Multi-Cryatalline Silicon

http://stores.ebay.com/Everbright-Solar-Inc

http://cgi.ebay.com/500-3x6-Untabbed-Grade-A-Solar-Cells-Only-for-Panels_W0QQitemZ130359804215QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1e5a0cc137

Item specifics
Condition: New Brand: Evergreen
Type: Multi-Cryatalline Silicon Energy Type: Alternative & Solar Energy
Technology: String Ribbon Voltage: 0.5x
Product Type: SOLAR CELLS

This listing is for our Untabbed Grade A 3X6 solar cells, 100% made in the U.S.! Please note this listing is for solar cells ONLY, without any accessories! If you need tabbing wire, bus wire, flux pen, silver solder, inverter, or other accessories, please contact us via email or phone.

Please call our office line 510-498-8221 for professionally made on-grid and off-grid solar panels of all sizes.

For large quantity inquiry on solar cells or solar panels, please see our other listings or email us: info@everbrightsolar.com.

For customer support, please call our office line: 510-498-8221 Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm.

For other categories or quantities of solar cells that we sell, please visit our eBay store: My Stores Logo

1. Item Details:

This batch of newest solar cells came fresh from the original manufacturer's newest factory in Devens, MA directly to our warehouse in Silicon Valley just a couple of weeks ago. This set of new 3"x6" solar cells are string ribbon multi crystalline cells.making these cells.These newest cells have a little different look from the other cells. The front of the solar cells looks similar to the traditional multicrystalline solar cells in that they show the borders and shapes of irregular crystal formation. In terms of output they may be slightly better, but in any volume production you are going to have cells with varying levels of power output. The cells are the original factory standard cell size, not other sizes cut by using home made tools which could damage the cells during cutting process. The cells have never been used or soldered, and are not recycled from badly made panels like some factory installed tabbed cells are. There are no tabs on these cells so you can start from scratch and get experience in making solar panels. In our listings, if we don't describe them as 'chipped', then they are considered to be category A cells, though in small number of cells, very very tiny defects or blemishes could exist but they don't affect power output. Our sorting team tries to do as good as a job possible to categorize the cells, and we are confident that they are the best cells available on eBay outside of Evergreen solar itself. Almost all of customers have been very happy with the solar cells that we shipped in large volume, although we must admit that in the eBay retail market there are some people who are just very very hard to please, no matter how much we bend over to help them. We stand by our products. If you think the solar cells don't meet your expectations, send them back within 7 days for a complete refund or replacement, because we understand that in large volume order processing, some mistakes do happen and the important thing is that we are willing to rectify them and we need to be given an opportunity to fix rare mistakes when they do happen. We will even pay for return shipping. From the enormous number of cells that we shipped this past couple of months, returns have been essentially negligible. We will keep rolling out new products and categories at great prices and those who mistreat us will be excluded from our new offers.

The following is a little more details regarding this listing:

I. Cells:

The standard cell specifications are the following, though the individual cells can be above or below these standards.

Cell Specifications:
Average Power (Watts): 1.75 Wp
Average Current (Amps): 3.5 Imax
Average Voltage (Volts): 0.5 Vmax
Thickness 200 μm = 0.2 mm
Exact dimension: 3 1/4 inches x 6 inches, or 80 mm by 150 mm
Weight: Just above 6 grams, or 0.2 oz.

II. How to make sense of the above numbers:

The basic and very important formula you need to know to make sense of solar cells is this:
Power (P) = Current (I) Multiply by Voltage (V), or P=I*V
Power's unit of measure is watt,
Current's unit of measure is amp,
Voltage's unit of measure is volt.

So in our solar cell's specific example, if each solar cell is rated at 1.75 watts on average, and the voltage is 0.5, you do a little algebraic math, then to get the amps (I), since P=I*V, so I = P / V , therefore I (amps) = 1.75 watts divided by 0.5 volts = 3.5 amps.

