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1 Copyright 2009 GreenDIYenergy.com

SolarRecharger Battery Kit

Do It Yourself (DIY) Instructions

GreenDIYenergy.com


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Working with renewable energy sources is dangerous. Since you aredealing with electricity, high roof tops or towers, and numerous otherunknown conditions, seek expert opinions and help where necessary. Theauthors and publishers assume that, while carrying out your DIY project,you are aware of all the risks and possible damages associated with homeimprovements and renewable energy.

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RememberSafety First!


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Solar Recharger Battery Kit

Renewable energy systems create power in direct current or DC. While this

DC power must be inverted to alternating current to run most of your household

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.

To charge the battery from your standard 120 volt wall outlet, it requires a

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

box that you see attached to the cords for all laptops.


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

that little black rectangular box your device is running on inverted DC power.

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

rechargeable 1.5V AA battery will typically have a storage capacity of around 1600

milliamp hours (mAh). Just as you need around 16 18V to charge a 12V battery,

you also need more voltage from your solar battery charger than the battery will

provide in order to force the extra current into the battery, thereby charging it.

Using the water analogy, envision two pipes with flowing water meeting up in the


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middle. Voltage is comparable to the pressure of the water. If the water pressure

is higher in pipe A than in pipe B the water will flow from pipe A to pipe B. If pipe

Bs pressure is higher than pipe A the water will flow from pipe B to pipe A. To

charge a 12v battery, you need to supply more pressure to it (a higher voltage)

to force the current into the battery cell and charge it.

Current can be compared to the amount of water that is flowing. Think of a

battery like a water tank. If the pressure going into the tank is higher than the

pressure coming out of the tank then you will fill the tank with water. Depending

on how much water is flowing dictates how fast the tank will fill up. Likewise, it is


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dependent on how much current is flowing from the solar panel to determine

how fast the battery will fill up with power. Conversely, this is why solar panels

without a blocking diode will drain batteries at night time. Once the sun dips

below the horizon, the voltage from the solar panel will drop below the 12v being

supplied from the battery. When this happens, the pressure from the battery is

higher than that from the solar panel and the current will flow into the panel.

With this in mind, 2 volts will be enough to charge a 1.5V battery.

To obtain the desired 2 volts we will begin by wiring 4 solar cells in series.

Remember each solar cell, regardless of size has a voltage of .5V, so 4 cells wired

in series is:

.5V/cell x 4 cells = 2.0 volts

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

needed and you risk overcharging the batteries. It is important to remember the

nature of solar cells with respect to voltage and current. No matter what the size

of a solar cell it will always deliver .5V, while its surface area is directly related to

the current produced. For example, a 3 amp cell cut in half will deliver 1.5 amps,

while still delivering the same .5V. For the purpose of this guide, we will be using


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4 cells wired in series that will produce approximately .3 amps under full sun. To

charge a 1.5V AA battery with storage capacity of 1600 mAh (milliamp hours), also

written as .16 Ah it will take a .3A, 2V solar panel about a half hour to fully charge

the battery.

.3A x .5 hours = .15Ah

If more batteries are being charged at once it will take longer (2 batteries

will take twice as long, 4 will take 4 times as long). If the battery, or batteries, are

at a partial charge before being connected to your solar battery charger the total

charge time will decrease. Take care not to overcharge the batteries, as under

pressure they may leak or explode.


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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

too much resistance in the wire, resulting in voltage drop. More than likely, this

wont be too much of an issue, as youll have low current flowing from the solar

panel and the wire to the battery holder doesnt need to be more than a couple

of feet.

Once you have connected the positive and negative conductors to the

positive and negative panel leads you need to connect the other end to a landing

strip of a conductive metal, such as aluminum.

By connecting the positive and negative leads through the wire to the metal

you are effectively energizing the metal, which will help complete the circuit once

the batteries are in place. Buy angled aluminum so that youll have somewhere

to attach the metal to the wood substrate and also attach to the terminals ends


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of the battery. Measure the length of the battery and screw the two pieces of

aluminum to the wooden substrate. Plastic would work for a substrate, too, just

make sure that your substrate isnt conductive and wont carry the current across

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

wood otherwise youll lose a lot of your power!

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

between each battery placement and use metal snips to cut from the edge of the

aluminum strip inwards to the pilot hole.


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

separate terminal ends to make depends on the length of the aluminum you are

using and the number of batteries you wish to charge.

Make little indentations in the positive and negative sides of the aluminum

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

positive side. This is easily done with a nail and a hammer. Place the nail firmly

against the metal and tap with a hammer until the desired depression is made.


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Snugly place the rechargeable AA batteries in the holder, making sure that

the positive terminals on the battery are aligned with the positively charged metal

holder and the negative terminal to the negatively charged metal holder, place

the solar panel under the sun and you done!

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