Solar Recharger Battery Kit

Do It Yourself (DIY) Instructions

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SolarRechargerBatteryKit

RenewableenergysystemscreatepowerindirectcurrentorDC.Whilethis DCpowermustbeinvertedtoalternatingcurrenttorunmostofyourhousehold appliances and electronics it is well suited for charging batteries since batteries store and provide DC power. Laptops, for instance, run on DC power from the battery.

Tochargethebatteryfromyourstandard120voltwalloutlet,itrequiresa mini inverter to take the 120 volts AC power from the wall power source and invert that to a lower voltage output in DC. This mini inverter is the little black boxthatyouseeattachedtothecordsforalllaptops.

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Many small electronics are powered in this manner. Whenever you see thatlittleblackrectangularboxyourdeviceisrunningoninvertedDCpower.

AA batteries are a good fit for charging with solar cells, since they have a low voltage of just 1.5 volts per battery and dont take long to charge. A rechargeable1.5VAAbatterywilltypicallyhaveastoragecapacityofaround1600 milliamphours(mAh).Justasyouneedaround1618Vtochargea12Vbattery, youalsoneedmorevoltagefromyoursolarbatterychargerthanthebatterywill provide in order to force the extra current into the battery, thereby charging it. Usingthewateranalogy,envisiontwopipeswithflowingwatermeetingupinthe

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middle.Voltageiscomparabletothepressureofthewater.Ifthewaterpressure ishigherinpipeAthaninpipeBthewaterwillflowfrompipeAtopipeB.Ifpipe BspressureishigherthanpipeAthewaterwillflowfrompipeBtopipeA.To chargea12vbattery,youneedtosupplymorepressuretoit(ahighervoltage) toforcethecurrentintothebatterycellandchargeit.

Currentcanbecomparedtotheamountofwaterthatisflowing.Thinkofa battery like a water tank. If the pressure going into the tank is higher than the pressurecomingoutofthetankthenyouwillfillthetankwithwater.Depending onhowmuchwaterisflowingdictateshowfastthetankwillfillup.Likewise,itis

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dependent on how much current is flowing from the solar panel to determine howfastthebatterywillfillupwithpower.Conversely,thisiswhysolarpanels without a blocking diode will drain batteries at night time. Once the sun dips belowthehorizon,thevoltagefromthesolarpanelwilldropbelowthe12vbeing suppliedfromthebattery.Whenthishappens,thepressurefromthebatteryis higher than that from the solar panel and the current will flow into the panel. Withthisinmind,2voltswillbeenoughtochargea1.5Vbattery. To obtain the desired 2 volts we will begin by wiring 4 solar cells in series. Remembereachsolarcell,regardlessofsizehasavoltageof.5V,so4cellswired inseriesis: .5V/cellx4cells=2.0volts

Since a standard full sized 3 x 6 solar cell will deliver around 3 amps of current, using 4 full sized cells wired in series will provide more current than neededandyouriskoverchargingthebatteries.Itisimportanttorememberthe natureofsolarcellswithrespecttovoltageandcurrent.Nomatterwhatthesize ofasolarcellitwillalwaysdeliver.5V,whileitssurfaceareaisdirectlyrelatedto thecurrentproduced.Forexample,a3ampcellcutinhalfwilldeliver1.5amps, whilestilldeliveringthesame.5V.Forthepurposeofthisguide,wewillbeusing

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4cellswiredinseriesthatwillproduceapproximately.3ampsunderfullsun.To chargea1.5VAAbatterywithstoragecapacityof1600mAh(milliamphours),also writtenas.16Ahitwilltakea.3A,2Vsolarpanelaboutahalfhourtofullycharge thebattery. .3Ax.5hours=.15Ah Ifmorebatteriesarebeingchargedatonceitwilltakelonger(2batteries willtaketwiceaslong,4willtake4timesaslong).Ifthebattery,orbatteries,are atapartialchargebeforebeingconnectedtoyoursolarbatterychargerthetotal charge time will decrease. Take care not to overcharge the batteries, as under pressuretheymayleakorexplode.

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To carry the current from the solar panel to the battery you will need to size the conductors to allow for the necessary current to pass through without toomuchresistanceinthewire,resultinginvoltagedrop.Morethanlikely,this wontbetoomuchofanissue,asyoullhavelowcurrentflowingfromthesolar panelandthewiretothebatteryholderdoesntneedtobemorethanacouple offeet. Once you have connected the positive and negative conductors to the positiveandnegativepanelleadsyouneedtoconnecttheotherendtoalanding stripofaconductivemetal,suchasaluminum. Byconnectingthepositiveandnegativeleadsthroughthewiretothemetal youareeffectivelyenergizingthemetal,whichwillhelpcompletethecircuitonce thebatteriesareinplace.Buyangledaluminumsothatyoullhavesomewhere toattachthemetaltothewoodsubstrateandalsoattachtotheterminalsends

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of the battery. Measure the length of the battery and screw the two pieces of aluminumtothewoodensubstrate.Plasticwouldworkforasubstrate,too,just makesurethatyoursubstrateisntconductiveandwontcarrythecurrentacross the positive and negative terminals otherwise you run the risk of shorting out your circuit. Use conductive screws to attach the two aluminum pieces to the woodotherwiseyoulllosealotofyourpower!

Cut the aluminum pieces to make separate connections for each battery you plan on charging. This gives each battery a secure place to charge, with a positive and negative depression made on opposing sides to aid in the security. This can be done in numerous ways, but I choose to drill out a pilot hole in betweeneachbatteryplacementandusemetalsnipstocutfromtheedgeofthe aluminumstripinwardstothepilothole.

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This gives individual terminal holders for each battery. The number of separateterminalendstomakedependsonthelengthofthealuminumyouare usingandthenumberofbatteriesyouwishtocharge.

Makelittleindentationsinthepositiveandnegativesidesofthealuminum to allow the batteries to hold in place and make a better connection. Make an indentation inward for the negative side and an indentation outward for the positiveside.Thisiseasilydonewithanailandahammer.Placethenailfirmly againstthemetalandtapwithahammeruntilthedesireddepressionismade.

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 SnuglyplacetherechargeableAAbatteriesintheholder,makingsurethat thepositiveterminalsonthebatteryarealignedwiththepositivelychargedmetal holder and the negative terminal to the negatively charged metal holder, place thesolarpanelunderthesunandyoudone!

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