Photovoltaic (PV) solar electricity systems have captured a lot of interest as the system components have grown more mature, capable, and reliable.
The references and articles below provide PV system basics, examples of the four common types of PV systems used to generate electric power, reviews of PV system components, lots on how-to build your own PV system, and a few interesting "other" PV systems.
Contrary to popular belief, in most areas it is perfectly legal and relatively straight forward to do your own PV -- we did...
Directory for the PV section:
Be sure to do the Solar Site Survey to make sure that your PV panels will have an unobstructed sun for the critical part of the day. The survey should be done from the location where the PV panels will be mounted.
PV powered water pumping systems are
covered under Solar Water Pumping
NEW -- Our new micro-inverter, off-grid PV system...
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PV Basics | |||
Step One -- Avoid the scams |
There are some very heavily advertised guides for sale on the Internet in
the $50 range that promise that you can make PV panels that will provide
"80%" of your homes power for a couple hundred dollars. You can be sure that anyone making these kinds of claims is a scammer -- don't waste your money. You will find plenty of free and honest information below for reputable sources. |
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Solar Site Survey ...
The Site Survey is particularly critical for PV projects. |
![]() This will ensure that you actually get enough sun on your collector to make it worthwhile. It only takes an hour, its fun, its easy and you will learn something about how the sun moves. Solar Site Survey... |
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A Consumers Guide to Buying A Solar Electric System EERE PV Guide (pdf)
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A couple basics articles from Home Power: Solar Electricity Basics: Solar-Electric Systems Simplified, |
![]() A very basic description of each of the different styles of PV systems (grid intertied, off-grid, …). |
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Solar Power 101, Jeffrey Yago, Backwoods Home Magazine, 3 parts starting in May 2004 issue. Solar Power 101, part 1... There are two more parts in the following 2 issues. |
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Renewable
Energy Design Guide and Catalog http://www.alt-energy.com/online-solar-catalog.html
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![]() Right up to date and with lots of information on PV system components and lots of good reference material. PDF version is a free download. Hardcopy can be ordered here ... |
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Home Power Magazine How to get articles from Home Power ...
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![]() Home Power is a very good source for hands-on PV information. |
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PVWatts -- A Performance Calculator for Grid-Connected PV Systems From NREL PVWatts Version 1... This is a really useful tool |
![]() It calculates PV system performance based on hour by hour records for sun in your area. Version 1 is very easy to use, and works worldwide. |
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BP PV System Economics Calculator http://bpsolar.cleanpowerestimator.com/bpsolar.htm
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![]() Allows you to change location, size & cost of array, and financing. Shows details on power output, cost savings, and return on your investment. While it is offered by a company selling PV equipment, it does not appear (to me) to be overly optimistic on power generated or savings. |
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PVGIS -- PV sizing tool for Europe and Africa
PVGIS sizing tool: PVGIS home page: |
![]() Includes effects of local weather, obstructions, ... |
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Photovoltaics Economics Calculator, Karen Pease and Elaine Mahler www.daughtersoftiresias.org/progs/insolation/insolation.html
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![]() Based on your inputs, it provides monthly power generation and dollar savings. It also provides the payback period and investment return for the system. The calculator takes into account local weather, panel orientation, and temperature -- can do systems with tracking. The calculator is new, and I'm sure the authors would appreciate your comments and helpful suggestions. |
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Taking the Plunge! An
Off-the-Grid Home Tour to Learn the Basics of a Renewable Energy System,
William Kemp (pdf)
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![]() A lot of emphasis on the conservation steps needed to get demand down. Not a lot of hands-on, but a very good introduction. |
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Backwoods Solar Catalog
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Simpler Solar Power – Grid-Tied Solar Systems Make Choosing Clean, Renewable Electricity Easier and More Affordable Than Ever Mother Earth News Doug Liningston and Scott Hollis |
![]() Good article explaining the basics of grid-tied PV systems. Not a lot of “how-to”, but good explanation of the basics. |
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Plug into the Sun Rusty Haunes and Lindsey Hodel Mother Earth News |
Mother Earth News Article, Issue
199 This article provides an overview of the financial aspects of building a solar PV system. Concentrates primarily on obtaining government grants to reduce the cost of the system. |
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List of good discussion forums...
