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Design And Construction Of A Solar Powered Automatic Battery Charger For 6 And 12V Lead Acid Battery

Electrical Electronics Engineering | Engineering

The design and construction of a solar-powered automatic battery charger for 6 and 12V lead-acid batteries involve integrating solar panels, a charge controller, and a voltage regulator into a cohesive system. Solar panels harness sunlight and convert it into electricity, which is then regulated and directed by the charge controller to prevent overcharging and ensure optimal charging efficiency for both 6 and 12V lead-acid batteries. The voltage regulator maintains a steady output voltage suitable for charging the batteries safely. Additionally, the charger includes automatic features such as voltage detection and cutoff mechanisms to safeguard against overvoltage and reverse polarity. The system’s design encompasses considerations for durability, weatherproofing, and efficiency, allowing for reliable operation in various environmental conditions while maximizing the charging capacity of the batteries.

ABSTRACT

This project is titled the design and construction of a solar battery charger. It is designed to meet up with the higher demand of power supply needed to keep our battery charged.

Solar battery charger is an electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. It does this by the use of solar panel which is a form of photoelectric cell (in that its electrical characteristics e.g. current, voltage, or resistance vary when light is incident upon it) which, when exposed to light, can generate and support an electric current without being attached to any external voltage source.

This work is aimed at constructing a solar battery charger system which receives 15v dc from the solar panel and convert it to the level that can be safe to the acid battery of 6 and 12v.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWELDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

AIM OF THE PROJECT
OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
LIMITATION OF THE PROJECT
BUILDING BLOCK OF A SOLAR PANEL

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

BACKGROUND LITERATURE SURVEY
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF SOLAR CELLS
THEORY OF SOLAR CELLS
EFFICIENCIES OF SOLAR PANEL
BENEFITS OF SOLAR BATTERY CHARGERS

CHAPTER THREE

SYSTEM DESIGN

BLOCK DIAGRAM OF THE SYSTEM
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM OF THE SYSTEM
SOLAR BATTERY CHARGER CIRCUIT PRINCIPLE
CIRCUIT COMPONENTS
SOLAR BATTERY CHARGER CIRCUIT DESIGN
HOW TO OPERATE THIS SOLAR BATTERY CHARGER CIRCUIT
WOODEN ENCLOSURE PARTS
TOOLS
CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURES
DEFINITION OF MAJOR COMPONENTS USED

CHAPTER FOUR

TESTING AND RESULTS

CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURE AND TESTING
INSTALLATION OF THE COMPLET DESIGN
ASSEMBLING OF SECTIONS
TESTING OF SYSTEM OPERATION
COST ANALYSIS
SOLAR PANEL MOUNTING

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION
RECOMMENDATION
REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Given the current energy crisis and increasing need for sustainable energy, we endeavored to create a cost-effective, small-scale electrical generator which could be used to power consumer electronics. Solar energy has proven its worth as an alternative energy source because it is low-impact and emission-free. It has been implemented with much success for power grids with hundreds of acres of enormous solar concentrators [1]. In the small-scale, solar energy has been harvested through the use of photovoltaic (PV) panels and have been used to power anything from an iPod to a residential home. Although PV systems are considered part of the green energy revolution, materials utilized for its construction (like silicon) are extremely dangerous to the environment and much care must be taken to ensure that they are recycled properly. PV cells also only utilize the energy stored in specific wavelengths of light and therefore have an approximate efficiency between 14-19%. Sunlight, however, produces immense amounts of heat which only serves to heat up the surface of the solar cell. Although there are some PV cells that have reached efficiency levels over 40% (world record is 41.6%), they are enormously complex and expensive. Concentrated solar power (CSP) works differently because it focuses solar energy in its entirety rather than absorb it. Ultimately, our group will be designing and producing a Solar Powered Battery

Solar battery charger is an electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. Solar chargers use solar panels to charge cell phone batteries. They are an alternative to conventional electrical battery chargers and in some cases can be plugged into an electrical outlet [2].

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Traditional chargers are limited to be powered with mains supply which when power fails charging of battery becomes a challenge. Also, most traditional batteries in market today is limited to charge specific battery with a specific voltage rating, and this becomes a challenge when the need for charging a battery with higher or lower voltages arise. To overcome these mentioned challenges this project was proposed which has the capacity of being powered with renewable energy and also have the feature of charging 6 and 12v batteries.

1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

The main of this work is to design a device that will charge a 6v as well as 12v acid lead battery. The objectives are:

To provide constant electricity supply or those on the go with portable solar power charging systems.
To integrate solar energy with battery charger

To provide a sustainable energy to a battery charger

1.4 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

The scope of this work covers building a solar charger which is an excellent one in that it’s meant to allow you an option for charging your 6 and 12v lead acid battery. In this work, the selection of the required voltages is done using a potentiometer which is used to tune to the right and required voltage.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT

There are several advantages you enjoy when you use a solar charger instead of a conventional mains charger. The energy savings. Unlike conventional energy resources that produce and consume a lot of waste energy from a solar charger draws energy from renewable sources and produces no waste. You can solar charger to use, you can go anywhere, provided you have access to solar energy.

The main advantage behind the invention of these solar powered charges is to save large amount of electrical energy. The solar panels of which will help in converting the solar energy from the sun into electrical energy through various reactions.

Other advantages of solar powered charges reside in the fact that they allow you to access power outside the national grid. You can charge yours phones even while traveling without depending on electricity. This property has made it possible to make use of these cell phone chargers at any possible place.

The last one is these solar powered charges are eco/environment-friendly. They don’t produce harmful waste, and can be used anytime and anywhere that there is daylight.

1.5 LIMITATION OF THE PROJECT

There are some disadvantages to solar chargers powered by the sun. The most obvious of course is that if it’s a cloudy or overcast day, your solar powered charger isn’t going to be able to garner the energy it needs from the sun in order to function. Usually, it needs direct sun in order to store enough in the battery to work efficiently.

Another disadvantage to the current solar phone chargers is that the amount of power they are capable of generating isn’t always enough to keep up with the amount of power required by today’s highly functional appliances.

Some analysts say that in order to meet and exceed the power needs of most battery-powered appliances, the solar charger will have to be larger in order to capture more of the sun’s energy more quickly. However, this poses a problem when it comes to the transport and convenience of the charger.

Another drawback is that solar chargers are not typically able to generate enough power for a full charge.

1.6 BUILDING BLOCK OF A SOLAR PANEL

Assemblies of photovoltaic cells are used to make solar modules which generate electrical power from sunlight. Multiple cells in an integrated group, all oriented in one plane, constitute a solar photovoltaic panel or “solar photovoltaic module,” as distinguished from a “solar thermal module” or “solar hot water panel.” The electrical energy generated from solar modules, referred to as solar power, is an example of solar energy. A group of connected solar modules (such as prior to installation on a pole-mounted tracker system) is called an “array.”