Using Solar Panels to Charge a 12V Battery

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  • elkirbydiablo
    Junior Member
    • Aug 2010
    • 2
    #1

    Using Solar Panels to Charge a 12V Battery

    Hi,

    I was wondering what type of solar panel would be required to maintain the charge on a 12V battery (such as a marine battery). The battery will be connected to a device that requires a continuous amount of power similar to that of a cell phone.
    Also, would a marine battery be a good choice to use?

    Thanks in advance for your help!
    Tags: battery, design, offgrid, solar power
    • Mike90250
      Moderator
      • May 2009
      • 16020
      #2
      Just guessing here, but I think a 10 - 50W panel would work, a 10 w panel would just need a blocking diode to keep the battery from discharging at night. More than 15W would need a charge controller to keep from overcharging the battery.
      VW puts a 5W panel in the dash of their cars being shipped from overseas, and those can be found on ebay often. Two of those should do you well. (but they are not weatherproof)
      Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
      || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
      || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

      solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
      gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

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        • elkirbydiablo
          Junior Member
          • Aug 2010
          • 2
          #3
          That seems pretty reasonable. I'm working on a prototype design right now, but when that is up and running, I will need to make a few hundred hundred units, each needing its own solar panel. They will all need to work independently. What are some good places to buy them like that? I noticed a lot of solar panel companies only do large grid setups, and won't sell individual panels.
          Thanks for the advice.

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            • yoogesh
              Junior Member
              • Jun 2011
              • 1
              #4
              Blocking Diode

              Originally posted by elkirbydiablo
              That seems pretty reasonable. I'm working on a prototype design right now, but when that is up and running, I will need to make a few hundred hundred units, each needing its own solar panel. They will all need to work independently. What are some good places to buy them like that? I noticed a lot of solar panel companies only do large grid setups, and won't sell individual panels.
              Thanks for the advice.
              Hello Mark,

              I have Solar panel which give me output of 12 to 17 VDC. I do have PWM kit to control the baterry charging. But as you stated above baterry sending reverse when Solar panel is less Volt than 12 VDC battery. I would like to use blocking diode... what valeue's diode I should use to prevent reverse supply...?

              Regards,
              Yogesh.

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