3.5V Solar Panel AA Battery Charger

by ManuLab DIY in Workshop > Solar

8233 Views, 34 Favorites, 0 Comments

3.5V Solar Panel AA Battery Charger

temp_-12928351.jpg
Hi everyone,
I'm Manuel and this is my first instructable so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to post a comment.
Today I'm going to show how to make a simple aa battery charger using the light of the sun.

Materials:

temp_-926621929.jpg
temp_-2059696899.jpg
temp_1155135550.jpg
temp_1479199940.jpg
For this project you need:

- A solar garden light (mine was bought in a dollar store)
- A diode with low voltage drop (I suggest 1n914)
- AA battery holder
- Soldering iron
- An obviously rechargeable batteries

Solar Panel

temp_1512039810.jpg
temp_293879186.jpg
temp_-392416375.jpg
temp_-866977744.jpg
Now remove the solar unit from the steak and open the unit by unscrewing the three screws at the bottom.
Inside there is a small circuit (with a transistor,a resistor and a led) and an AAA ni-mh battery.
The panel is at the top and it's easy to remove.

Connections

temp_866480736.jpg
At this point, using a soldering iron, solder the two wires of the panel to the positive and negative wires of the battery case.
WARNING: respect the polarity of the 2 wires otherwise battery will heat up and they can explode.

Conclusion:

temp_1607343386.jpg
It takes a lot to charge up the batteries but it's an interesting project about "green energy".
I hope you enjoy this instructable and soon I'll post another project regarding solar energy... so stay connected!