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This is a list of discussion forums I like. You can post questions on these forums and get answers. As always on the Internet, the level of expertise varies from very high to very very low, so be careful to confirm the advice you get in some way. | ||
What is the actual output from a "1
KW" PV rig? Home Energy Magazine article www.homeenergy.org (pdf)
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Wind Sun | Solar electric library and buyers guide. Quite a few downloadable PV equipment specs, brochures, manuals. | ||
PhotoVoltaics: Design and Installation Manual |
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About $60. |
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A Guide To Photovoltaic (PV) System
Design and Installation, California Energy Commission, 2001
http://www.energy.ca.gov (pdf)
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![]() Provides information
on sizing, wiring, component selection, ... Also, provides a detailed
check list. |
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PV
Power System Designer http://systemdesigner.pvpower.com
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![]() It will pick several alternative actual systems based primarily on lowest price. The definition includes specific PV panels and a specific inverter with prices, but does not include other details that make up the system -- so, there are still a lot of things to add to get to a full system. |
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1BOG
-- one block off the the grid -- group discount program
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![]() It seems like a potentially good concept that is worth looking into.
If you have had a good (or bad) experience with the program, please
let me
know... |
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Leasing PV Systems
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There are companies that will lease you a PV system to mount
on your house. They make the deal sound very attractive. I have
zero expertise on this, but
this article says there are some large potential gotcha's in the fine
print... So, be very very careful. On the
other hand,
this NREL analysis finds at least some of the lease programs to be more
attractive than other forms of ownership... |
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Emissions from Photovoltaic Life Cycles, Vasilis Fthenakis, Huung Chul Kim, and Erik Alsema, ASAP Environ. Sci. Technol, Feb 200
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Every once in a while you still find people saying that the energy and
pollution involved in making PV cells exceeds the energy use or pollution
they prevent during their life. This is completely and totally false
-- here is the latest paper verifying this. Conclusion of the study: |
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Small Standalone PV Systems (cabins, mobile, and startup systems) | |||
Installing Your Own Small, Remote
Off-Grid Solar System, Jeffrey Yago, Backwoods Home Magazine, Mar 2009 www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago116.html |
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Solar Power Trailer, Jeffery Yago Backwoods Home Magazine, Nov/Dec 2007 www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago108.html
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![]() Part 1 of 2 in the Nov/Dec 2007 issue of Backwoods Home Magazine -- all issues can be viewed online. |
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A 320 Watt Truck Mounted PV System |
![]() ![]() Great system for camping, tradesmen, RVs, power outage emergencies, ... Full details on the construction and wiring... |
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Walden Pond -- The Solar Version, Jeffrey Yago Backwoods Home Magazine
Part i: |
![]() Mostly about minimizing electric loads so that the PV system does not end up costing more than the cabin. Backwoods Home Magazine issues 99 and 100. |
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Ron's
Small, Inexpensive Standalone PV System http://epweb.angelfire.com/solar-pv-system.html
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![]() Ron's system makes use of inexpensive used PV panels, a kit charge controller, and low priced sine wave inverter to build a 300 watt system that he uses to power some loads that are independent of the grid, and also to provide some backup when the grid power goes out. Its also a great way to learn about solar electricity without spending a lot of money. |
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Small and Simple in the North Woods Joan R. Surber and Roberta L. Corrigan |
![]() Design and implementation of a DC only PV system for a small cabin. The system has 150W of PV panel, 660AH of battery capacity, and cost $2500. |
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My Solar Casita – solar pumping, Heating, Cooking, and More! Samuel Gray |
![]() Description of a small off grid PV system with solar pumping. 700 WH per day demand. 110 Watts of PV panel total. Good construction detail. A solar passive design adobe Casita – 120 ft^2. |
