Constructing Your Own Solar Panels

Let me start off by saying we (my family and I) live completely, 100% “off
of the grid and are completely self sufficient”

The house is built utilizing natures natural elements, in the shape of an
octagon with 8ft wide arch doors on every wall to catch every angle of wind
(typical 4 sided homes have half the chance as one with 8 sides. A circle
being the most efficient design). Woodburning stoves, solar chimney, solar
AC, solar heating, solar water heating (pool and home), solar stove, solar
power, wind power, hydrogen powered back up generator, hydrogen back up
water heater, hydrogen stove, 2 hydrogen powered trucks, 1 EV (electric
vehicle) and satellite internet.

There are no utility lines, no water lines, no roads, tv, cell service,
etc. on our ranch. EVERYTHING needed is produced here. All electricity
comes from 27 solar panels, 2 main wind gens and a back hydrogen generator
if needed (typically we can last 9 days with all luxuries of sunless
windless weather, hasn't happened yet). Water is caught and storaged from
the rain. Hot water is made with solar batch water heaters with an
on-demand hydrogen hot water heater as backup. Even our vehicles use
alternative energy (2 hydrogen trucks, 1 EV electric vehicle converted).
Because of this we have no bills, no debt and no mortgage.

The fallowing steps were taking directly out of a DIY guide I offer to
those who would like to run their homes on solar power safely, reducing
their monthly utility bills or even selling power back the the electrical
companies. The entire guide is available at www.agua-luna.com . Its pretty
simple but if you have any problems feel free to contact me directly I can
walk you through the process.

Materials you will need
A sheet of copper flashing from the hardware store. This normally costs
about $5.00 per square foot. We will need about half a square foot.
Two alligator clip leads.

A sensitive micro-ammeter that can read currents between 10 and 50
microamperes. Radio Shack sells small LCD multimeters that will do, but I
used a small surplus meter with a needle.

An electric stove. My kitchen stove is gas, so I bought a small one-burner
electric hotplate for about $25. The little 700 watt burners probably won't
work -- mine is 1100 watts, so the burner gets red hot.

A large clear plastic bottle off of which you can cut the top. I used a 2
liter spring water bottle. A large mouth glass jar will also work.

Table salt. We will want a couple tablespoons of salt.
Tap water.
Sand paper or a wire brush on an electric drill.
Sheet metal shears for cutting the copper sheet.

The first step is to cut a piece of the copper sheeting that is about the
size of the burner on the stove. Wash your hands so they don't have any
grease or oil on them. Then wash the copper sheet with soap or cleanser to
get any oil or grease off of it. Use the sandpaper or wire brush to
thoroughly clean the copper sheeting, so that any sulphide or other light
corrosion is removed.

Next, place the cleaned and dried copper sheet on the burner and turn the
burner to its highest setting.

As the copper starts to heat up, you will see beautiful oxidation patterns
begin to form. Oranges, purples, and reds will cover the copper.

As the copper gets hotter, the colors are replaced with a black coating of
cupric oxide. This is not the oxide we want, but it will flake off later,
showing the reds, oranges, pinks, and purples of the cuprous oxide layer
underneath.

The last bits of color disappear as the burner starts to glow red.
When the burner is glowing red-hot, the sheet of copper will be coated with
a black cupric oxide coat. Let it cook for a half an hour, so the black
coating will be thick. This is important, since a thick coating will flake
off nicely, while a thin coat will stay stuck to the copper.

After the half hour of cooking, turn off the burner. Leave the hot copper
on the burner to cool slowly. If you cool it too quickly, the black oxide
will stay stuck to the copper.

As the copper cools, it shrinks. The black cupric oxide also shrinks. But
they shrink at different rates, which makes the black cupric oxide flake
off.

The little black flakes pop off the copper with enough force to make them
fly a few inches. This means a little more cleaning effort around the
stove, but it is fun to watch.

When the copper has cooled to room temperature (this takes about 20
minutes), most of the black oxide will be gone. A light scrubbing with your
hands under running water will remove most of the small bits. Resist the
temptation to remove all of the black spots by hard scrubbing or by flexing
the soft copper. This might damage the delicate red cuprous oxide layer we
need to make to solar cell work.

Cut another sheet of copper about the same size as the first one. Bend both
pieces gently, so they will fit into the plastic bottle or jar without
touching one another. The cuprous oxide coating that was facing up on the
burner is usually the best side to face outwards in the jar, because it has
the smoothest, cleanest surface.

Attach the two alligator clip leads, one to the new copper plate, and one
to the cuprous oxide coated plate. Connect the lead from the clean copper
plate to the positive terminal of the meter. Connect the lead from the
cuprous oxide plate to the negative terminal of the meter.

Now mix a couple tablespoons of salt into some hot tap water. Stir the
saltwater until all the salt is dissolved. Then carefully pour the
saltwater into the jar, being careful not to get the clip leads wet. The
saltwater should not completely cover the plates -- you should leave about
an inch of plate above the water, so you can move the solar cell around
without getting the clip leads wet.

now place in the sun with the magnefied on top.
The solar cell is a battery, even in the dark, and will usually show a few
microamps of current.
That’s it it’s that simple. If you’d a more detailed process and some pics
(ouldn’t put them here) it’s available along with some other DIY
alternative energy projects at www agua-luna com

Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any
questions if you’d like assistance in making your first self sufficient
steps, I’m willing to walk you step by step threw the process. I’ve written
several how-to DIY guides available at www agua-luna com on the subject. I
also offer online and on-site workshops, seminars and internships to help
others help the environment.


Dan Martin
Alterative Energy / Sustainable Consultant, Living 100% on Alternative &
Author of How One Simple Yet Incredibly Powerful Resource Is Transforming
The Lives of Regular People From All Over The World... Instantly Elevating
Their Income & Lowering Their Debt, While Saving The Environment by Using
FREE ENERGY... All With Just One Click of A Mouse...For more info Visit:

www AGUA-LUNA com
Stop Global Warming, Receive a FREE Solar Panels Now!!!