12v Solar Panel Uses
Solar Panel – Battery Charger 12V?
Hello Yahoo,
I am doing another one of my wacky inventions however I need something that will give me 12V of power!
I don’t want to connect loads of AA batteries into a battery holder as this shall run out quickly and become expensive in the long run, I don’t want to carry around a big car battery either.
I have been searching around on amazon.co.uk and found some Solar-Powered 12V Trickle Chargers.
These say they shall work on cloudy days (which is perfect as the majority of the time that is all we get!) but could I use it as an independent power source?
If I attached the thing I want to run to the solar panel will it supply it with 12V of power?
If you want to run something from a solar panel, you should remember that the power from the panel is only available when there is reasonable sunshine on the panel. Usually the solar panels are used with solar regulators in order to charge batteries. These batteries are used as energy storage for when the sun is not shining.
Now, this does not mean that you cannot drive instruments directly from the solar panel and regulator. To do this, you will need a panel that has sufficient power to drive your instrument. An example is the solar powered garden or fountain pumps. I have driven 12V computer fans directly from the small solar panels – useful for cooling of things such as pool pump housings.
The solar regulator is used to convert the solar panel output to a 13.5V output in order to charge lead acid batteries. I have used MPPT regulators (maximum power point tracking) which is more efficient than the standard solar regulator. If you don’t use these regulators you may find the solar panel producing up to 17-19V in good sunshine which is not good for your instruments that are expecting 12-13V. Hence the answer to your question is that you will need to have a battery being charged to get useful power from the solar panels via a solar regulator.
How to use higher voltage solar panels for OFF GRID 12v, 24, & 48v battery banks.mp4
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Sunforce 7 Amp Charge Controller $17.36 The Sunforce 60012 7 Amp Charge Controller prevents overcharging of 12-volt batteries. It is intended for use with 12-volt solar panels, and can handle up to 7 amps of array current and up to 100 watts of solar power. The controller is easy to use with a charging light that indicates that your battery is charging, and a green light that indicates a fully charged battery. The 60012 measures 4 x 1 x… |