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Portable Solar-Powered Workshop Jon Haeme |
![]() Article on a complete, PV powered, workshop in a trailer. |
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Backyard Solar Electricity, Made Simple Mickey Mestel |
![]() Good article on a very small PV system that can be easily removed and taken along to a new house. 32 W PV panel, 64 AH of battery capacity in a box, and a 1700 W inverter make up the system. The total cost is $1350. |
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Office-Sized Solar-Electric System for Renters Eric Grisen |
![]() Interesting article on a “moveable” 300 W PV system with batteries. Most of this system fits in and on a wood box. Covers load analysis, component selection, and building and installing the system. Cost $4K. |
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90 Solar Powered Portable Workshop |
![]() Interesting article on a portable, PV powered workshop in a trailer. Uses one 120W PV panel, 2 Trojan T105 batteries, and an 1800 watt inverter to power a wide variety of tools. System cost $2600. |
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PV Systems On RVs http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm
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![]() While its RV oriented, most of the information is applicable to and small PV system. Note that the PV material is in Part 2 of the article. thanks to Mark for suggesting this) |
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Off Grid PV Systems -- Homes powered by these systems are not connected to the utility grid at all. The systems have PV panels for generation of power, and batteries to store power for when the sun is not shining. In some cases fossil fuel powered generators are used to supplement the solar power. As you can see from the examples below, these systems can range greatly in size, complexity and price. | |||
Off the Grid Starting Small Daniel Bisbee
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![]() Good article about an off grid house PV system that started very small and grew to a modest 240 W of PV panels, 660AH or battery capacity, and a 1500 W inverter that meets all their needs. The system cost $3K and avoided a $37K charge from the utility company to extend the power grid. Maybe you really don't need to use 30KWH per day? |
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RE Earthship Design:
on-the-job-training Linda Brotman-Evans & Jeff Evans HP article on Earthship PV (230K pdf)
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![]() Good material for planning how to live on a relatively small PV system -- 1997. |
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A Simple Solar Solution Mother Earth News http://www.motherearthnews.com
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![]() Good article on planning, building and living with a solar PV system in an off grid house in Colorado. |
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HP99 Solar Comfort in the Idaho Wilderness Ed Marue |
![]() Good article on an off grid system for a mountain cabin. The system has 960 W of PV panel, 530AH of battery storage, and a 7KW backup generator, all at a cost of $15K. The owner of the system covers planning, designing, and installing the system in good detail. |
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Taking the Off-Grid Plunge Dane Wigington |
![]() Article describes a large, off-grid system capable of supporting large electrical loads. 5.1KW of PV panels and 2400 AH of battery capacity. Supplemented with two wind generators. |
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Off Shore and Off Grid – Island Life Unplugged John McNicholas |
![]() Good detailed description of a large, off grid PV system for a Florida island house with large loads. 3600 W PV panels, 2500 AH battery system, 20KW generator. $61K worth of components. |
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The Care and Feeding of Solar Batteries, Jeffrey Yago, Backwoods Home Magazine, Sep 2005 |
![]() The article covers battery types, and goes into caring for and maintaining batteries for a long life. Batteries are a high ongoing cost for off-grid solar and its very easy to kill an expensive battery set before its time, so this is good stuff to know. |
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Grid Tie PV Systems Without Battery Backup -- Homes on these "grid-tied" systems are connected to the utility grid. When the PV panels are producing more electricity than is being used in the house, the meter runs "backwards", and the excess power goes into the utility grid. These systems do not have batteries for storage of electricity. When the utility power fails, the lights go out in these houses, even if the sun is shining. But, the significant cost and maintenance issues owning batteries are avoided. | |||
Designing and Installing Your Own Grid-Tied PV System
Near real time performance records...
