A solar charger is a charger that uses solar energy to provide batteries or gadgets with electricity. Typically, they are transportable.
Lead acid or Ni-Cd battery banks with a capacity of up to 4000 Ah or 48 V can be charged using solar chargers.
Such solar charger configurations typically employ a smart charge controller. In order to store energy for use during off-peak hours, a bank of batteries can be connected to a set of solar cells that are deployed in a stationary position (for example, the ground beneath base stations or the rooftops of homes). For daytime energy savings, they can also be utilised in combination to mains-supply chargers.
In this article, I’ll demonstrate how to use a TP4056 chip to charge a lithium 18650 cell using solar energy, also known as the sun.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could use the sun to recharge your phone’s battery rather than a USB charger? This project can also serve as a homemade portable power bank.
Hardware Requirement
How the TP4056 Work
When we look at this board, we can see that it contains the TP4056 chip in addition to a few other parts that are of importance to us.
On board, there are two LEDs: a red LED and a blue LED. When it is charging, the red one illuminates, and when it is finished, the blue one does as well. The battery can also be charged using an external USB charger using this micro USB connector.
Additionally, you can solder your own charging device at these two locations. These are designated as IN- and IN+ points. These two points will be used to power this board. The battery will be attached to the BAT+ and BAT- indicated points. To charge the battery, the board needs an input voltage of 4.5 to 5.5 volts.
This board is offered in two different variants on the market. one with and one without a battery discharge protection module. Both boards provide a 1A charging current and then stop when the charge is complete.
Additionally, to prevent the cell from operating at too low a voltage (such as on a cloudy day), the one with protection switches the load off when the battery voltage drops below 2.4V. It also protects against over-voltage and reverse polarity connection (it will typically destroy itself rather than the battery), but please make sure you have it connected correctly the first time.
Copper Legs
I will solder these boards a little bit above the circuit board because they get really hot.
To do this, I’ll create the circuit board’s legs out of a strong copper wire. After that, I’ll slide the unit onto the legs and solder everything together. I’ll use 4 copper wires to create this circuit board’s 4 legs. To do this, you can also utilise male breakable pin headers in place of copper wire.
Assembly
The assembly is quite easy.
The IN+ and IN- of the TP4056 battery charging board are linked to the solar cell, respectively. For protection against reverse voltage, a diode is put at the positive end. The board’s BAT+ and BAT- are then connected to the battery’s +ve and -ve ends, respectively. (For charging the battery, it is all we require.)
We must now increase the output to 5 volts in order to power an Arduino board. This circuit will now have a 5v voltage booster added. By putting a switch in between, connect the battery’s -ve and +ve ends to the booster’s IN- and IN+, respectively. Let’s look at what I made now, all right? – Although I have directly linked the booster board to the charger, I still advise installing an SPDT switch in that location. Therefore, the battery is only charged when the gadget is charging it; it is not being utilized.
The lithium battery charger (TP4056), whose output is coupled to the 18560 lithium battery, has solar cells connected to its input. Additionally attached to the battery is a 5V step-up voltage booster, which raises the voltage from 3.7V dc to 5V dc.
The voltage used for charging is normally 4.2V. The input of a voltage booster spans from 0.9 to 5.0V. Input voltage will therefore be roughly 3.7V when the battery is being discharged and 4.2V when it is being recharged. The booster’s output will continue to be 5V to the remainder of the circuit.
Testing
Using this project to power a remote data recorder will be very beneficial. As we all know, a remote logger’s power source is a constant issue, and most of the time there isn’t a power outlet nearby. You are compelled to employ some batteries to power your circuit in that case.
But soon the battery will run out of power. Do you wish to travel there in order to recharge the battery? For a circumstance like this, our simple solar charger idea will be a great option to power an Arduino board.
This hack can also address the Arduino’s efficiency problem while it is sleeping. Sleep reduces battery use, however sensors and power regulators (7805), which operate in idle mode, continue to deplete the battery. We can fix the issue by charging the battery as we use it.
Hope you find this project simple. Superkitz will be back soon with more informative blogs. Thank You Bye.