It's important to understand the concepts of series connection and parallel connection when stringing these solar cells together to make a solar panel. Series connection of the cells increases voltage but not amperage; parallel connection of the cells increases amperage but not voltage. Series connection is when you connect the positive terminal of a cell with the negative terminal of the next cell. Parallel connection is when you connect the positive terminals of all cells in the set of cells with a tabbing wire and all the negative terminals of all cell in the same set. You can use a combination of series and parallel connections to get the right voltage and amperage for your solar panel.

The cell specifications above were given to us by the manufacturer as averages. Variations are possible. To make a 18 volts panel, for example, you connect 36 cells in series (36 cells times 0.5 volt each = 18 volts). And 36 * 1.75 (each cell in theory averages 1.75 watt) watt = 63 watts. The amps you will be getting is 63 watts divided by 18 volts = 3.5 amps.

III. Solar cells basics:

The front of the cells (blue side, aka Sunny side) has two thick white lines, called bus bars. They are the negative terminals of the cell. The back side, where the 6 square dots are, are positive terminals. Connect the tabbing wires from the bus bar of the first cell on one side to the three dots of on the back side of the next cell. That way you have a series connection. Repeat the process on the other side of the cells. In panel making you should connect all the tabbing wires on the front for all the cells first, then flip the cells over to solder the back side in a second step. Some solar cells such as SunPower cells have both positive and negative terminals at the back of the cells, but we don't have to worry about them. Most cells are negative on the front and positive on the back.

The white color bus bars on front and the contact points on the back are made out of silver, and you should keep them intact. Apply solder on your them and the wires should bond.

IV. Testing:

Make sure that you test the cells under strong sun light with the front of the cell facing the sun, at the same time connect your meters to the right terminals. If you are inside the building, make sure you shine your sun simulating lamps onto the front of the cell while testing.

V. Panel configuration:

For those who are new to solar panel making or if you don't have an engineering background, here is our recommendation:

1) Make small panels first so you gain experience.

2) In most situations, make either 36 or 72 cell panels, and connect them in series. 36 cells give you 17.5 or around 18 volts or so. And 72 cells doubles that. These panels are very useful, and you will find a lot of matching products that will want to buy! For example, you almost always want to use a charge controller if you make your panels to charge batteries. Charge controllers usually come in 12 or 24 volt settings, which match your panels' 18 and 36 volts very nicely. Yes, your panel voltage should be 1.5 times the voltage of the battery you intend to charge. Connect more panels together if you want to tie to the grid, in which case, always use an inverter.

3) For a lot higher voltage panels and configurations, consult a professional. Just don't fry yourself.

VI. Soldering:

If you want to become a serious panel maker, buy a good soldering iron whose temperature can be adjusted. Don't get a cheap iron. It's one of the most important tools you need to have.

Disclaimer: We are not experts in power systems and the above are what we learn through experience but we share what we know, and you should take it with a grain of salt. Buy books written by experts or take classes from the pros. These are about as much as we can help you with to get started, and we hope that this free consulting will reduce the flood of eBay messages that come into our inbox on a daily basis. Some people just keep asking question and taking time from us without buying, and we love to give, but please be considerate. Our resources are not limitless.

2. Packaging

The solar cells are very fragile so be very very careful when handling them. But out of all of the solar cell packages that we sent so far, we have not not heard of a single report on broken cells as a result of our packaging. We invested a lot of resources to make sure that the cells are well protected by a combination of foam pads, paper pad, bubble wraps, inner box, and outer box. We have won rave reviews from our customer feedback on our outstanding packaging, just check our feedback so you can rest assured that your cells arrive intact. Our warehouse personnel take great pride in their packaging. And we are developing even better and efficient packaging solutions to bring the cells to our customers whole.

Each package is clearly marked and labeled with how many inner packs and how many cells there are in each pack. We also weigh each package and everything is recorded and signed off before shipping. All shipping paper work is double printed - one for our customer and one for our record, so that we have documented proof that we have shipped everything that our customers bought. This is done to prevent suspicious claims of not receiving the goods. In extremely rare occurrences where cells were shipped short, we would gladly make up the cells that you paid for but didn't receive.

