SIMPLY THE DIMESION WOULD BE DIFFERENT. THE ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS ARE FINE.
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SIMPLY THE DIMESION WOULD BE DIFFERENT. THE ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS ARE FINE.
Thank you for your email, I am afraid the size could not be adjusted.
Best Regards
Cullen
Thank you for your question, I would recommend you use a diode when attempting this. The diode would prevent the flow of electrical current in the wrong direction which could damage the existing battery pack inside the solar light.
We have some more details on this in our 2168 project kit, particularly the resources at the bottom of the page. I would recommend using the diode from there which is a BAT41 Signal Diode.
https://www.kitronik.co.uk/2168-solar-power-starter-kit.html
Best Regards
Cullen
In theory yes as the micro:bit draws around 100mA of current but you would likely struggle as the current draw of the micro:bit will fluctuate up and down and the solar cell can experience voltage and current drops as the sunlight weakens so would not be suitable for a steady supply.
The better way of doing this would be to use a solar cell to charge rechargeable batteries and have the batteries power the micro:bit.
Best
Cullen
If you connect it directly to a component then it should still be powered, provided it can supply enough current. It just helps to add a diode into the circuit.
Also, would a diode be necessary?
BW.
Hi John, After having a look into these batteries it is stressed that the original charger should be used to charge the batteries and you shouldn’t create/use a different charge. As such we aren’t able to provide any further recommendations other than this. Sorry.
Do you have a graph of output current versus light level. I need to charge a 3V Lithium Ion Cell of 250mAh capacity with the light levels of a typical English winters day of 7 hours daylight. Can it be done? (250/7 = 35mA/hour.)
Regards
Hi Pete, We have looked into this via a datasheet and testing this ourselves and unfortunately during winter sun you wouldn’t be able to get the solar cell to output enough current to charge this battery. During direct sun it would be able to, but shaded or indirect sun light wouldn’t be able to produce enough voltage or current.
Thanks
You could in theory use a solar cell to charge a battery. To charge a 9V battery you would want to us 2 5V solar cells, https://www.kitronik.co.uk/3608-50v-130ma-polycrystalline-solar-cell.html connected in series along with your diode. This will drop the voltage from 10V’s to around 9.3V’s, and depending on the capacity of the battery would depend on the length of time it would take to charge.
I have a dummy house alarm box on my shed, a solar panel charges 2 x 1.5 batteries to get 2 LED's to flash through the night, it works well but in the winter doesn't get enough light to flash the lights all the time, I was thinking of upgrading the solar panels and I could actually squeeze 2 of these (3.0V 100mA Polycrystalline Solar Cell) onto the alarm, this would be much larger than the one fitted, so if your still awake my question is would they need wiring in series or parallel? and should doubling up help create more charge for the battery?
Thanks
You would want to wire them in parallel and not series. Wiring in parallel would increase the mA and would keep the voltage the same, this way you would generate more charge without the increase in voltage. See attached a link to an image showing an example, http://theelectricenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/series-and-parallel-solar-cells-connected.jpg
regards
The maximum that can be outputted is 100mA, however this requires direct and constant sunlight. You will likely measure less than this depending on the intensity of the sun.
Can I connect that safely to a e-textile project (by fixing it on the frame of the textile picture)?
Could it provide enoough energy for 5 or more LEDs?
Can it connect with an Arduino device?
Thanks,
Melanie
You would need to connect the solar cells to some rechargeable batteries these would then be connected to the Arduino and LEDs. You would also need to use a diode to stop the batteries discharging through the solar cell when it gets dark.
I want to use this cell to light up a light bulb, but how pls? What size Lithium battery would I need and what would I connect to what to light up my ordinary old fashioned light bulb, please?
Ordinary light bulbs will only run from alternating current, batteries supply direct current and as such you wouldn’t be able to create this circuit.
I would advise you not to try to modify a charger for such a device as there's a good chance you could end up destroying your iPad or even starting a fire.
These devices all use Lithium type batteries which are known to catch fire if charged incorrectly or otherwise damaged.
1. Are these panels waterproof?
2. Can I wire 2 groups of 4 panels in series in parallel? So this would create a total of 12V output?
4 cells in series gives 12V yes. Two groups of 4 could also be put in parallel for more current. Please remember though that the current rating of the solar cells is an ideal maximum under perfect conditions. In reality you get a lot less.
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