Instructions on Soldering Solar Cells together FOR YOUR DIY SOLAR PANEL 

Things you will need:

  • Multiple solar cells
  • Ribbon or Bus wire 5mm
  • Wire cutter/stripper
  • Soldering iron 15-25 watts
  • Rosin core solder with non-corrosive flux (best for the value)
  • Pencil Eraser
  • Tab wire or solar cell tin wire 1.5 mm or 2mm
Step 1: Locate the wide line or bus, running down the face of each cell. On whole solar cells there are multiple buses, but on broken cells there may be only one.
 
Step 2: Clean the bus of each cell with a pencil eraser so the solder will stick.
 
Step 3:  Cut 10- inch lengths of ribbon wire, one per cell. 
 
Step 4:  Lay a line of solder down the length of ribbon wire on the solder. Leave a generous tab  hanging off the cell and  heat the wire with the soldering iron.  The solder you just applied to the bus will melt  and connect the wire to the cell.
 
Step 5:  Place a length of ribbon wire on the solder. Leave a generous tab hanging off the cell and heat the wire with the soldering iron. The solder you just applied to the bus will melt and connect the wire to the cell. 
 
Step 6:  Repeat steps 4 or 5 for each cell or cell fragment.
 
Step 7:  Turn the cells face-down and arrange them in a column  with the ribbon wire tabs hanging off the front and each cell laying on the back of the panel directly above it.  Keep about 1/4-inch distance  between the cells.
 
Step 8: Solder each cells free wire tab that is on the back of the cell above it to where it touches the back of that cell.

Step 9: Repeat Step 8 until all of the cells are connected.

Remember on both poly- and mono-crystalline solar cells, the back of the cell is the positive side and the front of the cell is the negative side. 

Tips I have learned along the way

I prefer doing all of the bottoms first with the tab wire hanging off of each cell.  If you are using 3"x6" solar cells, you will cut the tab wire 6" in length so you have 3" hanging over to solder on the top of the next cell.  Keep doing this, this is called soldering in series.  Then arrange them in rows.  You can work from the bottom to the top.  This means less flipping around the cells.  Most instructions I have read say to do the top first, but when you are finished you have to take the whole row and flip it over, this may cause the cells to break.  So if you solder all of the tabbing wires to the bottom cells first, then you work with all of the tops this will lessen the chance of breaking your cells.  You will then have your series connections.  After you are finished, you can place the cells in your solder panel frame and connect each row with bus wire and solder each row in a series connection as well.  For example, lets say you have 9 cells in a row and you have 4 rows, you then need to connect the rows in series as well.
This is soldering in series +-+-+-
 
Make a Free Website with Yola.