Are Homemade Solar Cells a Good Idea?
You may be interested in making solar cells for your own house - clean energy is one of the latest and fastest-growing trends in the world.
A number of websites claim this to be easy, or sometimes they even claim that you only need a few hours to do it. However, these all are far from the truth. On the contrary, this process requires a lot of time.
What’s wrong with making your own solar cells?
1. You will need to go to the hardware store to buy sheets of copper and wire along with an electric stove, separate from your kitchen stove.
2. You also need to spend an hour or so heating up the copper piece, and then cooling it down so you can use it - and 1 hour per cell adds up.
3. If you want to save a significant amount of energy and reduce your electricity bill, you will need thousands of these cells - not a viable option for most people.
So if you’re still determined to create solar power, what’s the better alternative?
If you still want to build your own solar panels, try looking on eBay for damaged cells.
Of course this will cost money as well, but you will be saving in the long run - as it would likely take half a year of nearly full time work to go full solar DIY.
And while it is true that having solar panels installed is expensive, it is not because of the parts. It is because of the installation and assembly of the panels.
The better idea, therefore, would be to buy some cheap, pre-made cells online or from a local store and saving yourself the time and energy that making thousands of panels from scratch would require.
So, is making your own homemade solar cells always a bad idea?
It is a great idea if you have a year or two of free time, but if you don’t have that kind of time, you would be better served buying the parts used and by doing the “expensive” work yourself. While it might be a fun project, making your own solar cells is still just too difficult for nearly everyone out there.
