Implementation Of Solar Powered Battery Charger With Reverse Current Protection

ABSTRACT

This project is on solar powered battery charger with reverse current protection. 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 – likely 13.6v and to protect the panel and battery from damage.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWELDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

• PROBLEM STATEMENT
• AIM AND 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 USE

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

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. 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.

1.2                                                  PROBLEM STATEMENT

Conventional battery charger being it solar or mains charger has the challenge of reversing battery current when the charging source is no longer available. For the case of solar charger, during the sunset  when there is no sunshine the solar panel will stop supplying charging current to the circuit, if there is no reverse current protection the battery will experience a discharge which can empty the battery thereby affect the cell of the battery. In other to protect the battery from such defect a reverse protection circuit is needed.

1.2                                   AIM AND OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

The main aim of this work is to build a solar battery charger with a reverse current protection. The objectives of the work are:

1. To build the prototype of the device that will help keep some battery-powered appliances service by providing you with a portable personal charging system.
2. To provide constant electricity supply or those on the go with portable solar power charging systems (with or without battery) to power their battery-powered appliances to enable them work for the purpose they are been made.

• To protect the battery and solar panel from damages

1.2                                                 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

The scope of this work covers building a solar powered battery charger with reverse current protection. Battery-reversal protection used in this work  is a diode in series with the positive supply line. The diode allows current from a correctly installed battery to flow to the load and blocks current flow to a backward-installed battery.

1.4                                                      SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT

There are several advantages one 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.

Reverse current protection circuits prevent damage to the solar panel and battery in the event of a reverse current applied at the input or output terminals. Reverse voltage protection is implemented at the input of the power supply

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.”