How much time does it take to build your own solar panels?

Picture
Before you learn how to build solar panels, you should realize of the amount of work required and exactly what you're in for.

Let's cut to the chase: Building a solar panel is by no means a fast and simple undertaking, certainly not the first time around. If you happen to have experience with do it yourself jobs and how electricity works, and should you have all the required tools and supplies ready to go, it's possible to build your 1st solar panel in a little more than a dozen hours. However, if this is all new to you, or you're simply not very good with your hands, you can expect it to take longer than that.

Bear in mind, creating solar panels from component parts is generally worthy of the time required. Apart from gaining a lot of satisfaction and learning a few new tricks, you can easily also save thirty percent or more compared to the cost of purchasing such panels pre-made.

By far the most time-intensive step when building your own solar panels is the soldering. You'll have a lot of solar cells, divided into rows (often known as stringers). The average solar panel has between 18 (3 rows of 6) and 36 (4 rows of 9) solar cells. You will want to solder the tabbing wire to each cell, solder the individual cells together, and then connect them to the main negative and positive nodes. Once that's done, the rest is rather straightforward and can be done swiftly, but be sure to take some time as you work to hook up a multimeter on occasion and ensure that you’re getting the anticipated power output from your cells.

As regards the installation of your panels, that could take some time depending on where you want to place them, and how you plan to connect them to your main power supply. The most time spent in this phase of your solar panel project may turn out to be in setting everything up, examining regulations, acquiring the correct permits, and so on. It's often smart to hire a professional electrician to help you out, as it can be rather technical. If you decide to mount your solar panels on a rooftop, be sure to think about safety precautions. You may want to spend some time ensuring that you have ladders, scaffolding, or whatever else is necessary to do the job safely.

More information on how to build solar panels.

Watch and learn