DIY Solar Battery Charging
- 1). Measure the width of your solar cells, in inches. Multiply that number by two. Add 3 inches to the result. This figure is the width that you need to make your solar panel.
- 2). Measure the height of your solar cells, in inches. Multiply that number by two. Add 3 inches to the result. This number is the height that you need to make your solar panel.
- 3). Cut out a rectangle of plywood with the width and height that you need for your solar panel. Cut two wooden strips that are as long as your panel is wide. Glue these across the top and bottom of the plywood rectangle, using the white glue. Cut two more strips that have the same height as your panel, minus 1 inch. Glue these on the left and right sides of the plywood, between the strips that are already there. The plywood should now be framed by the wooden strips.
- 4). Cut three 6-inch lengths of wire off of the spool, using the wire cutters. Remove 3 inches of insulation from one end of each of these lengths of wire with the wire strippers. Remove 1 inch from the other end of each of the wires.
- 5). Apply the electrically conductive glue to the back of one of the solar cells. Stick the 3 inches of bare wire of one of the short wires to the back of the cell. Place the cell in the upper left corner of the plywood sheet, so that the wire stuck to its back is on the right.
- 6). Glue another cell into the upper righthand corner in the same way. Its wire should come out of the bottom side. Glue the third cell into the lower right corner. Its wire should stick out to the left. Glue the remaining cell into the lower left corner. Its wire should be on the top side. The wires stuck to the bottom of each cell form the negative terminals of each cell.
- 7). Glue the free end of the negative terminal wire of the upper left cell to the top of the cell in the upper right corner that it is sitting over. Use the electrically conductive glue, but do not spill any over the edges of the cell. Glue the negative terminal of the upper right cell to the top of the lower right cell. Glue the negative terminal of the lower right cell to the top of the lower left cell.
- 8). Cut one more 6-inch wire and remove one inch of insulation from each end. Glue one end to the top of the upper left cell. Cut a narrow channel across the top of the wooden strip on the left side of the panel. Stick the wire from the top of the upper left cell into this channel, so that it runs over the edge of the panel. This is the positive terminal of the panel. Run the negative wire terminal from the lower left cell into this channel. It is the negative terminal of the cell.
- 9). Cut a square of Plexiglass the same size as the panel. Glue it to the top of the wooden strips framing the panel. Twist the positive terminal wire from the panel around the end of the positive terminal wire of the battery holder. Tape them together with the electrical tape. Connect the negative wires in the same fashion. Put a battery in the holder and expose the panel to sunlight to charge it.
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