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Message: <blockquote data-quote="scolairebocht" data-source="post: 141871" data-attributes="member: 8">Cheap DIY systemsThese ‘power stations’ are very popular nowadays because they bring all the components together in one small package which makes everything easy to transport, understand and install. But in some ways if you were to go down the DIY route and source the components separately then maybe you could get it all done a lot cheaper, or maybe with higher capacity than the equivalent power station.[ATTACH=full]7992[/ATTACH]Again the simplest thing is probably to show an example, this system here has been the only source of power for this writer’s laptop and mobile phone for the last few days and cost about €130 all in. The components are:1) Solar Panel, here a flexible 100w one, c. one metre by half a metre.– Clearly the great issue here is size (for example if buying a panel on the internet, watch very carefully the dimensions, moreso than the stated wattages maybe, because many retailers lie about that), the bigger size gives you a bigger wattage, more power obviously.– Then the next question is flexible or rigid. Rigid panels have glass screens and metal encasements, making them much more durable, easy to clean and will generate more power. Flexible panels are much easier to install, because as well as being flexible obviously, they are much more light and thin and so some people just use double sided tape to attach them to surfaces. Here a strong, but inexpensive, type of velcro is used, and in fact is the only fastening used anywhere in this system.By the way its important to understand that solar panels do not work well if they get too hot, paradoxically enough. Hence when installed on houses there is generally an  air gap between them and the roof, to allow air to circulate to cool them down.– The next debate, hotly contested among aficionados, arises if you have two or more panels. Do you connect them in parallel or series, meaning in what way do you connect up the plus and minus cables coming from the panels and going back to your system? There are a whole host of issues here but it mostly centres on the advantages or disadvantages of high/low voltages and amps. If you connect them in series you add up the volts on each panel to get the overall voltage coming back to your system and leave the amperage as if it was one panel, if you connect them in parallel you add up the amps and leave the voltage as for one panel (these figures will be stated on your panels). High voltages might not be permitted by your power station/DIY setup (the above small power station, for example, will not permit any input higher than 50v in total) while high amps impact on the quality of your cabling (hence if you have a lot of wires going a big distance it will cost a lot if you need to use a higher gauge of cable).2) MC4 connectors. This is the standard connector/cable coming from a solar panel, with one each for the plus and minus side, usually black. The standard connector for power stations on the otherhand is XT60, which is combined with both terminals in the one connector, its usually yellow. Obviously then if you have solar panels connecting to a power station you might need an MC4 to XT60 connector cable/plug, but in fact there are numerous other types of connectors used in solar anyway.3) Thin MC4 cable. You can get special thin cable with MC4 connectors at either end, which can be used to close a door or window on it, saving you having to drill holes etc.</blockquote>

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