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In our progressive times, science moves at a fast pace, so it is not always possible to keep up with them. Some old dogmas are crumbling, some new ones are being put forward. Humanity does not stand still and should not stand still, and the engine of humanity is scientists and scientific figures. And at any moment a discovery can occur that can not only amaze the minds of the entire population of the globe, but also radically change our lives.
Medicine plays a special role in science, since man, unfortunately, is not immortal, is fragile and very vulnerable to all kinds of diseases. Many people know that in the Middle Ages people lived on average 30 years, and now 60-80 years. That is, life expectancy has at least doubled. This was, of course, influenced by a combination of factors, but it was medicine that played a major role. And, for sure, 60-80 years is not the limit of an average life for a person. It is quite possible that someday people will step over the 100-year mark. Scientists from all over the world are fighting for this.
Developments are constantly underway in the field of other sciences. Every year, scientists from all over the world make small discoveries, little by little moving humanity forward and improving our lives. Places untouched by man are being explored, primarily, of course, on our home planet. However, work is constantly happening in space.
Among technology, robotics is especially rushing forward. The creation of an ideal intelligent robot is underway. Once upon a time, robots were an element of science fiction and nothing more. But already at the moment, some corporations have real robots on their staff that perform various functions and help optimize labor, save resources and perform for a person dangerous species activities.
I still want Special attention to devote to electronic computers, which 50 years ago took up a huge amount of space, were slow and required a whole team of employees to maintain them. And now there is such a machine in almost every home, it is already called more simply and briefly - a computer. Now they are not only compact, but also many times faster than their predecessors, and anyone can understand it. With the advent of the computer, humanity opened a new era, which many call “technological” or “information”.
Remembering about the computer, we should not forget about the creation of the Internet. This also gave a huge result for humanity. This is an inexhaustible source of information, which is now available to almost every person. It connects people from different continents and transmits information at lightning speed, something that would have been impossible to even dream of 100 years ago.
In this section, you will certainly find something interesting, exciting and educational for yourself. Perhaps even someday you will be able to be one of the first to learn about a discovery that will not just change the world, but will change your mind.
In the first photo there are four panels that generate a little more than 2 volts, which is a total of at least 6.5 volts without the sun, and more than 8 volts with the sun. The maximum current in bright sunshine reached 7A, which is not bad at all for a portable portable socket. For testing, I placed these panels on the roof, brought the wires to the attic, where I will further show all the measurements of testing this solar battery.
Why did I decide to make a solar battery from several parts? The simple task was to make a portable panel that should be foldable and weigh a little, while I want to increase the power to 100 watts to power a laptop, charge any other electronics (phone, flashlight, etc.).
I looked on the Internet how solar panels are made and it turns out that almost everyone uses glass. But glass is simply unacceptable for a portable solar battery because, firstly, glass is heavy and easy to break. The search was aimed at plexiglass and after the search the choice fell on acrylic glass since the manufacturer promises more than 10 years of operation without loss of quality and, most importantly, it should not become cloudy in the sun.
In order to glue the elements to the glass and at the same time seal them, I decided to use a film that is used for outdoor advertising. I chose an expensive option with a stated long service life under the influence of environment. Now I have 4 solar batteries, a little later I will make 3 more pieces and there will be a full-fledged powerful panel for charging lead batteries.
The manufacturing process of solar panels.
Pak was waiting for acrylic glass, soldered the elements 4 pieces in series and secured them on sheets of eco-bont. As soon as the glass arrived, the work continued. Before rolling the elements under the film, I first thoroughly cleaned them from dust and flux residues using alcohol and cotton wool.
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Then I carefully peeled off the pieces of tape that held the elements on the eco-bont.
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I removed the protective film from the acrylic on one side.
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Now we are preparing to roll the elements into film.
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I cut a piece of film to the required length.
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The process of gluing the film, this must be done slowly and very carefully so that folds and unevenness do not form, and it is better not to put too much pressure on the elements, otherwise they may crack, they are very fragile.
