If you would like to be able to use solar energy to power your household, but are concerned about the expense, you may be thinking about buying cheap solar panels to decrease the cost. But just as when buying a car, cheaper is not always better. A cheap car may turn out to be an older but mechanically sound vehicle that solves your transportation problems by getting you to work and to the grocery store. Or it may turn out to be loaded with mechanical problems that end up costing you more than you paid for the car to begin with. Cheap solar panels can also be a great bargain or a budgetary nightmare.

If you are considering building your own solar panels from broken solar cells as a way to save money, think again. The electrical output from your batch of broken cells will be unpredictable because you won’t know how many of them are useless. And you may have to spend even more money in copper wiring and solder flux to wire together all of the various bits and pieces to generate enough electric power to make the solar panel useful. It’s better to use broken solar cells as a learning experiment than a solar solution.

But you might want to consider using blemished solar panels for our project. Brand name manufacturers often offer deep discounts on solar panels that have cosmetic defects that don’t affect how well the panels produce electricity. When these kinds of solar panels also come with the manufacturer’s warranty, they are worth considering for your project. But you should check with your insurance carrier to make sure your homeowner’s insurance will cover your house if you use these panels. Sometimes they have not gone through the UL (Underwriters Laboratories) approval process, which may void your insurance.

More on how to build your own solar panels

Tags: solar cell, solar cells, solar electric systems, solar energy, solar panel, solar panels

Filed under: Alternative Energy, Solar Power by admin
No Comments »