You might break some cells during panel making process, so we always give our customer extra bonus cells for free just to show consideration for our customers. The number and percentage of extra cells we give vary, and it's purely at the discretion of the mangement, but all of our customers have been pleased with the deal they get.

3. Shipping

Shipping is free to 48 continent states in the US. We ship the packages via US Postal Service Priority mail, and we buy USPS Delivery Confirmation for all of the shipments at our own expenses. For solar cell orders that are 250 and above, we buy 'Signature Required' so that you sign of the package as well, unless you tell us not to - we will still buy Delivery Confirmation for you. This will make sure that you receive the cells. Delivery confirmation will give us a tracking number from which you can see online at www.usps.com that delivery has been confirmed, but no signature is required. 'Signature Required' features says exactly that, and it's different from 'Delivery Confirmation' by the Post Office.

For international orders outside the U.S., we are NOT responsible for your import duties, customs charges or other VAT's. And we don't know what the charges will be for each country. Do not get upset with us because your government thinks that you should pay extra. In actuality we would prefer to do business all within the United States, but we have some good customers from other countries so that's why we keep our international shipping program. We reserve the right to terminate our international shipping program at any time. Please check with your country's customs office prior to purchasing to determine what these additional costs will be.

4. Product Returns

We used to have a more strict sounding return policy, but when we looked at the numbers, returns are really so rare we now say that you can return the cells within 7 days for a complete refund. Almost all of our customers are truly honorable and they didn't abuse our return policy. When we find people who abuse us, we will stop doing business with them and report them to eBay. We keep selling our products at such attractive value and we are the original manufacturer that makes a lot of new products that we are going to sell direct to our customers so cheaply it would be stupid to burn the bridge. So far our customers are overwhelmingly happy with the great value and support that we provide.

5. Volume Discounts

We export enormous number of cells to Asia and now we are bringing great value and quantity discounts to friends all over the world, including our home country the good ol USA. We sell hundreds of thousands of cells around of the world a year, so you can be sure that we can fulfill your large quantity order at great discounted prices. If you can get better deals out there, we want to hear about them. Please send emails to info@EverbrightSolar.com if you intend to purchase quantities far larger that what's listed in our eBay stores and we can make a deal.

6. Everbright Affiliates Program

An Everbright Affiliate is someone who earns cash or free solar cells by referring customers to purchase from us. To become an Everbright Affiliate, he/she would have purchased solar cells from us and given us good feedback. After your application is approved, you will be assigned an Everbright Affiliate code (EA code) that's unique to you, and you ask the customers to use the code to purchase. You will earn commission from the sales leads that you generate, and your friends will get discounts in their next purchase. You can choose the payment in the form of company check, or 120% of the cash value in solar cells. After you earn $600 and above, we will ask you to provide us your social security number and the rest of the information, so that we can write you a 1099 for tax purposes. To become an Everbrigth Affiliate, please become a customer, and then send an email to info@EverbrightSolar.com requesting to join the program.

7. About the Seller

Rebecca has been a great eBayer with 100% positive feedback, 5 star ratings, and provides outstanding value since 2003. She is an eBay Power Seller that you can trust. She works for Everbright Solar, Inc. an OEM that makes solar wafers, custom size solar cells (Everbright Solar provides the service to cut the solar cells in the sizes that you need for your specific panel needs), on grid and off grid solar panels. We have a lot of manufacturing activities that happen right here in the Silicon Valley, and customers are welcome to visit our facility when they come to the bay area. Local customers can simply make appointments to come to inspect the solar cells, solar wafers, and professionally made solar panels for purchase or simply ask questions. Our sales office and warehouse are located in Fremont, so please email info@EverbrightSolar.com should you plan to come over.

8. Contact Support - FAQ

Even if you don't purchase from us, you can ask us questions. You can request that a copy of the FAQ be sent to you. And that will be released to the company web site soon. You can always send support emails or questions to info@EverbrightSolar.com, and the good people at Everbright Solar will help you.

Thanks for reading!

Copyright Everbright Solar Inc. 2009.