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Here I cut the leads from the elements. By the way right hand It’s no accident that it’s in a glove, it’s just that the glove glides over the film better and it’s more convenient to smooth the film.
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Well, the panel is almost ready, all that remains is to remove the protective film from the acrylic.
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Now the first assembly is ready, I conduct a performance test using an LED flashlight, the voltage on the voltmeter is 1.8 volts, which means the battery is working. Using the same principle, I assembled three more panels and later placed them on the roof.
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To test the battery, I placed two multimeters in the attic, a dial one for volts and a digital one for amperes. As a result, the largest current recorded was 7.2A amperes, which is even unexpected from such seemingly small panels. That's basically all for now.
Materials used when writing this article >>source
Obtaining electricity from alternative power sources is a very expensive endeavor. For example, using solar energy When purchasing ready-made equipment, you will have to spend a significant amount of money. But nowadays it is possible to assemble solar panels with your own hands for a summer house or private home from ready-made solar cells or other available materials. And before you start purchasing the necessary components and designing the structure, you need to understand what a solar battery is and its operating principle.
Solar battery: what is it and how does it work?
People who are faced with this task for the first time immediately have questions: “How to assemble a solar battery?” or “How to make a solar panel?” But having studied the device and the principle of its operation, problems with the implementation of this project disappear by themselves. After all, the design and principle of operation are simple and should not cause difficulties when creating a power source at home.
Solar battery(SAT)- these are photoelectric converters of energy emitted by the sun into electrical energy, which are connected in the form of an array of elements and enclosed in protective structure. Converters- semiconductor elements made of silicon for generating direct current. They are produced in three types:
- Monocrystalline;
- Polycrystalline;
- Amorphous (thin film).
The operating principle of the device is based on the photoelectric effect. Sunlight falling on photocells knocks out free electrons from the last orbits of each atom on the silicon wafer. Moving large quantity free electrons between the electrodes of the battery are produced D.C.. Next, it is converted to alternating current for home electrification.
Selection of photocells
Before the beginning design work To create a panel at home, you need to choose one of three types of solar energy converters. To select suitable elements you need to know their technical characteristics:
- Monocrystalline. The efficiency of these plates is 12–14%. However, they are sensitive to the amount of incoming light. Light clouds significantly reduce the amount of electricity generated. Service life up to 30 years.
- Polycrystalline. These elements are capable of delivering an efficiency of 7–9%. But they are not affected by the quality of illumination and are capable of delivering the same amount of current in cloudy and even cloudy weather. Operational period- 20 years.
- Amorphous. Manufactured from flexible silicon. They produce an efficiency of about 10%. The amount of electricity produced is not reduced by the quality of the weather. But expensive and complex production makes them difficult to obtain.
To manufacture the SB on your own, you can purchase type B converters (second grade). These include elements with minor defects; even if some components are replaced, the cost of the batteries will be 2-3 times less than the market price, thanks to this you will save your money.
To provide a private home with electricity from an alternative energy source, the first two types of plates are best suited.
Site selection and design
It is better to place batteries according to the principle: the higher the better. An excellent place would be the roof of the house; it will not be shaded by trees or other buildings. If the design of the ceilings does not allow it to support the weight of the installation, then the location should be chosen in the area of the dacha that receives the most radiation from the sun.
The assembled panels must be positioned at such an angle that Sun rays fell as perpendicularly as possible onto the silicon elements. Ideal option It will be possible to adjust the entire installation in the direction behind the sun.
Making your own battery
You will not be able to provide your house or cottage with 220 V electricity from a solar battery, because... The size of such a battery will be enormous. One plate generates an electric current with a voltage of 0.5 V. The best option considered to be a SB with a rated voltage of 18 V. Based on this, it is calculated required amount photocells for the device.
Frame assembly
First of all, a homemade solar battery needs a protective frame (housing). It can be made from aluminum corners 30x30 mm or from wooden blocks at home. Using metal profile On one of the shelves, a chamfer is removed with a file at an angle of 45 degrees, and the second shelf is cut at the same angle. The frame parts, cut to the required size with machined ends, are twisted using squares made of the same material. Protective glass is glued to the finished frame using silicone.