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![]() ![]() A lot of detail is provided on the full process, including deciding on type of system, how big to make it, where to put the panels, solar site survey, what kind of mounts to use, building the mounts, installing the components, doing the wiring, and the performance and economics of the system. The system uses the same Enphase micro-inverter scheme as Guy's system (just below), so between these two entries there should be enough detail to keep you busy for quite a while! |
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Installing a grid-tie solar electric power system, Guy Marsden
Full, step by step description of the system: Real time output data:
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![]() Guy's system uses the new Enphase micro inverter system in which each PV panel gets its own inverter. The Enphase system reduces installation labor, and allows easier future expansion. Guy also provides real time system output stats. Guy has done several fine renewable energy and solar projects, and has detailed tutorials on each one -- a look through his whole website is very worthwhile. |
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The tinkeringcaveman Solar Project https://sites.google.com/site/tinkeringcavemansolarproject/ |
![]() ![]() Kevin worked in partnership with a local electrician -- I think this is a good approach and likely makes for less to learn and a smoother install. Lots of good detail on the whole process. |
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Mick and Janet's Photovoltaic Solar System
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Grid-Tied Soar In Small Town, USA www.andykerr.net/Energy/KerrSystemHP101CD.pdf (2.3MB pdf)
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Getting Off the Lifetime Utility Payment Plan Daren Webster |
![]() Good article on a large, suburban California, grid tied, batteryless system. Covers load estimation, system design, and installation (by owner). The $28K system has 4KW of PV panels. |
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Grid-Tie Solar Powered Farm, Jefferey Yago, Backwoods Home Magazine, July/August 2005 |
![]() Note how simple the modern grid-tie inverters make these systems. |
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Solar Electricity in Spite of the Fog Greg Bundros |
![]() Good article on an grid tied PV system in Northern California. The system has 1320W of PV panels and cost $22K before rebates. The author installed the system, and covers design and installation of the system. He also provides very detailed performance records for the system. |
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Solar Electric Vision Becomes Reality Alan Stankevitz |
![]() Description of a 4KW grid intertied, batteryless PV system. A full description of the system is provided including costs. The system was installed by the owner, and some of the details of the installation an permitting process are described. |
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From The Ground Up – My RE System Design Choices Linda Pinkham |
![]() Good article on going through all the decisions to be made in implementing an medium size, grid tied PV system. Size, siteing collectors, tracking or not, batteries or not, component selection, … |
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Solar Solidarity – An IBEW-Supported PV System Vincent Endter |
![]() Good article on installation of a 5KW, grid-tied, no batteries system for a residence in California. Quite a bit of detail on the design and installation of the system. |
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Illustration of 8 KW (DC) GT Solar PV System Install
for Residence in Urban Area www.wind-sun.com/ForumVB/showthread.php?t=6394
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![]() Lots of detail is provided, and there is some good discussion of the system. |
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Video: Photovoltiaic Power -- One Homeowners Solution |
![]() There is a long intro on the benefits of PV, followed by some detail on the installation. |
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Construction Details for a PV Array at Craters of the Moon Monument |
![]() Construction Details for a PV Array at Craters of the Moon Monument... |
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Cold Springs Solar Power
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![]() Some nice construction details in the photos. |
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Clarian SmartBox Plug-In the Wall Grid-Tie PV system My blog entry on the system...
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![]() It can start with one 200 watt PV panel and be easily expanded with additional panels. Prices are projected to be about $4 per watt -- it is supposed to "be in stores in 2011". |
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Grid Tie PV Systems With Battery Backup -- These homes are connected to the utility grid, and work in the same way as the "grid-tied" homes above, but they also have batteries, which allows the lights to stay on when the utility power goes down. On the negative side, the systems are more expensive, and the batteries must be carefully maintained. | |||
Note that new inverters that are designed specifically for grid-tied with battery backup systems have recently come out -- these include: | |||
Bob's Solar Project http://www-personal.umich.edu/%7Ebgoodsel/solar/blog.htm
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This is Bob's blog on installing a grid tied with batteries, Unisolar PV
shingle system. It is very detailed and should be very helpful to
anyone considering doing this. |
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Grid Tied PV and Wind System with Battery Backup
