Control Systems & PLC's

Solder Panel

How to Build Solar Panel: Steps 11-15

Now that you are half way through how to build solar panel instructions, you might want to quickly check through what you have done to make sure that everything looks okay before you move onto the next five steps. Once you are satisfied that your solar panel is shaping up nicely, it is time for you to move onto steps 11-15 in how to build solar panels.

Step #11: it is recommended, however it is not required, that you should sandwich the soldered solar cells inside of a protective thermoplastic material such as ethylene vinyl acetate of UV resistant sheet because over time, if there is oxygen getting into the solar panel, the solar cells will degrade early. To attach the sheet to the solar cells, place the sheet over the cells that you soldered together in step 10 and use the heat gun on the sheet so that it sticks to the solar cells. Before heating the EVA sheet onto the solar cells, first place them on top of white paper and solder together because the EVA sheet is very sticky when it becomes heated and when flipping over the solar panel in a cardboard frame, the sheet of paper can be easily removed and without the paper between the solar panel and the cardboard, you would find that you would have to peel the EVA sheet and solar panel from the cardboard which could cause damage to the solar cells. Make sure to over cut the EVA sheet because it tends to shrink when it becomes heated.

Step #12: once you have chosen and cut your protective thermoplastic material, it is time to adhere it to your solar cells and to do this, carefully turn the sheet of solar cells over, place the plastic sheet over the top of the solar cells and then use the heat gun on the sheet so that it joins to the solar cells as well as the sheet and then you have managed to protect your solar cells.

Step #13: the next step in building your own solar panel is to take your measured ABS white sheet and, using a suitable cutting tool, cut it down to fit your solar cell panel. Next, carefully drill a 5/16 inch hole through the white sheet approximately six inches from the right top edge and one inch down from the right top edge.

Step #14: once this is done, place the 36 soldered solar cell sheet face up onto the ABS white sheet and make sure to centre them on the sheet. Then cut off the excess EVA or Surlyn sheet, whichever protective sheet that you may have applied to the solar cells, so that it is around an inch less on each side than the size of your ABS white sheet.

Step #15: once you have completed the last step, you must then solder around 3 inched of the color coded wire to the positive and negative interconnection wire on number 1 and number 36 of the solar cells, then push the other end of the wires through the 5/16 inch drilled hole that you made in step 13.

About the Author

build solar panel systems? Please visit: HowToBuildSolarPanelSystems.com

How do I get to the cluster on a '96 neon?

How do I get to the cluster contacts under the instrument panel on a '96 neon? I need to solder a contact for the speedometer gauge

hi there.

I repair speedometers for a living.

I have removed many , many dodge neon instrument clusters to solder them up.

the WHOLE TOP OF THE DASH must come off.!!!

remove the speaker grills on both sides.Use a 7mm socket to remove the screws on both sides.

Now the dash can be popped off. There are hidden clips you do not see and the first removal is always sort of scary but TRUST ME! Just push up on the dash and it will come off.

With the top of the dash removed : you can easily remove the cluster and do your solder work. it is best to verify which side is the problem first by driving car with dash removed and poking around a bit.

I hope this helps. Good Luck!

Homemade Solar Panels - Soldering Solar Cells Part 1