Soldering plates
When soldering elements at home, you need to know that to increase the voltage it is necessary to connect in series, and to increase the current - in parallel. The flint plates are laid out on the glass, leaving a gap of 5 mm between them on each side. This period is necessary to pay off possible thermal expansion elements when heated. The converters have two tracks: “plus” on one side, and “minus” on the other. All parts are connected in series into a single circuit. Then the conductors from the last components of the chain are brought out to a common bus.
To avoid self-discharge of the device at night or in cloudy weather, experts recommend installing a 31DQ03 Schottky diode or an analogue on the contact from the “middle” point.
After completing the soldering work, use a multimeter to check the output voltage, which should be 18–19 V to fully supply a private home with electricity.
Panel assembly
Soldered transducers are placed into the finished case, then silicone is applied to the center of each silicon element, and the top is covered with a fiberboard substrate to fix them. After which the structure is closed with a lid, and all joints are sealed with sealant or silicone. The finished panel is mounted on a holder or frame.
Solar batteries from scrap materials
In addition to assembling SBs from purchased photocells, they can be assembled from scrap materials that any radio amateur has: transistors, diodes and foil.
Transistor battery
For these purposes, the most suitable parts are transistors of the CT or P type. Inside them there is a fairly large silicon semiconductor element necessary for the production of electricity. Having selected the required number of radio components, you need to cut off the metal cover from them. To do this, you need to clamp it in a cleaver and use a hacksaw to carefully cut off the upper part. Inside you can see a plate that will serve as a photocell.
Transistor for battery with sawn-off cap
All these parts have three contacts: base, emitter and collector. When assembling the SB, you need to choose a collector junction due to the greatest potential difference.
Assembly is carried out on a flat plane from any dielectric material. Transistors need to be soldered into separate serial chains, and these chains, in turn, must be connected in parallel.
The calculation of the finished current source can be made from the characteristics of radio components. One transistor produces a voltage of 0.35 V and a current with a short circuit of 0.25 μA.
Diode battery
A solar battery made from D223B diodes can really become a source electric current. These diodes have the highest voltage and are housed in a glass case coated with paint. Output voltage finished product can be determined from the calculation that one diode in the sun generates 350 mV.
- Place the required number of radio components in a container and fill it with acetone or another solvent and leave for several hours.
- Then you need to take the plate the right size from not metal material and make markings for soldering the power supply components.
- Once soaked, the paint can be easily scraped off.
- Armed with a multimeter, in the sun or under a light bulb we determine the positive contact and bend it. The diodes are soldered vertically, since in this position the crystal best generates electricity from the sun's energy. Therefore, at the output we get maximum voltage, which will be generated by the solar battery.
In addition to the two methods described above, the power source can be assembled from foil. Homemade solar battery made according to step by step instructions, described below, will be able to provide electricity, although of very low power:
- For homemade products you will need copper foil with an area of 45 square meters. cm. The cut piece is treated in a soap solution to remove fat from the surface. It is also advisable to wash your hands so as not to leave grease stains.
- Using sandpaper, it is necessary to remove the protective oxide film and any other type of corrosion from the cutting plane.
- On the burner electric stove with a power of at least 1.1 kW, a sheet of foil is placed and heated until red-orange spots form. With further heating, the resulting oxides are converted to copper oxide. This is evidenced by the black color of the surface of the piece.
- Once the oxide has formed, heating must be continued for 30 minutes to form an oxide film of sufficient thickness.
- The roasting stops and the sheet cools down along with the stove. When cooling slowly, the copper and oxide cool at different rates, making the latter easier to peel off.
- Remaining oxide is removed under running water. In this case, you must not bend the sheet or mechanically tear off small pieces so as not to damage it. thin layer oxides
- A second sheet is cut to the size of the first.
- IN plastic bottle with a volume of 2–5 liters with the neck cut off, you need to place two pieces of foil. Secure them with alligator clips. They must be positioned so that they do not connect.
- A negative terminal is connected to the processed piece, and a positive terminal is connected to the second piece.
