Blog - Solar regulators

Solar powered Raspberry Pi

Solar powered Raspberry Pi

20.May 2016
| Blog - Solar regulators

Raspberry Pi (RPI) is a successful piece of hardware and it is often used in industrial applications. But what to do if you need to use it in a place without a connection to the power source?

The solution is the possibility to power it by solar panel RPI!


 

RPI is powered via 5V microUSB, which is in many cases advantageous. But there is a problem with smaller solar panels because of their typical nominal voltage of 12V. To change the voltage with a DC-DC convertor is not a suitable solution either because of power loss. There are small solar panels, but their performance is obviously too small.

RPI has to be powered at least with a source of 700 mA 5V ie with some reserves it is possible to count with the consumption of 5W without other associated peripherals. The connection of the 5Wp solar panel is not sufficient, since it is its maximum performance in ideal conditions and with a cloudy sky the panel powered like this will have output only 0.5W. You must also have enough power to recharge the battery during the day to cover consumption overnight.

An applicable solution is PWM solar regulator REG-LS2024EU that works with 12V or 24V, but simultaneously has a 5V USB output:

If it is an application which allows the power failures during long-term poor solar conditions, then 20Wp or 40Wp solar panel connected to the input of controller, may be used.

For continuous operation without power failures caused by conditions that may occur in the Czech Republic, it is necessary to use more efficient solar panel with power even 260Wp. If it is cloudy in winter (with almost 16 hours of darkness), the panel may have the output only 25W during the day which 5W for RPi charging and 20W for battery charging.

It is possible to use for example 12V LiFePO4 accumulator 7Ah or 12Ah as a battery. The advantage of these accumulators is very long life and proven durability of several thousand cycles, so it is not necessary to change the battery during the life of the system. Of course, cheaper lead / gel batteries with a shorter lifespan and a rapid decline in capacity can be also used.

For continuous operation 12Ah accumulator is a minimum.

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