Using sunlight to generate electricity is a clean and affordable alternative to traditional energy resources like coal, petroleum, natural

gas, and other types of fossil fuels.

Solar energy is a popular resource for alternative energy. (Via: homesolarpowersystems.org)

Many are aware of solar energy, but few understand the technological basics behind it. The following are some of the more important particulars to this popular form of alternative energy: 1. The (very) short history behind solar technology

Solar energy was first used to power satellites in the 1950s. (Via: alternative-energy-action-now.com)

Efficient, modern-day solar cells came about in the early 1950s. The first satellite powered by solar cells was deployed in 1958. In the mid-1970s, solar cells started being used for earth-based industrial applications like telecommunications, navigational aids,

and microwave, TV, and radio repeater stations. Solar cells were first used to power urban-based devices in the mid-1980s. These applications included roadside emergency telephones and traffic signs. As the cost of the technology continues to go down, and the cost of fossil fuels continues to rise, solar cells are fast becoming an affordable alternative energy resource for businesses and homes. 2. Basics behind how solar cells work Solar cells typically come in the form of a thin semiconductor wafer. They are specially treated by a process called doping to form an electric field, positive on one side (referred to as p-type) and negative on the other (called n-type). When light strikes the solar cell, its photons knock electrons loose from the atoms in the semiconductor material (typically crystalline silicone). To capture these free electrons (called charge carriers), electrical conductors are attached to the positive and negative sides to form an electrical circuit. The electricity drawn from the circuit can then be used to power a load. This is known as the photovoltaic effect.

A brief overview of how solar energy panels work. (Via: about-solarenergy.com)

The current, together with the cells voltage, defines the power that the cell can produce. On average, solar cells convert 5% to 15% of the solar energy they receive into electricity. This range will continue to increase, though, as the technology in this field continues to advance. 3. Components and forms of PV technology Components for converting sunlight to electricity include a module, support structure, wiring, inverter, meter, and other equipment. When the solar cells are combined, they form solar modules, also referred to as solar panels. These panels consist of a series of solar cells wired together and enclosed in a self-contained glass unit. On the sunward side, the solar cells are protected by a highly transparent solar glass pane. The underside is generally an insulating film or second pane of glass. Modules are connected via cables, which link them to the inverter. A connection socket is responsible for gathering the generated direct current. A solar panel array is a specially designed interconnected system of solar panels which function as a single electricity-producing unit. They are generally located in discrete, sunny areas, like roofs or remote, treeless locations, and typically share a support or mounting.

An array of solar panels in a remote location.

4. Solar energy and weather A technology that is solely reliant upon light in order to produce energy begs the obvious question: How well do solar panels work on cloudy days?

Solar energy panels can still operate during overcast days. (Via: gereports.com)

Well, believe it or not, a cloudy day can still produce a sufficient amount of diffused light in order for the panel to produce electricity. Naturally, its not as much as it would produce on a sunny day: a solar panel will only produce about half as much electricity as it normally would. Conversion efficiency can go down to as little as 5% on dark, overcast days. This is why most solar systems include a battery storage system as a backup power source. With grid-connected applications, a solar energy system actually works in conjunction with the local utility power grid. If electrical needs ever exceed solar power output, the utility grid will make up for the shortfall. And whenever the solar system generates more energy than necessary, the excess power gets fed to the utility grid, reversing the electrical meter. Also worth pointing out is that, despite popular technology folklore, solar panels will still work in the winter. They are only affected during this time of year by the shorter days (meaning fewer daylight hours) and the possibility that the panels could be covered with snow (in which case theyll stop producing power). 5. Safety and the environment Its surprising the number of people who question the safety of solar cells. Plain and simple: Theyre an incredibly safe way to produce electricity. Remember, these cells are mostly made up of silicon, so their primary component is sand; theres no exhaust or toxic materials that could potentially leak from this system. The electricity that comes through the inverter is the same as that which comes from a household wall socket; as such, it should be treated with the same level of care.

As far as maintenance is concerned, solar panels are best cleaned with a non-abrasive cleansing agent. Naturally, battery connections and fuse holders should be kept clean and dry. In terms of the environment, there are no pollutants produced with solar energy. In fact, a typical system cuts greenhouse gas emissions as effectively as planting a couple of dozen trees.

