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solar powered battery

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akshayd

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dear members,

i was interested in charging a 6v, 4Ah battery using a 3Watt(6V, 0.5mAh) solar power panel... What would be the best way to do this.... Pls help me out with the circuits involved.

Regards,
akshayd
 
If it's got a diode built in, then just connect it directly across the battery, if it's not got a diode, then connect it through a diode.

I presume you mean 0.5A solar cell?, it won't have enough power to overcharge the battery!.
 
yes you are right

It is a 0.5A solar panel.... But, still do i not have to include a charging circuit that would prevent unnecessary discharging or maybe overcharging?
 
akshayd said:
It is a 0.5A solar panel.... But, still do i not have to include a charging circuit that would prevent unnecessary discharging or maybe overcharging?

A simple diode prevents discharging (as I mentioned above), and (as I also mentioned above) your panel isn't big enough to over charge it!. You will probably be very disappointed with how much power your panel will provide to the battery - most people are!.
 
You need more than 6V to charge the battery; you cell needs to be at least 7.6V to fully charge it, assuiming it's a lead acid battery that is.
 
the solar panel will produce 6V at 0.5A only at noon on the equator on a bright sunny day. Any other time or behind clouds or behind a window's glass will reduce its output a lot.
Your battery will never be fully charged and will charge a little for only about 1 hour each bright sunny day.
 
though it is specified as a 3W module.... when i observed the output voltage across it terminals.... it was around 9 V at noon.... but the current output was only around 400mA. I also wanted to know, if i reduced the battery capacity, what kind of charging circuit i might have to employ?
 
I also wanted to know, if i reduced the battery capacity, what kind of charging circuit i might have to employ
It depends on the chemistry of the battery... LeadAcid, NICAD, NIMH, LithiumIon, etc
 
akshayd said:
though it is specified as a 3W module.... when i observed the output voltage across it terminals.... it was around 9 V at noon.... but the current output was only around 400mA. I also wanted to know, if i reduced the battery capacity, what kind of charging circuit i might have to employ?

You first need to accurately record what the panel will actually provide over a number of days - it's probably too small to overcharge anything much!.

There are plenty of controller designs about if you google - but not for anything as small as you've got, because there's no need.
 
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