it will double the total power of my installation to around 1700 Wp !
But I am aiming higher.........
Update sept 30 , 2010
Een nieuwe link naar een solarcel curve tracer, zie : links to other DIY- panels
Update sept 20, 2010 :
Er zijn nu 16 panelen klaar en in gebruik. Ze staan op mijn nieuwe adres daar heb ik gelukkig ruimte in de tuin...
Een groep van 8 panelen zit op een Stecagrid 500 en de andere groep van 8 panelen zit op een oude gerepareerde SunnyBoy 700.
Bij elkaar is het nu 880 Wp !
UPDATE : july 12 , 2010 : So far the highest maximum has been 437 Watts (corrected for the inverter : 460 Watts ) Meaning that my panels each gave as WattPeak : 57,5 Watt And from jan 1 until now my panels produced 253 kWh. I estimate the total at the end of the year to be at or slightly above 400 kWh. because on june 22 , the longest day of the year, the total was 205 kWh.
Update : march 13 , 2010 : Today 428 Watts ( corrected for the inverter : 450 Watts ) From jan 1 until now, my panels produced 40 kWh.
Update : March 3rd , 2010 : Yesterday 419 Watts , and before it went into the inverter it was about 439 Watts. So 55 Watts per panel which means : E 1,09 per Wp !!!
Update Februari 1 , 2010 : My installation is working ! Max Output from the panels on Jan 28 : 363 Watt .My panels cost 60 E each. Meaning that at 400 Wp output the price per Wp is E1,20....... I expect to go well over that 400....So maybe it will be E1,10 per Wp.....
Go to my second website to see more pictures : www.doctersnuggles2.come2me.nl ( not yet completely with text........)
Update :( 5 november 2009 ) There is a new forum (in Dutch only....) about DIY-solarpanels : http://forum.zelfbouwenergie.nl
Update (10sep2009) about were I buy my cells look on page "The first experiment".
Update (07sep2009), go to page : "Solland Cells"
Last year ,may (2008), I found out I was using very ,very much electricity. So I started figuring out how to bring it down to more reasonable figures. I bought some powermeters.
The first thing that became clear was that my refridgerator was using a lot. So I bought a new one that uses about 25% compared to the old one (old one : 700kWh per year ; new one : about 180 kWh........, moneywise : in 4 years I will earn my money back ! )
And in my central heating system I have two loops of floor heating,using electrical driven pumps : they were running 24/7 all year......... Totally unnescesary. In that electrical circuit I built a temperature activated switch so that the pumps would only run when the temperature of the water in the system was above a certain value. Also , to prevent the pumps to be inactive for too long (summertime) I used a clock that switches these pumps on for 10 min once every week.
Also I replaced several lightbulbs by the new much more (about 4 times)efficient tl-type lightbulbs.
What I also started doing was switching of my tv and computer when I was not watching/using them.
The result : 50 % less electricity !
But it did not stop there ! Being a real do-it-yourself guy combined with looking at what nature can give us regarding free energy I first built an experimental vertical axis windmill based on a selfbuilt PMG (permanent magnet generator). Lots of information about this subject to be found on the internet ! Pictures below :
But it got real cold outside after october,and also permission to put such things on your rooftop in the Netherlands is a complicated matter. So I shifted my attention to solar electrical power. I ordered my first 100 cells via ebay.com in the USA.
It took quite a long time of brainstorming and research on the internet to make an initial plan of how to build a solar panel that will withstand all the forces of nature : freezing temperatures, storms , rain ,hail and hot temperatures ! There is also a lot to be found on the internet about this subject.
My goal was to start it up , then make it public on the internet , stimulating others to also do it ,and in that way receiving critics and advice about this project. And I can say that up till now ( april ,2009 ) : It really is a succes allready ! In the month of march alone about 14.000 people looked at this website, to me that is a huge succes !
So if you want to build your own solar panel , just contact me and I will be glad to show you were to buy the materials (I do have some cells and other material left over) If you like I could even give you a short "workshop"
Well to continue : Look at " The first experiment "