Homemade Solar Panels Using Painted Foil
Solar panels are simple devices used to generate heat and power by grabbing sunlight with many small solar cells. If you don't have access to solar cells or don't have the know-how to work with them, you can easily make your own solar panels using painted foil for mimicking the real thing. You will employ metal tube coils and the heat absorbing power of black painted foil to draw in sunlight and heat any water source you connect to your panel. The panel can be used to heat your pool, home water supply or other water application.
Things You'll Need
- Black spray paint
- Metal radiator coils
- Plywood
- Pencil
- Saw
- Rubber shower mats
- Tin foil
- Screws
- Power drill
- Glass the same size as your panel
- Screw down clips
Instructions
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1
Spray paint the radiator coils black and leave them to dry thoroughly. Make sure you cover both sides of the coils completely with the paint for proper performance.
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2
Lay the painted coils on top of the plywood and trace the length and width with a pencil. Cut out the rectangle with a saw to make the base of the panel.
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3
Cover the mats in tin foil then arrange the mats on the wooden base. Once you have enough foiled mats to cover the base spread the mats out on the ground. It is OK if the mats overlap on the base.
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4
Paint the mats with the black paint in the same way you painted the coils. You only need to cover the upper side of the foil but make sure the exposed sides are completely covered in paint.
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5
Put the dry painted mats back on top of the base with the painted foil sides facing up away from the wood. Drive screws through each corner of the mats with the power drill to secure the mats to the wooden base.
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6
Lay the glass on top of the painted foil and drill a small hole in each corner of the glass. Insert a screw in each corner to hold the glass on top of the mats. Use glue between the glass and mats in addition to the screws if your panel is large.
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7
Slip a screw down clip onto the corners of the painted coils and screw the clips down onto the sides of the wood base. Use as many clips as you have to in order to secure the coils firmly against the panel.
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8
Prop the panel up in a location where it will receive the most sunlight possible then connect the water in and out supply. The upper inlet of the coils should be where the water enters and the heated water should leave through the lower outlet to make use of gravity.
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Tips & Warnings
Look at second hand stores and junk yards for old refrigerators, radiators and other appliances that have metal tubing coils.
Do not place your panel in a very windy location unless you attach it to some kind of mounting or stand, or it will get knocked down and possibly break.
References
- Photo Credit Sun image by KPICKS from Fotolia.com
