DIY Solar Panels?

Centaur

Centaur

Joined
Sep 16, 1999
Messages
3,277
I have no experience with either source you referenced, but my B.S. meter is pegged.

Active solar, pretty technical.

Passive solar. Easy. Build a box, and paint the inside black. Insert a black garden hose, filled with antifreeze/water mix and attach to itself to make a continuous loop. Add duct work and an in line fan. Mount it to your south facing roof. Attach duct work to house. Heat. SOME heat, but not enough to heat the house.

Not sure what to tell you 'bout the windmill thing.

Good luck.....we're gonna need it.
 
Another type of passive solar. Drink a beer or two, put on some earplugs, and drill out a piece of outdoor ply until it looks like pegboard. Paint it black. Make it one side of a shallow box with a hole elsewhere in the box. Hook up a fan to draw air from the inside of the box. It will have to pass through all the tiny little holes in the black sheet, which will tend to heat it up. Use the hot air for what you will.

As to wind generators, you could probably build one, but I'm not sure if you would get a big cost/efficiency improvement over buying one that's pre-engineered. A wind generator large enough to contribute noticeably to the normal household would probably be big enough that if it fell apart while operating, serious injury could occur to anyone nearby.
 
I have seen a site or two on how to build solar cell panels using broken PV cells. It's really not that hard.
 
There are several wind generator sites, and a couple of good books out there. You can build one yourself and get to wind the coils and buy the magnets.

solar panel usually means solar electric, there is a way you can manufacture extraordinarily low efficiency solar cells yourself. Not worth it for anything but kicks.
 
The "wind generator" plans I've seen (never bought, just snooped) all involved building a frame and blades to turn a high-end automotive alternator. Not enough juice to do much, but it's a great learning tool...

Do some creative searching, I bought one of the "run your car on water" books just out of curiosity (doubted it would work but for $20...) and after I read it and discovered some of the key terms, I found the info for free online.

J-
 
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