Whether you decide to build your own solar panel or just purchase one; this article will give you a good understanding of the panel and its use. There are many options and many sources for solar panels on the market today. You need to make sure that you understand what you need for power and how to accomplish that need. We will start with the assumption that you want to build a solar panel that can be added onto with other solar panels until you reach the desired outcome. To start you will need to decide what you are trying to accomplish; are you trying to get enough power to run a backup generator in case of a power failure? Are you trying to power your whole house? Fortunately we will show you how to build solar panels that can be wired together in a series to enable you to add additional panels until you reach the output you desire. Solar panels are designed by installing a number of solar cells together inside a frame and then soldering them together in a fashion that will ultimately unify the power from each individual cell to produce a maximum combined output from each solar panel. In the articles and videos below you will see how to build a simple wood frame to house the solar cells for the panel. The frame does not need to be made from wood, if you have the skill and the ability you can use 1/2" angle iron and sheet metal as a substitute. In either case you will want to make sure that the frame will be minimal in height so that there is little or no shade on the cells when the sun is at its furthest angle from the panel. We recommend 1/2" sides on the frame. If you use wood to frame the panel be sure to use a good sealant to protect the wood, it will be directly in the weather so you will need good quality material to ensure a lasting panel. Solar cells can be purchased on ebay and come in an array of types and costs. You can even buy chipped cells that still work well but may slightly reduce the output unless you add more cells. In any case the number of cells you need will be directly related to the amount of power you are trying to produce :here is a link we found that will help you calculate how much power you need to generate: http://www.virtualsecrets.com/solar-panel-battery-calculators.html Tieing the cells together in the panel is pretty straight forward, if you can solder it will be a simple task to accomplish. Remember to use a blocking diode to stop the power that you produce from escaping from the batteries. Make sure to pick a power inverter that will handle the load you intend to produce. All-in-all this is really a very simple project, every aspect is explained well with all needed information to figure out what you want to accomplish. So good luck and lets get started. The next 9 videos were made by a college student on break that had never built a solar panel before. These videos explain in-detail how to build a working solar panel from scratch. The instructions are simple and well detailed. Everything is explained on a step by step process that is easy to follow. He even shows you what mistakes he made and how he fixed them! Remember this person had never built a solar panel before and he was able to complete the task, now he is the teacher. You can easily accomplish this task as well!