- It is poured into the jar saline solution. Its level should be 2.5 cm below the top edge of the electrodes. To prepare the mixture, 2–4 tablespoons of salt (depending on the volume of the bottle) are dissolved in a small amount of water.
All solar panels are not suitable for providing a cottage or private home with electricity due to their low power. But they can serve as a power source for radios or charging small electrical appliances.
Video on the topic
So, before the vacation, the task once again arose to ensure camping power supply for a variety of electronic devices which I carry with me. For example - GPS navigator, player, phone. Last year I acquired the so-called. “vampire” (I want to solder my own, better) - a device that is an MK with a body kit, the task of which is "suck" energy from batteries and send it to the output to recharge the recipient device. But there was no particular desire to carry a supply of AA batteries with me again, so I decided to feed the “vampire” with batteries, charged, in turn, from the energy of the Sun.
The original idea is very simple and easy to implement. So as not to search solar panels to various radio stores - go to the nearest hypermarket and buy the simplest garden lights on solar batteries. In my case, the battery donors were Cosmos brand flashlights - the cheapest I could find. Manufacturing mobile chargers solar powered of such lanterns is a simple and quick task. I finished two lanterns in an hour.
The starting material looks like a solar panel connected to an LED power circuit and a battery compartment for one AA battery. The kit comes with a 400 mAh battery - complete rubbish, it is better to immediately replace it with a more capacious one.
The first step is to carefully unsolder the leads of the solar battery (hereinafter referred to as “SB”) from the battery compartment (hereinafter referred to as “battery compartment”). Next, the SB terminals must be stripped of insulation by approximately 5-7 mm and tinned. The main element of the device is ready!
Step two - with no less care we solder the LED power supply circuit ( printed circuit board with body kit and the LED itself) from the battery compartment. We no longer need the circuit (unless you want to make something useful from this “recycled material” in the future, for example - table lamp on LEDs, that’s exactly what I decided to use them for). So at the moment we have SB panel with conclusions and battery compartment without them. All that’s left to do is to collect all this stuff together!
However, before the final assembly, it would be nice to make sure that the solution we used is working. Then it will be too late to redo anything! So, literally “on the snot” we connect the SB terminals to the corresponding contacts of the battery compartment (the black wire is “ — ", red - " + “, must be connected respectively to the “spring” and “pimp” on the battery compartment). Let's take it in our hands tester(aka - multimeter) and check the presence of power supply on the diagram, as well as the voltage at the input to the battery compartment. The tester shows 1.98 V at a fairly weak natural light(my windows are to the west, direct sunlight does not pass through), whereas battery operating voltage is 1.2 V. From what can we conclude that The charging current of 1.98 V is sufficient to charge an AA battery. Subsequently, this conclusion was confirmed by practice - the batteries were successfully charged and no less successfully transferred energy to my mobile gadgets.
Now that the performance of the selected circuit is confirmed by measurement results, you can begin final assembly! It is necessary to carefully solder the SB terminals to the corresponding inputs of the battery compartment (for convenience, I used extension cables). I insulated and protected the soldering points with a heat gun(filled with molten polyethylene, to put it simply). You can also use a heat-shrinkable sleeve (cambric) for this.
It all started with a walk through the eBay website - I saw solar panels and got sick.
Disputes with friends about payback were funny... When buying a car, no one thinks about the return on investment. A car is like a mistress, prepare the amount for pleasure in advance. And here it’s quite the opposite, you spent money and they are still trying to recoup... In addition, I connected an incubator to the solar panels so they still justify their purpose, protecting your future farm from destruction. In general, having an incubator, you depend on many factors, it’s either a master or a layman. When I have time, I’ll write about homemade incubator. Well, okay, why talk about it, everyone has the right to choose.....!
After much waiting, the treasured box with thin, fragile records finally warms my hands and heart.
First of all, of course, the Internet... well, it’s not the gods who burn the pots. Someone else's experience is always useful. And then disappointment set in... As it turned out, about five people made the panels with their own hands, the rest were simply copied onto their websites, some of them, in order to be more original, copied from different developments. Well, God bless them, let this remain on the conscience of the page owners.
