Buying Photovoltaic Cells from Ebay
Several sellers on Ebay sell PV cells of different sizes. The price seems attractive for the power these cells put out, often about o.3 Euro/Watt (2010). The quality may vary however, the performance of the cells depends on the quality of the aluminium or silver grid and the quality of the cells themselves.
Voltage
The voltage of a PV cell is a consequence of its band gap, or the energy of the light it absorbs. Therefore the voltage is the same if the type of cell is the same, irrespective of the size.
Amperage
The amount of amps put out by a cell is much more variable as it is related to the number of electrons that get freed up by the photovoltaic effect. It depends on the size, the amount of light but alos on the quality of the electric grid on the cell. If the cell is old the connections on the cell will be less conductive so that less current will flow
Wattage
The Wattage of the cells is simply the Voltage times the Amperage (W=V*A). A 3.9 Watt cell will have an amperage of 3.9/0.52 = 7.2 Amp. This only goes for good quality cells in excellent condition (new).
Some cells tested First Voltage then Amp
0.52 Volt
1.91 Amps
0.52 Volt
1.78 Amps
0.51 Volt
1.77 Amps
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