What are the actual fire hazards with DIY solar?

[duffbeer911]

Hi,
I'm new to solar and in the planning stages of a small DIY solar set up. I'm reading a lot of the "Is DIY worth it?" discussions and many point to fire hazards as a reason not to go DIY.

I'm building this as a project and don't intend to connect into the mains or grid. I'm out in a rural part of Africa so it is a bit of a project with the goal of being able to charge my devices from solar.

BUT, even so ... I'm still not all that keen on my small setup catching on fire!

Can someone explain where the fire hazards are in DIY? What makes DIY panels more of a hazard? And, what precautions can we take to help prevent fires?

Appreciate the advice.

[Mike90250]

A single 12V panel, is generally, not a fire hazard. But nobody ever does just 1.

1) panel materials. Usually DIY panels are plastic and wood. Bake that for 6 months in the sun, and the materials start to fatigue and fail. Add moisture from dew, rain, and condensation, and it fails even faster.

2) wood in a "solar oven" eventually breaks down and it's ignition temperature gets lower and lower. Sometime, on a hot day in a few years, it will ignite on it's own.

3) hot plastic, flexes, and can crack or damage the PV cells, if they short, you get high heat in a small area, lighting the plastic or wood.

4) non-hermetic panels build up moisture internally and degrade the PV cells till they eventually fail.

5) panels in series, to increase voltage, causes electrical leakage and short circuits.

[duffbeer911]

ok thanks for the reply and the explanation.

I will continue my project with this in mind ... and go manufactured panels for anything bigger, permanent, etc etc.

[daz]

I'm out in a rural part of Africa so it is a bit of a project with the goal of being able to charge my devices from solar.

Where abouts in Africa are you located?

[duffbeer911]

Hi Daz, I'm in Sierra Leone. It really nice here (we just don't get much power!)

[daz]

Hi Daz, I'm in Sierra Leone. It really nice here (we just don't get much power!)

Well, try stick to commercially manufactured solar panels, as they will give you less problems, and last longer! However, I know that getting commercial panels in some parts of Africa is quite hard, so you may be forced to try make a plan with what you have. Do you have access to just solar cells? Or are you able to get commercially manufactured solar panels locally?

[duffbeer911]

the commercially manufactured panels you can get here are only small and are incredibly expensive. I think also not very good quality. The other option would be to have commercial panels sent over by sea freight which is also very expensive. So I thought I'd give it a try to make a small DIY panel as I can just bring the cells back in my normal luggage next time I travel to London. If I decide for a more permanent, long term solution then I will freight some panels over

[daz]

the commercially manufactured panels you can get here are only small and are incredibly expensive. I think also not very good quality. The other option would be to have commercial panels sent over by sea freight which is also very expensive.

Then I guess your options are limited then! In this case it may actually make sense to make your own solar panels, but it is a lot of work. You must just sit down and actually work out the exact costs of making your own solar panel, as the parts (cells, epoxy, glass, etc etc) add up very quickly. Once you have added up exactly what you need and how much it costs, then you will know for sure whether it is better to buy a solar panel, or make it yourself.

Regardless of whether you buy the panels or make them yourself, you must work out the actual costs!

[FloridaSun]

the commercially manufactured panels you can get here are only small and are incredibly expensive. I think also not very good quality. The other option would be to have commercial panels sent over by sea freight which is also very expensive. So I thought I'd give it a try to make a small DIY panel as I can just bring the cells back in my normal luggage next time I travel to London. If I decide for a more permanent, long term solution then I will freight some panels over

Your options for purchasing local panels retail may be limited but that only makes your distribution options stronger. You might check into finding other locals interested in solar and getting together to buy a container load... or half container. Retail them yourselves, pay for your own and make some $$$ in the process. If import duties are reasonable and you could sell at a decent price they would be gone in a flash.... sooner than home made panels would spark and catch fire.