- Sun Nov 30, 2014 11:58 pm
#177297
Hi guys, I am quite new in electronic projects and my basics are quite limited. I've been reading a lot regarding this topic (refer to the tittle) and I am currently working out to buy the suitable solar panel and battery for my project. The price is expensive, so I need to ensure I made the right choices.
1. My project
We assume the battery need to power the RPi for about 15 hours (assume 5pm – 8am without sunlight in Malaysia) without having the solar panel charging the battery. This means, it will rely on the battery solely for 15 hours. the power consumption is ~5.25 W or ~1200mA (with wifi dongle,camera,and IR sensor connected at GPIO)
In brief, a proper Power Supply to the RPi must be rated at 5V regulated, 2A and that the power consumption would be around 5.25 W.
How to proceed in calculating suitable Solar Panel, regulator and Battery?
2. Running RPi from Solar Power (and battery) Example
From viewtopic.php?f=63&t=13901
“…I used a 50 watt solar panel, a 20 Ah Lithium battery, and a charge controller that was made for that particular battery. I also used a USB car charger to convert the 12 volts from the battery down to 5 volts… this setup is working perfectly. I've had several cloudy days with no issues. The Pi keeps on running! I also see the controller charging the battery (and running the Pi) when there is fairly low light, so I think the 50 watt panel was the way to go…”
But this might be an overkill?
3. Some choices
Solar Panel
http://www.lelong.com.my/20-watt-solar- ... -Std-P.htm
This one gives 12V 20W
Battery
http://solarpower-mart.com/solar_battery
12AH, 12V
1. My project
We assume the battery need to power the RPi for about 15 hours (assume 5pm – 8am without sunlight in Malaysia) without having the solar panel charging the battery. This means, it will rely on the battery solely for 15 hours. the power consumption is ~5.25 W or ~1200mA (with wifi dongle,camera,and IR sensor connected at GPIO)
In brief, a proper Power Supply to the RPi must be rated at 5V regulated, 2A and that the power consumption would be around 5.25 W.
How to proceed in calculating suitable Solar Panel, regulator and Battery?
2. Running RPi from Solar Power (and battery) Example
From viewtopic.php?f=63&t=13901
“…I used a 50 watt solar panel, a 20 Ah Lithium battery, and a charge controller that was made for that particular battery. I also used a USB car charger to convert the 12 volts from the battery down to 5 volts… this setup is working perfectly. I've had several cloudy days with no issues. The Pi keeps on running! I also see the controller charging the battery (and running the Pi) when there is fairly low light, so I think the 50 watt panel was the way to go…”
But this might be an overkill?
3. Some choices
Solar Panel
http://www.lelong.com.my/20-watt-solar- ... -Std-P.htm
This one gives 12V 20W
Battery
http://solarpower-mart.com/solar_battery
12AH, 12V