How to Make a Tiny Solar Panel

You can harness the power of the sun by building your own tiny solar panel.

Building your own small solar panels to help power your home is one solution to lowering energy costs in a downtrodden economy. Depending less on the limited resources of humans and more on the unlimited resources of the sun for electricity is one way to demonstrate your commitment to cleaner energy sources. Making a tiny solar panel powerful enough to recharge batteries takes only a few steps and will set you on the path to lower energy bills.

Things You'll Need

• 1100 watts electric burner
• Sheet metal shears
• Salt water
• One 2 liter plastic bottle 
• 1/2 -foot square sheet of copper flashing
• Sand paper
• Two alligator clip leads

Instructions

1. Clean the copper flashing vigorously with sandpaper. Use the metal sheers to cut the copper in the shape of a square roughly the size of the electric burner. 

2. Heat the copper on the electric burner for 30 minutes or until a layer of black cupric oxide forms on the copper. Remove the copper from the heat and allow it to cool down. Scrub the copper under running water to remove it of oxide chips that flaked during the cooling. 

3. Cut another copper piece to the same specifications as the first. Cut the narrow portion from the top of the 2 liter bottle. Use alligator clips to attach both copper pieces to the inside of the plastic bottle. Make sure the panels do not touch. 

4. Connect the copper to the lead of an alligator clip and the oxide plate to the negative terminal of the clip. 

5. Fill the bottle with salt water until it covers just the bottom of the copper. Place the panels in the sun. 

References

• The Solar Plan: Make a Solar Cell in Your Kitchen
• The Solar Guide: Make A Solar Cell