DIY Tips On How To Make A Solar Panel
If you want to make your own home-made electricity then you can find out how to make a solar panel by yourself. The materials you need are simple and not hard to find. Although you will be buying some of them, you can make up for the expense later when your energy bill decreases.
You will need the following materials that you can get at a hardware store or from your garage: sheet metal shears, a hot plate with 1100 watts, a micro-ammeter that can read 10 to 50 microamperes, safety goggles, a plastic or glass jar, 3 tablespoons of salt, electric drill, 2 alligator clip leads, and half a foot square sheet of copper flashing.
Cut 2 pieces of the copper flashing with your metal shears to form a square or rectangle to fit the electric burner. Put 1 copper flashing on the burner. Now, heat the flashing for about 30 minutes to create a thick black layer of cupric oxide. Once the layer forms, let the copper flashing cool slowly.
The layer of cupric oxide will flake off. Scrub the cooled down copper under tap water to get rid of remaining oxide. Be careful as you scrub the copper flashing because you only want to remove the top layer of black residue, not the red cuprous oxide that has formed in the heating process.
Use the alligator clips to attach both panels inside the glass jar or plastic bottle with the top cut off. The panels should not have contact with each other and must bend to match the curves of the bottle. Connect the alligator clips to the positive terminal of the meter. The negative terminal must go to the cuprous oxide plate.
Now, create a solution with the hot tap water and salt. Make enough solution to cover the bottom of the plates but make sure the clips stay high and dry. Position your solar panel to directly face sunlight. You will see your gauge jump up to show the electric current your panel just created.
