Build Your Own Solar Panel Charge Controller

The first thing the charge controller does is to prevent overcharging.

Build your own solar panel charge controller.

Hello friends today i am back with another project called diy automatic solar charge controller. It s an automatic switching circuit that used to control the charging of a battery from solar panels or any other source. 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. It s a 555 based simple circui.

To charge a battery with a solar panel connect a charge connector to the solar panel. 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. 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. Then run wires from the battery to the charge connector making sure to match the positive and negative poles.

Diy automatic solar charge controller. 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. Illuminating an exterior storage shack seemed like a good use for the panel so i set out to build the electronics around this. Run the wires from the terminal block to the charge controller using color coded wire to keep track of the charges.

There are two types of charge controller that meet this need. I ve owned a small 5w 12v solar panel for a number of years. 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. Connect your panel to a charge controller.

In produce your own printed circuits i. In the simplest of terms a solar charge controller regulates the power that is transferring from a solar panel to a battery.