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![]() ![]()
Lots of detail and helpful information on design, components, installing, wiring, suppliers, permitting, ... |
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Building a Grid-Tied Solar Electric System http://altenergy.blog-city.com/gridinteractive_system.htm
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![]() A home built ground mount system from treated lumber is also described. |
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Grid Tie, Battery Backup, and System Monitoring Brent Simons |
![]() Very good article on planning, designing and installing a 4.8KW grid-tied PV system with 400AH battery backup, and a 4KW inverter. The system also includes instrumentation to monitor the performance of the system. Quite a bit of component and installation detail. |
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PV Tracking and Mounts and Soft Concentrators -- Systems that track the sun or that use reflective surfaces to concentrate more light on the PV cells make better use of the expensive PV cell material. | |||
An HP Article on PV Tracker Basics, Richard Perez
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Field Test Results of the Archimedes Photovoltaic V=Trough Concentrator
System, Klotz, Mohring, Gruel, Sherborne, Bruton, Albella, and Tzanetakis Archimedes Paper (pdf)
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![]() (My thanks to Greg for suggesting this) |
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Low Cost Tracking Ridge Concentrator
Picture Gallery of Examples: |
![]() The
website(s) are a bit confusing, but provide some useful material. |
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Pumping Water for Irrigation Using Solar Energy H.J. Helikson, D.Z. Haman and C.D. Baird University of Florida -- Extension Service Pumping Paper (pdf)
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![]() Interesting reflector/tracking arrangement on the PV panels that increases panel output significantly. |
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RedRok.com LED3Xc3 Solar Tracker Assembly http://www.redrok.com/led3xassm.htm#led3xforsale
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![]() The page gives examples of many systems using the RedRok tracker. |
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$35 DIY PV Tracker |
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Mother's Super-Simple Solar Tracker Dennis Burkholder http://www.motherearthnews.com
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![]() This article provides some how-to information on designing and building solar array trackers that use canisters of refrigerant to passively track the sun. This is similar to the very popular ZomeWorks trackers. Several designs are discussed. The trackers in the article use Freon -- in a new design you would, of course, have to substitute a different refrigerant. |
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Canuckle Tracker
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![]() And, a simple Sun Switch sun sensor and motor driver. |
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Water-Powered PV Tracker Bill Spurlock |
![]() An interesting mix of high tech PV and low tech genius to implement a water powered PV array tracking system. |
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PV Array Mounts | |||
A simple mount
using treated wood plus commercial rails...
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Another way of
doing treated wood supports with commercial rails...
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Construction Details for a PV Array at Craters of the Moon Monument |
![]() Mount Details for a PV Array at Craters of the Moon Monument... |
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Home Built Solar Mount |
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Installing PV Systems -- How-To |
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Some of the articles above that describe
example PV systems have some construction detail, so see these as well. PV systems have become more straightforward to install as equipment has been refined over the years -- grid-tie systems in particular have become much simpler. But, this does not mean its an easy DIY project. There are serious safety issues that you must fully understand -- even folks with considerable AC system wiring experience should be very careful to learn and understand the hazards of working with strings of PV panels that will produce several hundred volts whenever the sun is on them. In addition to the safety issues, there are permits and utility companies to deal with -- some areas may not even allow a home owner to install his/her own system. So, as always, do your homework! |
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See the entries in the other sections on "Off Grid", "Grid Tied", etc. These articles contain lots of detailed accounts of DIY installations. | |||
Solar System
Install Guide The full tutorial: The PV part starts in Lesson 5: |
![]() Its about the most readable thing I have found that provides enough detail to be useful in installing your own system. |
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Photovoltaic Power Systems and the 2005
National Electrical Code: Suggested Practices John Wiles, Southwest Technology Development Institute, New Mexico State University |
![]() Kind of tough sledding if you are not a code devotee, but accurate and authoritative. |
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Inspector
Guidelines for PV Systems, Prepared by Brooks Engineering for PACE University Inspector Guidelines for PV Systems (pdf) Inspecting Photovoltaic (PV) Systems for Cod Compliance...
