Small solar panel sellers

[birrbert]

Ladies and Gents!

I'd like to ask whether you know a good seller who is selling small solar panels for DIY purposes (e.g. lower than 12V and with different current capabilities). I'm looking for a seller who has a store on eBay, has good prices and offers reasonable quality. I'm curious who would you recommend based on your experience.

[birrbert]

I've been doing searches on eBay during these past days and I found a few sellers with good feedback who offer solar panels for a low cost. For instance: a 6 V / 520 mA, 145 mm x 145 mm sized panel costs $8.80 (free shipping, from China, of course). I don't know anything about quality, but I guess they would be OK. I'm planning to buy two.

[taiga]

I am also very interested in this can you post link to what you end up getting and a "review" once you get them

[birrbert]

Yes, I can do that, but it will take a while for me to buy and put together. I'm hoping to have something to present towards the end of April.

[taiga]

cheers
i've been following your solar phone charging thread; very inspiring! i'm just beginning and look forward to doing a similar project to start.

[MJLorton]

Very good question....

I'm about to post a video on this very topic related to my solar powered Kindle project. I used my Maynuo electronic DC load and vary the voltage as a "manual MPPT" to fine the sweet spot for maximum power. This is done under controlled conditions indoors using a metal halide light (thanks to SeanB).

The best small solar panels I've come across so far are the RadioShack 1.5w 4.5v:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12610004
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/360800801341?lpid=82

And 2.0 Watt (6v) Solar Panel by  Voltaic Systems:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0091PRVPW/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Sorry...I bought the last ones off Amazon as they were that good...

[birrbert]

Thanks Martin for recommendations! Just a heads-up: I checked the panels on the Voltaic Systems website and there are a few that can be bought directly from them. Moreover, there's a clearance page also here: http://www.voltaicsystems.com/sample-sale.shtml
It's very tempting, but unfortunately for me postage would cost too much.

taiga, feel free to browse the thread and post messages and photos regarding our own experiments.

[MJLorton]

Just a quick post to show the setup I'm experimenting with for my solar powered Kindle project.

I'm using a metal halide light to select the best performing solar cells / panels for the project. At the moment it's all a work in progress....but I'm testing a 150 watt AquaticLife light. The height can easily be adjusted to get different light intensity (and heat!!!!) on the solar panel under test. The Maynuo electronic DC load allows me to make fine adjustments to the voltage and acts as a "manual MPPT". With this light I've managed to get 1.5 watt from a 2 watt panel indoors...but that means the light is very close and heat starts to have a negative affect on performance.

I've used another 100 watt MH light and managed to get 1.8 watt...I assume the light spectrum was better...but I need to measure the lumens as well to do a comparison.

At the moment I'm trying to find the right height that generates enough power output from the solar cell to test indoor charging under controlled conditions...vs the negative affect of heat...

Fun fun fun...really!

Just a warning to those that might consider paying with metal halide lights...they can give off a fair amount of heat, UV and hurt the eyes if you look directly at them too closely.

Cheers,
Martin.

[SeanB]

If your lamps are double ended 150W I have some Neutral White Osram powerstars if you want. Were only R5 at the fleamarket, so I bought the lot. Powerstar HCI-TS 150W/942 made in Germany.

[MJLorton]

Aaah...yes it is double ended and it has a bit of a blue hue...so neutral white may be better.

If you have one spare let me know and I'll cover the postage Sean.

[SeanB]

Would have sent them today but never even got into my office until after 3PM, been busy the whole day fixing things. Got them all in a packet, along with the address details, will try Monday to post them to you.

[MJLorton]

Thanks very much Sean.

[SeanB]

Sent them last week, so they hopefully should be in your box soon.

[MJLorton]

Got them...thanks very much Sean.