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/diy/ - Do It Yourself

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328872 No.328872 [Reply] [Original]

/diy/, best place to buy solar panels?

>> No.328875

>/diy/
>buy
Make them yourself.

>> No.328878

>>328872
walmart, solar walkway lights. buy 10, link em together, 40v at 35 ma, with 10 1.2 v 2/3 aa batteries. final price tag for 1.4 watts: 10$

>> No.328877

For what? Like how much power do you need

>> No.328879

>>328875

dumbass, what I am going to make by myself is the electrical connections to my house.

>> No.328882

>>328872
of course, you should probably link them for 18v at 1.4 watts.

>> No.328881

Ok let me rephrase this.
Best place to buy solar panels so I can make at least 100W per panel so I can get rid off electrical bills?

>> No.328883

>>328882

1.4 Watts are you serious?

>> No.328884

>>328881 lol you're better off just buying e the electricity. 100w is gonna be a couple hundred per

>> No.328886

>>328883 you obviusly havent even looked at prices. come back when you've put some effort into research

>> No.328887

>>328884

looks like you don't know shit

>> No.328888
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328888

>>328875
> mfw making solar panels
A complex and precision manufacturing process that involves sandwiching glass and several varieties of plastics then backing that with conductive leads.

When DIYing, ask yourself:
> is the effort applied more valuable than the end product
If your answer is yes, just buyfag it up.

>> No.328890

>>328887
Huh?

>> No.328894
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328894

>>328887
>mfw
You go, knowledge man.

>>328888
never soldered solar cells before, wanted to try it out on cheap shit to build a portable 120v power source.

>> No.328891

>>328872
Ok op so what is your average monthly kWh usage?

>> No.328892

this for example
www walmart com/ip/Cyclops-Solar-130W-12V-Monocrystalline-Solar-Panel-Charger/17480881?findingMethod=rr

but I don't like buying from walmart stuff like this.

>> No.328895

>>328888
Normally, you buy the cells and solder them up into a panel.

Also, smelting, refining, and introducing the proper ingredients into molten quartz isn't all that difficult.

>> No.328897

>>328892
you can get a hundred watts for less than half the price though ...

w/e
your money

>> No.328898

>>328872
eBay

Buy the cells and link them of together like in this video,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNH2YGzwznI

>> No.328899

>>328897

are you serious man? THAT'S why I'm asking what is the fucking best place for buying them!

>> No.328902

>>328899
www homedepot com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=203336897&storeId=10051&langId=-1&amp
;catalogId=10053&ci_sku=203336897&ci_kw=%7bkeyword%7d&kwd=%7bkeyword%7d&cm_mmc=shopp
ing-_-googleads-_-pla-_-203336897&ci_gpa=pla#.UJ8t6YfAfQg

as long as you can build a step up(down) circut to run a couple of them through an inverter, you'll be fine.

>> No.328906

>>328899
They may not be as pretty, but they are far fucking cheaper to make yourself.

>> No.328907

>>328895
> smelting, refining, and introducing the proper ingredients into molten quartz isn't all that difficult.

You've got a point, but is it worthwhile? Will you be able to produce uniform, useable material in quantities that would make your effort and production costs pay off?

>> No.328910

>>328902

Ok I like that, any other options besides Home Depot?

Also, is there much difference between monocrystalline and polycrystalline panels?

>> No.328911

>>328907
>worthwhile

I'd find it fun, I'm sure.

>> No.328918

>>328888
>quads

>> No.328927

If your motivation is producing electricity and not other hurr durr the environment and animals, you'd have better luck with steam energy or hydroelectric if you are by a river. Solar panels and wind energy are fucking gimmicks to make us feel like we are saving the planet. If you are going to produce any energy worth more than shits and giggles you'll need something to turn turbines. Your money would be better spent on a diesel generator than solar panels.

>> No.328928

http://www.ebay.com/itm/256-watt-Solar-Battery-Charging-Kit-Uni-Solar-upgradeable-12v-24v-MPPT-Uniso
lar-/270935475823?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f1503466f
wham bam

>> No.328931

Also OP have you tried to work out how much energy you can actually expect to collect? Sure these are rated at 100+ watts, but I assume your setup will not be motorized to ensure that it is always pointed at the sun.

>> No.328932

>>328927

and this is why you see so many silicon solar panels everywhere. this anon substitutes bizarro-world ideology for observation.

hurr durr $/watt is the thing. and Si watts are dropping in price, and petro is going up.

inb4 enviroturd, i'm a car loving petro geek.

solar (which includes wind, sea, light, etc) is incermentally win. as is reducing loads, which my dinosaur prolly thinks of as 'admitting defeat'.

