If you are looking to get into solar power but don’t have a lot of money to spend, there are really only a few options. You might occasionally find full used panels on sites such as Craigslist – they are often sold by contractors when a commercial client is upgrading or renovating. Although you may save a good deal of money compared to buying brand new panels, it is important to remember that all solar cells in current use have a finite useful lifespan (when they are actively being used / generating power at least). Most modern poly or mono-crystalline panels are warranted to put out 80% or more of their rated power after 25 years of service, but older panels may demonstrate even less longetivity.
One option for the handy “Do it Yourself-er” is to simply make their own solar panels. Bare solar cells can be purchased in bulk for very cheap and often even include the metal ribbon tabs that are used to interconnect the cells. You can also pay a very small premium to order cells with the tabs already pre-soldered in place, but you still have to solder those together either way so there isn’t too much time or effort to be saved this way.
If you are trying for the lowest possible price you might also consider some lower grade cells that have cosmetic blemishes or small defects in them. Cells with larger imperfections such as physical cracks or missing pieces can be found for even a fraction of this price, but I don’t recommend them. Solar cells are extremely thin and brittle and even fully intact blemished cells are already very difficult to handle – those with physical damage are nearly impossible not to damage even further. There are many different websites that offer instructions on assembling your own solar panels so that will not be covered here.
At one point I was determined to build my own panel but after pricing out the aluminum framing, solar cells, wires, epoxy/resin protectant, etc I found that even a better option existed – full panels new on Ebay for very reasonable prices! It took about a week of watching auctions and getting a feel for pricing before I actually made a purchase, but it was worth the wait to land a 130 watt panel shipped to my door for $220, less than $1.70 / watt.
Although the most expensive component in most solar systems, the solar panel is only one piece of the puzzle. To see how the rest of this budget solar installation, please continue below…
