Solar Panel Battery Charging System
Despite the fact that solar panels have been gaining popularity with the passage of time all over the world, people still have concerns about solar panel battery charging systems, particularly with regards to charging batteries such as lead-acid batteries. Experts in the field are often asked questions like, “Do they work for anything else other than charging a cell phone or a laptop?” “Can they really charge car batteries?”
“How can such a small solar panel provide so much energy?”
Well the answer is a “yes”; a solar panel battery charging system can actually be used to charge your car’s battery in conjunction with other rechargeable devices such as mobile phone and laptop batteries.
A solar panel battery charging system works in the following two ways:
• It fully recharges the battery.
or
• It provides ‘trickle charging’. This means that the battery is continuously provided with a low level current to maintain its charge.
What is a Solar Panel Battery Charging System and How Does it Work?
A solar panel battery charging system has built-in photovoltaic solar panel that captures sunlight converts it into electrical energy and then supplies it to the connected battery. Although the technology is similar to the one used in commercial and residential solar panels, there is a huge difference in the output. A solar battery charger usually provides around 500-1500 milliamperes of current only. However, this may vary a bit depending on the quality of the charger and the availability of sunlight.
The main component present in solar charging systems is a charge controller. A charge controller converts the output voltage from a solar panel to a voltage which is more suitable for battery charging; for example, if you want to charge your car battery (lead-acid battery), you will need to supply the 12 Volts battery with a voltage of 16 Volts. That means the solar charger will charge your car battery to a voltage of 14.4 Volts (2.4 Volts per cell).
Charge controllers are also available for cell phone and laptop batteries as well. These batteries are lithium-ion batteries and they work differently from lead-acid batteries. For example, charge controllers for a 10.8 Volts lithium-ion battery are available; this type of battery has 3 cells connected in series. Each cell produces a voltage of 3.6 Volts.
Low cost charge controllers produce the desired voltage as long as an adequate amount of sunlight is present. As soon as the light source diminishes, the charge controller stops working. On the flipside, advanced charge controllers work even in low-light conditions by adjusting the current and measuring the voltage to acquire the maximum amount of power. This is achieved through a process known as ‘maximum power point tracking’ (MPPT).
In addition to being environmentally friendly, solar battery chargers are also economical. Since you do not get a bill for using sunlight, it can be used as much as possible. There are different types and sizes of solar chargers available in the market. Just make sure that you buy a good quality solar panel battery charging system for your car battery or any other rechargeable battery to make it a lifetime investment.