Photovoltaic Battery Chargers--Attaching Wires to the Panel This is a photo on the left is of Chris in the middle stages of finishing a single panel. First he separated the black and red wire. He connected and soldered the conductive strip to the duplex wire, the red wire to the front of the panel, which is the positive side, and the black with to the back side of the panel which was the negative side. Here Chris is soldering each wire to the correct side. Again, he used the soldering iron and the tine wire as glue like substance. Next, we drilled holes into this metal. The metal parts are what hold the batteries. After the holes were drilled, the next step was to screw the metal onto a small wood piece making it a complete structure to hold the batteries. Next we connected the black and red wires to the battery holders, which fully connecting the panel to the battery! Each of us made our own individual panels and took it home with us to charge batteries and to educate others to spread to word about the power of solar power!
Nicki, Devon, Chris, and Danielle worked with Grupo Fenix to make photovoltaic solar panels. Grupo Fenix is a non-profit organization supporting renewable energy and sustainable development in Nicaragua, especially in low-income communities. These panels are small version of a solar panel, and are used for charging four double A or triple A batteries. Many houses in the community used big solar panels to provide energy to their houses. The first step in making the solar panel was to form a ¨chain¨ of four photovoltaic cells by soldering the conductive strip to the cell with tin. The tin wire was melted onto the tip of the soldering iron and used as glue like substance. The positive side of one cell must be joined to the negative side of the other cell, forming a connection is series. These cells are the main component of a solar panel, they are what gathers the energy from the sun, and directly converts it into energy. The cells are donated to Groupo Fenix and the community or sold at a very low price. We soldered four cells together with the soldering iron you see here in Devon’s hand. The iron was very hot, and was held like a pencil. It was fairly easy to use, yet it took a few tries to get the hang of it!
Photovoltaic Battery Chargers: Applying Adhesive
In this step we made the frame for our photovoltaic chargers. For this we needed a cut-to-fit rectangle of glass 4mm in diameter, 9cm in width and 18cm in length. Next we made the frame around the piece of glass. Each piece of the frame is 1cm wide and is made of Reten, which is the same metal commonly used for the roofs of Nicaraguan homes. We applied silicone on each side of the frame, using a glue gun of sorts and set the glass in place by building the frame around it. We let this dry for about ten minutes. Next, transparent silicone is mixed in a separate container until the consistency is much like cake batter. At this point we used a spoon to layer the sheet of glass with the silicone liquid, (as Mauro is demonstrating for us here) while avoiding touching the sides with precision. We allowed the liquid to settle out, so that it evenly covered the entire glass sheet and we were then ready for the next step.
Photovoltaic Battery Chargers:
Gluing Cells to the Panel
The substantial mixing of the silicon in the previous step is essential to avoid bubbling. If the silicone dries with many bubbles, it defects the solar cell capability because the bubbles block the sun. Once we made sure that we had minimized the bubbles, we were ready to place the chain of cells onto the glass. The negative side (dark blue) faces down in order to attract the suns rays and accordingly, the positive side faces up. The conductive strips (which extend from both ends of the chain) must lay on the outside of the frame, so they may be connected to the red and black duplex wire #20. In this photo, Danielle and Devon are gently pressing the chains down into the silicone because the cells are extremely delicate (as Chris learned the hard way). If one cell breaks, the whole process of soldering must start all over again. After the slight mishap Chris encountered, all the cells were successfully
ready to move onto the next step.
This is a photo of Danielle and Nicki with a solar panel in the making and a multimeter that measures the voltage and the amps of the panel. Each time we would make an addition to our panel we needed to go into the sun and check to see if our panel was still efficient. We checked the efficiency and voltage of the panel by connecting the meter and the panel. We proceeded to do this after each addition: after we soldered the four cells together, after we added the red and black wire for positive and negative connection onto the panel, after we mounted our panel into their metal frame with the silicone and covering it with a waterproof blue fabric, and after we added the actual battery holder to the other end of the wires. Everyone was successful with every check up with the mulitmeter! The amount of energy a solar panel can produce will strongly depend on the weather; the clouds, rain, and the actual amount of sun that day. This day was rainy and cloudy, yet our panels were still collecting and producing energy from the sun!
Photovoltaic Battery Chargers--The Final Product! We have now completed the process of making the 1.5 volt photovoltaic solar battery chargers. This is thanks to the tremendous efforts of Groupo Fenix and two men in the village of Sabana Grande, Mauro and Mario. In this photo Devon, Niki, Chris and Danielle are proudly standing with Mauro and their completed products. Mauro and Mario are both certified electrical technicians employed by Groupo Fenix. They have both been trained how to build and install photovoltaic cells and solar panels. Through their work, they have improved their own lives as well as the standard of living for their community as a whole. Many tourists come annually to learn from these men and appreciate all their successes. Much of the community is off of the electricity grid, thanks to solar energy. These men continue their efforts in expanding the use of renewable energy to surrounding communities and even on a larger scale to nearby farms. We are eternally grateful to these men and Groupo Fenix for the life skills they have given us. It is now up to us to pass on this vital information to our own communities.
Author: Nicole Lynch