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![]() I found it helpful in both the planning of the details of the component locations and the wiring, and as a good checklist on what inspectors will be looking for. The second link is 168 page presentation with lots of examples and photos. Probably more detailed than most will need, but lots of examples of common mistakes. |
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NABCEB (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) |
![]() Their web site Resources page has much information of interest to people want to install a system or want to be knowledgeable about what a good installation should look like. The "Study Guide for Photovoltaic System Installers" is a good one. (thanks to Doug for suggesting this) |
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A Guide to Photovoltaic (PV) System Design and
Installation, California Energy Commission, June 2001 www.energy.ca.gov/reports/2001-09-04_500-01-020.PDF
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Residential/Commercial Solar PV Installations, Basic information and installation guides for roof mounted systems, Ed Larsen, June 2008 City of Flagstaff/Project Review Section Residential/Commercial Solar PV Installations ... (PowerPoint)
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![]() Some good planning, design, and installation detail. Quite a bit of detail on installation. Written for Flagstaff, but generally applicable. |
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How to Install A Pole-Mounted Solar-Electric Array |
![]() A very detailed how-to -- lots of good advice. |
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PV Combiner Box Buyers Guide, Lena Wilensky How to get articles from Home Power ... This article covers a lot of the issues of wiring the array to the inverter. |
![]() Good article, not only
goes over available combiner box offerings, but covers the wiring, fusing,
and sizing procedures for the boxes. |
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Picking the right wire
size
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Maverick Solar DIY Workshop
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![]() Includes some fairly detialed examples of several systems, and some good "how-to"s on wiring etc. |
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PV Components | |||
See also the list of
suppliers for PV systems ...
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Renewable
Energy Design Guide and Catalog http://www.alt-energy.com/online-solar-catalog.html
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![]() Right up to date and with lots of information on PV system components and lots of good reference material. PDF version is a free download. Hardcopy can be ordered here ... |
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PV Combiner Box Buyers Guide, Lena Wilensky |
![]() Good article, not only
goes over available combiner box offerings, but covers the wiring, fusing,
and sizing procedures for the boxes. |
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106 What’s Going On – The Grid? A New Generation of Grid-Tied PV Inverters Joe Schwartz |
![]() Rundown on the latest in inverters for grid tied PV systems. What to look for, and how they rate. |
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Deep Cycle Battery FAQ www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm
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![]() Lots of good information. |
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Off Grid Cooling | |||
Cooling for off-grid homes can be difficult due
to the need to minimize electrical power use. This section has a
couple of low electricity use cooling schemes. A whole house fan that operates on DC would be another good one, but I have not seen one. Many of the passive techniques listed in the Cooling Section apply VERY well to PV powered homes since they use no power at all. |
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Ceiling fans with aerodynamically designed
blades http://www.fanworks.com/vari-cyclone.htm
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![]() Models are available that operate at 12 or 24V, and can be operated direct PV or battery. FSEC paper: Performance and Applications of Gossamer Wind™ Solar Powered Ceiling Fans |
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PV Powered Evaporative Coolers www.nvo.com/southwestsolar/productcatalog/ Some notes on a DIY one: |
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Off Grid Refrigeration | |||
Refrigeration is one of the major
electric loads for an off grid home. Some of the solutions people are using:
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Energy Star |
![]() In my view, the Energy Star program could be more aggressive, but its certainly a good place to start. For example, they have no plans to require more efficient refrigerators until 2012 at the earliest -- let them know you would like to see a more aggressive approach. |
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Efficient Refrigerators for PV
SunFrost
SunDanzer
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A couple of brands that specialize in low power consumption fridges and
freezers for PV.
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SunFrost |
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Very Efficient Chest Refrigerator Chest Fridge Full Article (68K pdf) This article is from the Mt Best -- Australia solar house site: http://mtbest.net/ A very interesting solar house with several unique features, and a bit more info on the chest fridge. Another approach here: The thermostat shown on
this page is reported to allow you to use a chest freezer as a refrigerator
with large energy saving: |
![]() Apparently not all chest freezers are created equal, as some do not report quite as dramatic an energy saving as Tom reported in his paper -- so if you are getting a new chest freezer for this, pick an efficient one to start with. One person reported 0.3 KWH per day (108KWH/year) on a newer Kenmore freezer that was EPA rated at 279KWH per year. So, something like a quarter of a typical, similar size conventional (upright) refrigerator seems easily achievable. |
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Solar Powered refrigerators, Jeffery Yago, Backwoods Home Magazine www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago102.html
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![]() Most run directly on 12 VDC, and are easy on solar PV systems. |
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Make a Fridge? Description of the fridge making kit and instructions for making a fridge from it ...
