Making a Solar Cell - How to Make Your Own Solar Cell

If you have considered a DIY Solar Cell project then you must have a broad idea of what solar power entails. By this time you understand that you will save a lot of money to create your own solar panels, and that there are cost effective ways of doing this. You will have to understand how to make on individual solar cell in order to create your own panel. As soon as you construct your solar panel you will be less reliant of mainstream electricity sources. Knowledge is power, and in this case, solar power.

Here are a few tips and steps on how to build a DIY solar cell:

Before starting you will obviously have to prepare all the materials and essentials that you will need. This will include, duck tape, copper wire, electric ring hob, handsaw, thin wood strip, a metal guillotine, copper sheeting and some clear Plexiglas.

Firstly you will have to cut the copper sheeting so that it is about 6-8 inches square in size. With this DIY solar cell construction it will be easier to use a metal guillotine, but if this is not possible then just cutting will work just fine. For the next step you will have to make sure that your hand are clean, wash them to remove all oil or dirt that could possibly influence the cell. Also remove any grease from the copper sheeting.

Next, take a piece of sandpaper or emery board and move along the copper to gently remove the oxidized copper that will form a top layer. If done correctly this will leave you will a layer of shiny red copper underneath. Your next aim is to form a layer on top of the copper by heating it. It may sound silly to remove copper and then try to create it again, but this is important to form a thick layer of cuprous oxide.

Set your burner on the highest level with the copper sheet placed on top. Observe the changes the heat makes to the copper, it is very interesting. There will form a thick crust of black copper quite fragile in it's relation to the plate. The oxide will then peel of easily if cooled down. Wash most of the black oxide of gently, You will see a reddish layer of copper formed underneath- that is what will be needed for the cell. This layer is now photosensitive and will make the cell work. Since this is a DIY solar cell you will have to learn from trial and error, but you will have your photosensitive cell in no time.

These are the first steps in DIY Solar cell. The next phase will be to create another electrode, so that the negative and positive sides of the photosensitive film can react with one another. Remember to seal your cell at the end with duct tape to assure that it will work.