Week 7 : Methodology Part 1 - Charging System

My project will emphasize on 3 important parts, which is charging, motion detector and the lamp itself. Under charging parts, there are solar panel, charging controller and battery. The function of charging controller is to make sure, the battery will not be over-charged, when the battery is full. This is to make the lifespan of the battery longer.

Picture above is the solar panel, which convert sunlight to electricity. When light strikes the solar cell, electrons are knocked loose from the atoms in the semiconductor material. If electrical conductors are attached to the positive and negative sides, forming an electrical circuit, the electrons can be captured in the form of an electric current, which is electricity. the electricity can be used to power a load.

Picture shown above is a schematic diagram of a solar charging controller. The function is to keep battery from overcharging. It regulates the voltage and current coming from the solar panels going to the battery. Most 12V panels, put out about 16-20V, so if there is no regulation, the battery will be damaged from overcharging. Most battery need around 14V to 14.5V to get fully charged.

Picture shown above is a special battery for solar, which is a deep cycle battery. A deep-cycle battery is a lead-acid battery designed to be regularly deeply discharged using most of its capacity.