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33-Cent Solar Cells — Parallax Forums

33-Cent Solar Cells

ercoerco Posts: 20,256
edited 2013-06-18 09:00 in General Discussion
24 for $8, on sale, 68% off! http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G16714

Just in time for summer! Cells are small, oblong but new and cheap! Make your own custom geometric arrangement, in any voltage/current combination you desire. Don't let THE MAN tell you that pricey square cells and their fixed voltage/current outputs are the only way to go!

Generate your own free power any time the sun is shining! Stick it to THE MAN and the electric company!

High quality silicon polycrystalline solar cell features solder plating on connection bars to make it easier to solder your flexible leads onto the cell. Output is .45V 200mA.

Factory perfect cells come packaged in a foam cushion inside a small box containing 24 pieces. Great for connecting in series to make solar panels to power projects. We connected one of these to a motor and the shaft started spinning as soon as the cell was exposed to the sun. Size of each cell .3"W x 4"L. Factory box of 24.
G16714

Comments

  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-06-13 15:38
    Or if you need square, see http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G18244 is also a good deal at $3.49. New 4" square cell delivers 0.5V open circuit voltage and about 2.5 Amp short circuit current.
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2013-06-13 16:56
    Generate your own free power any time the sun is shining!
    Easy for you to say being in LA. Not so lucky up here and the ROI would take 20 years. I once had a plan to move to Phoenix and do the whole off grid thing. That was just before the 2008 crash and it is probably a good thing I did not make the move as that was a bad time to move to Phoenix. About 10 years ago I saw a program on Discovery channel that showed a home in Tucson that was 100% off the grid and received a check from the power company!!! I would be happy to just not have to pay them each month. If I could figure out how to harness power from our constant drizzle I would be a wealthy man!!!
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-06-13 17:03
    I know a bit about rain in your great state of Washington. I biked down the coast through Forks and the Hoh Rain forest (where my bike broke, but that's a whole other story). Yes, the rainfall is high there. But frow what I understand, somewhere on the other side of the Olympic mountains is a place where there is hardly any annual rainfall at all. Something to do with wind & weather patterns swirling around the mountain passes. Surely someone in WA can get their money's worth out of solar!
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2013-06-13 19:08
    Sequim, WA. It has the least amount of rain anywhere in western WA. Very cool place. Retirement community. They have the Olympic Game Farm where you can drive through and feed animals, bears and all. A lot of the Disney animals were trained and housed there. Great place to get Dungeness crab also.
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2013-06-13 19:17
    erco wrote: »
    Yes, the rainfall is high there.

    Compared to Southern CA maybe...

    http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/04/seattle-doesnt-get-that-much-rain/

    http://average-rainfall-cities.findthedata.org

    Oh wait... yeah, that's right, we do get lots of rain. Probably not a good idea to move up here.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2013-06-13 19:33
    Electronic Goldmine for square solar cell wrote:
    Efficient silicon solar cell puts out about 0.5V open circuit voltage and about 2.5Amp short circuit current.
    Can you derive anything from this about where on the I/V curve you get the most power output?

    Thanks,
    -Phil

    Average rainfall here, measured in inches per year, is not that high; but it comes mostly in the form of drizzle -- mind-numbing, cold, depressing drizzle. If you count the number of rainy days per year, that number will be quite high, compared with other parts of the country.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-06-13 19:39
    W9GFO wrote: »
    we do get lots of rain. Probably not a good idea to move up here.

    Hey, wait a minute. It sounds like Rich is determined to keep us LA cityboyz outta his state...

    All of a sudden, I wanna move to Washington. You guys DO have free electric vehicle recharging stations every 10 miles, right? Certainly at Beach 2, 3 and 4...
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2013-06-13 19:43
    erco wrote: »
    All of a sudden, I wanna move to Washington. You guys DO have free electric vehicle recharging stations every 10 miles, right? Certainly at Beach 2, 3 and 4...

    Nope, they all got shorted out due to all the rain.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-06-13 20:05
    But at least your state will give me the $2500 state EV rebate on my Leaf, right?

    http://www.plugincars.com/essential-facts-about-california-electric-car-rebates-49793.html
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2013-06-13 20:35
    erco wrote: »
    But at least your state will give me the $2500 state EV rebate on my Leaf, right?

    http://www.plugincars.com/essential-facts-about-california-electric-car-rebates-49793.html

    Don't know about any rebates, it is exempt from sales and use tax which would be about $2,500.
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2013-06-13 20:51
    erco wrote: »
    You guys DO have free electric vehicle recharging stations every 10 miles, right?

    340 electric stations in WA, two of them within a mile of here.
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2013-06-13 21:27
    There's a station setup just down the road from me at the Commons (Formerly Sea-Tac Mall) outside Sears. I think there are 3 or 4 chargers.
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,173
    edited 2013-06-14 03:31
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    Can you derive anything from this about where on the I/V curve you get the most power output?

    You just need to also know the Fill Factor :
    http://pveducation.org/pvcdrom/solar-cell-operation/fill-factor

    Of course, anyone posting on here would have a MPPT operating point converter, and so the Fill Factor is mostly of academic interest.
  • Beau SchwabeBeau Schwabe Posts: 6,566
    edited 2013-06-15 15:43
    Those cells would be perfect for an elongated version of one of these.... (one of my favorite desktop style motors)

    http://www.gyroscope.com/d.asp?product=SOLARMOTOR2
  • CuriousOneCuriousOne Posts: 931
    edited 2013-06-16 11:20
    These 24 won't make even 12v, so you need another box. This costs $16, not mentioning shipping costs, and this is just 4.32W of power, assembled 5W models cost even less...
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-06-17 08:35
    CuriousOne wrote: »
    These 24 won't make even 12v, so you need another box. This costs $16, not mentioning shipping costs, and this is just 4.32W of power, assembled 5W models cost even less...

    The appeal for me is for a small (Boe-Bot, Scribbler size) solar-power robot that would have Li-Ion or Lipo Batteries recharged "off the grid". It would need 9+ volts off the solar panel to charge the batteries, at whatever current the cells could provide. Most cells deliver 0.5V no-load voltage, so you would need 20-24 cells in series to charge. The size and form factor of these cells is conducive to arranging them for custom geometry and voltage/current needs. I'm getting two boxes.
  • CuriousOneCuriousOne Posts: 931
    edited 2013-06-17 11:16
    Or you can get one box of theese:

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/40PCS-52mmx19mm-solar-cell-for-DIY-solar-panel-V5219-/140991342904?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20d3bd2938
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-06-17 13:25
    XLNT too. I'll take a box!

    Hey, those cells are only 18.75 cents each w/free shipping, so you're beating me at my own game! :)
  • CuriousOneCuriousOne Posts: 931
    edited 2013-06-18 09:00
    Well, having 10 bucks monthly hobby allowance, definetly tought me to multiple times check everything...
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