Solar panels can be installed in remote locations without fear of adverse effects on the local environment. (Via: guardian.co.uk)

Conclusion While the technology behind solar energy might sound a bit complicated, running a system is fairly simple. There are no moving parts to wear out, so replacement pieces are, by and large, unnecessary. These systems are quiet, reliable, and if maintained properly, long lasting, as well
A small solar panel makes an excellent battery charger for AA and AAA rechargeable batteries. Only a few components are required and construction is very simple making this a perfect first renewable energy project. Rechargeable AA and AAA batteries have a voltage of around 1.2 Volts when fully charged. Therefore 2 in series gives a total of 2.4 Volts, 4 in series 4.8 Volts. Common solar panel output voltages are 3 Volts (for example the 3V 100ma solar panels in the REUK Shop), and 6 volts - perfect for charging 2 or 4 batteries respectively.

The Limitations of a Basic Solar Charger

Details on making the simplest kind of Solar Battery Charger are available here. Unfortunately this setup has one serious limitation - the solar panel has to be well matched to the batteries to be charged or the batteries may be overcharged. If you later decide to charge batteries with a different capacity, you would need to change the solar panel.

Current

Current is the most important factor in any battery charger. As long as the voltage of the solar panel is greater than the total fully charged voltage of the batteries, the batteries will be charged . If the current is too little, the batteries will charge very slowly. If the current is too high the batteries will be charged too fast, are at risk of being overcharged, may overheat, and have their usable lifetime reduced. Therefore the next development step is to make a current limited battery charger.

Safe Battery Charging Current

Since we are still making a simple solar charger it will not automatically turn off when the batteries are full. Therefore we need to keep the charging current low enough that it will not damage the batteries even when they are fully charged. A current of around 10% of battery capacity gives the right balance of charging speed and safety - for example, 2700mah AA rechargeable batteries should be charged with a current of 10% of 2700 = 270ma. To charge the batteries faster a higher current could be used, but the chance of the batteries being overcharged would increase.

Limiting Current with an LM317T The LM317T is a voltage regulator chip. It can also be used with a suitable resistor to regulate current.
Full details on how this works are available here in our guide to using the LM317T with LED lighting.

The value of the resistor required is given by Ohm's Law as 1.25V divided by the output current required. (The 1.25V is the regulated output from the LM317T's ADJ output.) The higher the input voltage and current, the more heat will be generated by the LM317T since the output current is fixed and the extra power has to go somewhere. The LM317T will cope with currents of up to 1.5 Amps and so will have no problem at all with small solar panels.

Choosing the Resistor for the LM317T Current Limiting Circuit

Resistors are only available in certain values - e.g. 5.6 Ohms and 6.8 Ohms, but not 6.2 Ohms. Below is a table of available resistor values together with the output current generated if each resistor is used in an LM317T current limiting circuit (R = resistance, I = current). R (Ohms) 3.9 4.7 5.6 6.8 8.2 10 I (mA) 12 15 18 22 27 33

321 266 223 184 152 125 104.2 83.3 69.4 56.8 46.3 37.9

Therefore using the table above we can see that to charge 1000mah AAA rechargeable batteries with a current of 100ma, a 12 Ohm resistor would be perfect. A 15 Ohm resistor would reduce the current and slow down charging, a 10 Ohm resistor would increase the current and speed up charging.

Example Solar Battery Charger with LM317T

In this example we will make a solar charger using a 6 Volt 250ma Solar Panel to charge four 800mah AAA batteries. The batteries can be put into a couple of 2 x AAA battery holders and wired in series (link the positive output from one battery holder to the negative of the other).

This gives us 4 x 1.2 = 4.8 Volts with a capacity of 800mah - therefore we want a charging current of around 80ma. According to the table above, a 15 Ohm resistor gives a fixed current of 83.3 milliamps which will be perfect.

The power loss in the resistor is again given by Ohm's Law as I * I * R = 0.0833 * 0.0833 * 15 = 0.10 Watts, therefore we can safely use a standard 0.25 Watt 15 Ohm resistor.
For testing the circuit photographed below was built using prototyping breadboard. The circuit is connected between the positive output of the solar panel and the one free positive lead of the battery holders.

A digital multimeter has been used to measure the actual current output by the circuit - in this case 84.1ma is a little higher than the expected 83.3ma since resistor values are not exact, and the ADJ voltage output from the LM317T is not exactly 1.25 Volts.

Complete Current Limited Solar Battery Charger Circuit

The negative lead from the solar panel should be connected to the free negative input of the battery holders. The positive lead from the solar panel is connected to the positive input of the current limiting circuit, and the output from that circuit connected to the free positive lead of the battery holders. You now have an improved solar charger which will send a fixed amount of current (sunlight permitting) to the batteries. Charging from flat would take around 10 hours of sunlight in this worked example and you do not need to worry about overcharging your batteries. A final enhancement would be to incorporate a simple battery status monitor using a Zener diode to light an LED when the battery voltage reaches the