Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I'm doing my science fair project on Solar Energy. I need to know where I can find a good, cheap solar panel that isn't very expensive. Better yet, how to make one. If someone could help me with this it would be greatly appreciated.

A project on solar energy could be very interesting.

Here is a link to the Real Goods website that shows some typical components to a solar system and what they cost. You could use this site to look around and see what you might purchase before deciding whether you should try to make something yourself.

Good luck on your project.

http://www.realgoods.com/category/solar ... lectric.do

Thank you so much for your help. That website is very helpful. I have one question. Is it possible to build a solar panel? And if it is, is it cheaper then buying one?

Hiy Braelynn,

One way to make your own solar cells is at:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2009506/h ... _tutorial/

Looks complicated, dangerous and expensive (in small quantities) to me. In my humble opinion, biting the bullet and buying the panels sounds better (unless you need a large quantity of panels, which I don't think you do).

Thanks so much for your help.

Braelynn,
Here is one way to build a cheap and simple solar cell (and battery).
http://scitoys.com/scitoys/scitoys/echem/echem2.html
The current is very low, so if you need a cell to power some device, this design might not suit your needs.
Good luck!
Chris

Thanks so much. I have another question. I'm charging batteries for a certain time using solar energy. Do you know if it will ruin the batteries if I don't let them fully charge?