A Low Cost Local Level PV Panel Assembly Process Targeted at Rural Energy Supply in Developing Nations

There is a huge potential to utilise solar power in developing nations, however the expensive nature of solar panels is preventing this market growth at the local level. Widely available and low cost materials and methods are imperative for solar panel assembly for rural energy supply if the mass uptake of Photovoltaic (PV) in developing nations is to be realised. In this research a novel and inexpensive assembly for PV panels using commercial silicon PV cells was developed using alternative materials and techniques. The panels were subjected to laboratory testing in Leeds, UK and field testing in Gwalior, India. The materials used for the assembly were polyethylene terepthalate (PET), for encapsulating the solar cell, and polycarbonate (PC) sheet, for the facing and backing of the panel. The aim was to demonstrate that the cheaper encapsulation technique and materials do not affect solar panel efficiency compared to more common ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and glass fabricated panels and commercial solar panels. We are able to show that a solar panel assembled with PET and PC produces similar results in terms of power and efficiency to the standard assembly method using EVA and glass. As well as competing with current panel assembly the solar panels used in this research are cheap and simple to make, making them suitable for rural energy supply.