I decided to read the forums; the long discussions of theorists on “how to milk a cow” led to complete despondency. Discussions about how plates break due to heat, the difficulties of sealing, etc. I read it and spat on the whole thing. We will go our own way, by trial and error, relying on the experience of “colleagues”; why reinvent the wheel?
Let's set the task:
1) The panel should be made from available materials so as not to stretch your wallet, since the result is unknown.
2) The manufacturing process should not be labor-intensive.
We begin production solar panel:
The first thing we purchased was 2 glasses 86x66 cm for the future two panels.
The glass is simple, purchased from plastic window manufacturers. Or maybe not simple...
A long search for aluminum corners, based on experience already tested by “colleagues,” ended in nothing.
Therefore, the manufacturing process began sluggishly, with a feeling of long-term construction.
I won’t describe the process of soldering panels, since there is a lot of information about this on the Internet and even a video. I'll just leave my notes and comments.
The devil is not as scary as he is painted.
Despite the difficulties that are described on the forums, the plates of the elements are soldered easily, like front side, and the back. Also, our Soviet POS-40 solder is quite suitable, in any case, I did not experience any difficulties. And of course, our dear rosin, where would we be without it... During soldering I didn’t break a single element, I think you’d have to be a complete idiot to break them on even glass.
The conductors that come with the panels are very convenient, firstly, they are flat, and secondly, they are tinned, which significantly reduces soldering time. Although it is quite possible to use ordinary wire, I conducted the experiment on spare plates and did not experience any difficulties in soldering. (in the photo there are remains of a flat wire)
It took me about 2 hours to solder 36 plates. Although I read on the forum that people solder for 2 days.
It is advisable to use a 40 W soldering iron. Since the plates easily dissipate heat, and this makes soldering difficult. The first attempts to solder with a 25 Watt soldering iron were tedious and sad.
Also, when soldering, it is advisable to optimally select the amount of flux (rosin). For a large excess of it prevents the tin from sticking to the plate. That’s why we had to practically tin the record, in general, it’s no big deal, everything can be fixed. (look closely at the photo you can see.)
Tin consumption is quite large.
Well, in the photo there are soldered elements, there is a jamb in the second row, one terminal is not soldered, but I noticed nothing important and corrected it.
The glass edging is made with double-sided tape, then a plastic film will be glued to this tape.
The tapes I used.
After soldering, start sealing (adhesive tape will help you).
Well, the plates are glued with tape and the corrected jamb.
Next, remove from the panel edging protective layer double sided tape and stick it on it plastic film with a margin at the edges. (I forgot to take a photo) Oh yes, we make slits in the tape for the outgoing wires. Well, don’t be stupid, you’ll understand what and when... We coat the edges of the glass, as well as the wire leads, corners, with silicone sealant.
And fold the film onto the outside.
A plastic frame was previously made. When installed in the house plastic windows, a plastic profile for the window sill is attached to the window with screws. I thought this part was too thin. So I removed it and made the window sill my own way. Because only 12 windows remain plastic profiles. So to speak, there is an abundance of material.
I glued the frame with a regular, old, Soviet iron. It’s a pity I didn’t film the process, but I think there’s nothing too incomprehensible here. I cut 2 sides at 45 degrees, heated them on the sole of the iron and glued them after installing them on flat angle. The photo shows the frame for the second panel.
We install glass with elements and protective film framed
We cut off the excess film and seal the edges with silicone sealants.
We get this panel.
Yes, I forgot to write that in addition to the film, I glued guides to the frame that prevent the elements from falling if the tape comes off. The space between the elements and guides is filled polyurethane foam. This made it possible to press the elements more tightly to the glass.
Well, let's start testing.
Since I made one panel in advance, the result of one is known to me: Voltage 21 Volts. Current short circuit 3.4 Amps. Charge current strength battery 40A. h 2.1 Ampere.
Unfortunately I didn't take any photos. It must be said that the current strength depends sharply on the illumination.
Now there are 2 batteries connected in parallel.