More Details (pdf)
Another kit fridge -- DIY System Kits: |
![]() If you wanted to make a very efficient fridge, this kit would allow you allow you to build the box with as much insulation as you want, it could be top opening, and the compressor could be located in an optimal spot. On just a rough guess from their specs, you might get down to 0.1 KWH per day for a very well insulated 8 cubic foot fridge. Unfortunately the kit is not cheap, but this still might pay well for off-grid PV users. If anyone has tried this (or similar), please let me know how it turned out -- Gary |
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Refrigeration Off Grid
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An interesting technique for technique for powering a 9 cubic foot fridge for only 0.35 KWH per day (130KWH per year), and at the same time going easier on battery use. | ||
Passive Refrigerator/Icebox
http://fourmileisland.com/IceBox.htm
Note: I would not try this unless you have a lot of time to tinker -- I am guessing there is a significant learning curve attached to getting one of these operating well. |
![]() Other interesting projects on
the same site. |
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Off Grid Appliances | |||
Finding efficient
appliances for off grid can be difficult, since the power draw is very
important, but you still want an appliance that does the job well -- this
section will collect a few appliances that off-grid people favor: |
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How to build a wood fired clothes dryer |
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Other Interesting PV Applications | |||
Solar Scooter
Article on the scooter in Tree Hugger with some additional pictures: |
![]() Thanks to Don for making the plans available! |
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"Big Belly" solar powered trash bin
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"Big Belly" is a trash bin with built in compaction. It is solar
powered and requires no power connection. |
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Roof-Integrated PV From Sunbeam To Standing Seam William Ball |
![]() Description of using Uni-Solar laminated PV bonded to a metal standing seam roof produces an almost invisible PV installation. Detailed description of the laminated PV installation and of the PV system |
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Water Pumping PV with Interesting Reflector System To Increase PV panel
Output H.J. Helikson, D.Z. Haman and C.D. Baird University of Florida -- Extension Service Pumping Paper (pdf) |
![]() The very simple reflector system used to increase solar radiation on the PV panels increases output put 30% while adding little to the cost. |
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Build A Simple Solar Powered Outdoor Light, Jeffery Yago, Backwoods Magazine
www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago92.html
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The Biggest Solar Electric Boat this Side of the Mississippi Steve Cooper |
![]() Interesting article on using solar PV to provide auxiliary power on a 30 ft sailboat. |
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PV and EV -- My Solar-Electric House and Car Mark Jensen Home Power Magazine Article, Issue 113 How to get articles from Home Power ...
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![]() These EV's are no longer offered by Toyota, and after reading the article, one wonders why? |
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Energy Tile -- PV modules that look like roof
shingles
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Make Your Own PV Here are some detailed articles on how to build your own PV panels from individual PV cells. If you think that you want to roll your own PV panel, these are the best descriptions I could find -- some of them are very detailed. Careful weather sealing needs to be addressed. |
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Caution: bogus books on making your own PV panels |
I've noticed that a number of books have popped up on the Internet and on
ebay that promise to tell you in detail how to easily make PV panels (or
wind turbines).
Many of these are scams that contain little or no useful information. I don't know how you tell the good from the bad, but the two links below and the ones on the wind page provide quite a bit of how-to detail for no charge, so I'd start with these. |
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Home Build Solar System
Full Details... (pdf)
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![]() Home Build Solar System is Hans website, and has additional materials on this and other renewable energy projects. |
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Solar Panel Do-It-Yourself http://www.xs4all.nl/~hante/index-en.html
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![]() There is also material on adding the other components needed to make a full system. |
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How I built an electricity producing Solar Panel, Mike http://www.mdpub.com/SolarPanel/index.html
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Homemade Solar Panels Post on Fieldlines Another Detailed How To on making PV panels: |
![]() I've also heard a couple stories about early failure of homemade panels from moisture penetration due to weather exposure -- don't know what the design of these panels was. |
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Home DIY Solar
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![]() Sean uses a vacuum bag technique to seal the PV panel together.
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