Saturday, July 2, 2011

I got a new solar panel - Battery charging

So recently, i bought a new solar panel. Its capacity is 5W and it is very handy for the summer months in india. It can easily charge a 6v 4.5AH SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) battery. My charging setup is as follows-

Solar panel -> 1n4007 diode -> Battery

The battery can store up to 27 WH and gets charged in one day easily.

I check on the setup regularly with a multimeter.

Lead acid batteries are every well suited to charging with a solar panel since they are not fussy about over charge/undercharge, they can store large amounts of current for a very less cost, and they can be drip charged. The battery in question costed me about $5, very cheap compared to a li-ion solution.
They charged battery is then used to charge various mobile phones as well as for lighting during power cuts. I plan to expand this system with a 12v 7.2 AH battery and a 20 Watt solar panel. Also, i want to upgrade the diode form an 1n4001 to a shottky diode because the voltage drop is much less then normal rectifiers!
6v 4.5AH Sealed Lead Acid Battery
6v 4.5AH Sealed Lead Acid Battery

5W Solar Panel
5W Indian Manufactured Solar Panel

Solar panel battery charging
Solar Panel with battery for charging