The weather at the time of production was cloudy, it was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
At first it upset me, and then it even made me happy. After all, these are the most average conditions for a battery, which means the result is more plausible than in bright sunshine. The sun did not shine through the clouds so brightly. I must say that the sun was shining a little from the side.
With this lighting, the short circuit current was 7.12 Amperes. Which I consider an excellent result.
No-load voltage 20.6 Volts. Well, it's stable at about 21 volts.
Battery charging current is 2.78 Ampere. With such lighting, this guarantees the battery charge.
Measurements showed that on a good sunny day the result will be better.
By that time, the weather was getting worse, the clouds had closed, the sun was completely shining, and I began to wonder what would show in this situation. It's almost evening twilight...
The sky looked like this, I specially removed the horizon line. However, on the battery glass itself you can see the sky as if in a mirror.
The voltage in this situation is 20.2 volts. As already mentioned 21st century. it's practically a constant.
Short circuit current 2.48A. In general, it’s great for such lighting! Almost equal to one battery in good sun.
Battery charging current is 1.85 Ampere. What can I say... Even at dusk the battery will be charged.
Conclusion: A solar battery has been built that is not inferior in characteristics to industrial designs. Well, as for durability.....we'll see, time will tell.
Oh yes, the battery is charged through 40 A Schottky diodes. Well, what was found.
I also want to say about controllers. It all looks nice, but it's not worth the money spent on the controller.
If you are comfortable with a soldering iron, the circuits are very simple. Do it and enjoy making it.
Well, the wind blew up and the remaining 5 spare elements went into an uncontrollable flight..... the result was fragments. Well, what can you do, carelessness must be punished. On the other hand... Where should they go?
We decided to make another socket from the fragments, 5 volts. It took 2 hours to make. The remaining materials came at just the right time. This is what happened.
Measurements were taken in the evening.
It must be said that in good lighting the short circuit current is more than 1 ampere.
The pieces are soldered in parallel and in series. The goal is to provide approximately the same area. After all, the current strength is equal to the smallest element. Therefore, when manufacturing, select elements according to the lighting area.
It's time to talk about practical application solar panels made by me.
In the spring I installed two manufactured panels on the roof, 8 meters high at an angle of 35 degrees, oriented to the southeast. This orientation was not chosen by chance, because it was noticed that in this latitude, in the summer, the sun rises at 4 am and by 6-7 o’clock it charges the batteries quite well with a current of 5-6 amperes, and this also applies to the evening. Each panel must have its own diode. In order to prevent elements from burning out when the power of the panels differs. And as a consequence, an unjustified reduction in the power of the panels.
The descent from a height was carried out with multi-core wire with a cross-section of 6 mm2 each core. In this way, it was possible to achieve minimal losses in the wires.
Old, barely alive batteries 150Ah, 75Ah, 55Ah, 60Ah were used as energy storage devices. All batteries are connected in parallel and, taking into account the loss of capacity, the total amount is about 100Ah.
There is no battery charge controller. Although I think installing a controller is necessary. I’m working on the controller circuit now. Since during the day the batteries begin to boil. Therefore, you have to dump excess energy every day by turning on unnecessary load. In my case, I turn on the bathhouse lighting. 100 W. It also works during the day. LCD TV approximately 105W, fan 40W, and in the evening it is added energy saving light bulb 20W.
For those who like to carry out calculations, I will say: THEORY AND PRACTICE are not the same thing. Since such a “sandwich” works quite well for over 12 hours. At the same time, sometimes we charge phones from it. I have never reached the full discharge of the batteries. Which accordingly cancels out the calculations.
As a converter, a 600VA computer uninterruptible power supply (inverter) was used, slightly modified for free starting from batteries, which approximately corresponds to a load of 300W.
I also want to note that the batteries are charged even under a bright moon. In this case, the current is 0.5-1 Ampere, I think for the night this is not bad at all.
Of course, I would like to increase the load, but this requires a powerful inverter. I plan to make an inverter myself according to the diagram below. Since buying an inverter for crazy money is UNREASONABLE!