BUT GOD SAID I COUDL BURN OIL ALL I WANT BAWWWWW

>> No.328937

>>328932
Just look at the operating cost to output ratio of industrial scale wind and solar plants vs nuclear, coal, natural gas and hydro electric. Then get back to me and say it's a good idea. If you want to talk about commercial production, nuclear is the only lasting option for the future in my opinion. While the cost of nuclear energy is higher the footprint is minimal. For home electric production I still say you need a steam or gas powered generator.

>> No.328940

>>328932
Also solar panels are an excellent option for applications like roadside signs that need minimal power in locations where running conventional electric wires would be cost inefficient.

>> No.328951

>>328932

changes over time. pay attention.

>> No.328953

>>328927
I live in the Mojave Desert. Solar power will benefit me more than any other offgrid system.

>> No.328956

op go to ebay and buy fucking second-rate solar cells

connect them appropriately to get the right voltage

125w for like under $70

>> No.328967

>>328937

i dont understand why you think this is a response to 'best buy solar panels'. cuz they don't scale to the size of a nuke plant?!

>> No.328970

>>328967
Again, nuclear power for commercial applications, steam small scale hydro or gas for personal.

>> No.328972

Solar panels/off the grid living intrigues me.

I'd love to be as self sufficient as possible, but to even get started costs a lot of $$$.

The thought of not having power outages/an electric bill is extremely tempting.

>> No.328995

id like to start with taking my pc off the grid. its always on so taking that off my elect bill would be awesome even if it takes years to offset the cost. would probably spend all my money on batteries.

>> No.329025

>>328995
most computers use less than 100W, so this setup would work for you

solar cells + charge controller + deep cycle battery + inverter= $300

http://www.ebay.com/itm/72-3x6-untabbed-solar-cells-for-DIY-solar-panel-poly-crystalline-solar-cells
-/221151815954?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item337dace912

http://www.ebay.com/itm/24V-Solar-Panel-battery-charge-controller-10-amp-12V-Solar-PV-system-indoor-
use-/110950994338?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19d531d1a2

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Trojan-T-875-Flooded-Lead-Acid-GC8-Deep-Cycle-Battery-/250417028092?pt=LH_De
faultDomain_0&hash=item3a4e049bfc

http://www.ebay.com/itm/300-Watts-12V-Pure-Sine-inverter-/160915932724?pt=US_Power_Inverters_&ha
sh=item2577564634

>> No.329027

>>329025
also prices for lead acid batteries fluctuate wildly with the cost of lead

if you can catch it when its low, like the one on ebay (which is probably used but still perfectly fine) you are better off

>> No.329040

>>329025
>less than 100W
what kind of computers are those?

>> No.329042

>>329040
laptops are like 60-100W

i assumed he wasn't going to use a desktop

>> No.329047

>>329042
the lowest for laptops is usually 70W, the average is around 100W and some go up to 120W. we need to know what OP means by PC...

>> No.329088

>>329047
>>329040
>>329042
I use a netbook and it is 45 watts. Which is fucking awesome when the power is out and I have to use a car battery and inverter to power it.

>> No.329118

I have flexible solar panels that I can sell for $0.70/w if your interested email me. I also have some solyndras left.

>> No.329265

I was saying pc. i seriously turn it off once a year and thats just to reboot. i can get used/refurbished deep cycle batteries locally on the cheap. it would be cool to buy a battery a month and some more panels, just keep adding on and on.

>> No.329270

I really don't recommend lead deep cycle batteries. They are meant to be used in heavy amp uses like starting engines then recharged very quickly. They are not meant to be trickled out and trickled in and don't respond well to that. You'll need to replace them or clean the cells every 4-6 years.

They are okay for the occasional power outage when you need some quick power for a little while.

NiFe batteries are far better for recharging purposes like wind, solar, etc. They are also a lot more expensive, but they last decades.

>> No.329271

alibaba.com $0.95 per watt.

>> No.329402

>>328902
You don't have to leave out the periods when you post a link.
4chan doesn't enable linking. You can just post it without altering it.

>> No.329521

If youbhave one nearby OP, Fry's electronics sells a variety of solar panels for different applications, I don't remember the power specs but roughly 3'x1.5', made for RV use. Look in the electronic components section. Link to their website and solar products.

http://www.frys.com/search?search_type=regular&sqxts=1&query_string=Solar&submit.x=0&amp
;submit.y=0&cat=44510

>> No.329540

>>329402
Some links are instaban and it can be for one you wouldn't think it would be sometimes.

>> No.329541

>>329270
>They are meant to be used in heavy amp uses like starting engines then recharged very quickly.

Deep cycles are not meant for starting engines.