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pomtom44

128 posts

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#247943 4-Mar-2019 11:17
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Hi all
Im setting up a small raspberry pi based project, which will be solar powered, and im trying to wrap my head around what ill be needing to get it to work.

My understanding is you have this as a setup

Solar ------ Controller ------- Battery
                        I
                        I
                    Device

and the charge controller relays power between the components.

so looking at jaycar I have found the following 

https://www.jaycar.co.nz/12v-5w-solar-panel-with-clips/p/ZM9050
https://www.jaycar.co.nz/miniature-12v-3a-pwm-solar-charge-controller/p/MP3762
https://www.jaycar.co.nz/12v-2-2ah-sla-battery/p/SB2482

Based on some quick math, I know the battery will last for aprox 4 hours at full load.
Ill be running the Pi about 10 mins per day, so I calculate about 20-25 days usage from the battery alone.

So looking at the solar side, would the panel and charger I got work with the battery?
and assuming minimal usage from the Pi, would the charger be able to keep the battery topped up?

Sorry if its a stupid question, still new to solar and trying to understand it


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raytaylor
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  #2191077 5-Mar-2019 09:11
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You may need a 12v to USB adapter to convert the voltage down if the input is USB

 

Or a 12v to 5V adapter if the input is a 5v DC barrel connector. 

 

 

 

Assumptions for battery
- 2.5amps draw at 5v thats approx 1.25 amps at 12v.
- 10 mins run time per day is 0.25 amp hours on the battery. 
- The battery should not have a current draw of more than 10% of storage. So that means even though we only draw 0.25 amps per day, the current being drawn during the runtime is 1.25 amps. 1.25 amps is 10% of 12.5 amps. So the battery needs to be at least 12.5ah of capacity. Based on that we can use a 14ah battery because I am pretty sure you can get them at that size.

 

Solar Panel assumptions

 

- We have a 5 watts per day current draw (12v x 2.5amps x 0.1666 hours = 5 watts) 
- On a cloudy day the solar panel will output 10% of its rating if it is at the correct sun angle and conditions are good, short cable run etc.  We shall assume 5% if the panel is mounted flat. 
- 5 watts load is 5% of a 100 watt panel. Over 6 hours of overcast cloudy light thats only 16 watts. I think you could get away with a 10 watt panel which is only $60 from jaycar or a 20 watt panel that is $100 from jaycar. 

 

 

 

Solar controller 
- A 20 watt solar panel at 12v = 1.66 amps
- A 2.5 amp load 
- Minimum solar controller size is therefore 2.5 amps, the greater of the two. 
- Jaycar MP3750 is a 10 amp solar controller but is very cheap - less than $50 so will do the job well. Although it has a USB output, its only 1.25 amps so you will need a seperate one to power the device. 

 

 

 

Summary
- A 14ah battery gives you a month+ of daily usage at 10mins per day
- A 20 watt solar controller fully charges the battery on a cloudy day
- A good quality 12v 14ah SLA battery (UPS type/Alarm) should last a couple of years+ if kept between 20-25 degrees.  





Ray Taylor

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Spreadsheet for Comparing Electricity Plans Here


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