Build Your Own Solar Panel Charge Controller

Connect your panel to a charge controller.

Build your own solar panel charge controller. In produce your own printed circuits i. It s a 555 based simple circui. Overall the project was a fun experience and the total amount of money that i spent was around 400 500 which includes the battery charge controller and deep cycle battery. To charge a battery with a solar panel connect a charge connector to the solar panel.

In the simplest of terms a solar charge controller regulates the power that is transferring from a solar panel to a battery. It s important to use a charge controller as it improves the efficiency of a solar powered system by up to 50 can prevent the batteries from being overcharged and will extend the battery s life when used correctly. There are two types of charge controller that meet this need. Illuminating an exterior storage shack seemed like a good use for the panel so i set out to build the electronics around this.

It s an automatic switching circuit that used to control the charging of a battery from solar panels or any other source. Purchase a charge controller and connect the panel to the controller making sure to connect the positive and negative correctly. Divide the wattage of the solar panel by the voltage of the battery to get the number of amps your charge connector needs to handle. Current is flowing into the batteries at all times during solar power generation and it s possible for too much power to be shoved into the batteries possibly damaging them and even creating a safety hazard.

I ve owned a small 5w 12v solar panel for a number of years. Run the wires from the terminal block to the charge controller using color coded wire to keep track of the charges. When i lived in an apartment there was little use for it but once i moved into a house i started thinking of practical uses for it. So i saved a large portion by building my own solar system since a commercial solar panel would have cost 400 on up for just the solar panel itself.

Construction building your own solar battery charge controller is a relatively straightforward electronics project based on a printed circuit board. The first thing the charge controller does is to prevent overcharging.