How to Charge a Battery With a Solar Panel

Solar energy is in the news today from powering whole cities to simply powering a reading lamp in some remote rural home in India. They have become indispensable in these particular applications, but what about your personal use of this great technology?

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Some knowledge of electronic circuits would be very helpful along with knowledge of electronic components

1. 
    
   A fairly simple solar battery charger

   What Will You Need To Design Your Own Battery Charger For Any Purpose?
   
   The basic circuit will be tied to one or more solar panels. The circuit will have to provide a means of controlling the current flow through the battery along with a means of providing a reference voltage to the battery.
   Just copy photo circuit diagram by mousing over and right clicking on photo.

2. Sources For Procuring Parts List
   
   Allied Electronics http://www.alliedelec.com/
   
   All Electronics Corp. http://www.allelectronics.com/
   
   DigiKey Corp. http://www.digikey.com/
   
   Newark http://www.newark.com/

3. Helpful Equipment That Will Come In Handy
   
   A digital VOM [volt ohm meter]
   An oscilloscope
   A perforated prototyping breadboard
   
   You will also find the old standby analogue VOM very useful in the troubleshooting phase. You will find it indispensable for checking diodes.