Abstract:
A solar charger for outdoor use can be very useful when utility supply is remote. For
camping, mountain climbing or other activities, the particular solar charger must meet
certain requirements such as lightweight, adequate and flexible power, robustness etc. The
purpose of the project is to develop a portable device or equipment to SUPPLY or to
CHARGE mainly 2 types of portable devices: the mobile phones and netbook (in sleep mode).
The solar panel is used as renewable power source. A table of specifications was defined.
Since the project was targeted for diploma FYP, power scale has been reduced to minimize
cost. As such, performance was much compromised. In this project, the solar panel produces
14.0 volts, feeding a charge controller. The latter charges a battery bank composed of
rechargeable lithium ion cells. To create 2 outputs, 2 DC-DC converters are connected,
providing 5V and 19 Volts. Simple circuitry and LEDs are connected to monitor battery bank
levels. Finally, a portable solar charger was created. The battery bank can be fully charged
after 2 days. An entry level smartphone can be 100% fully charged. However, the netbook
can be charged up to 50% and only in sleep mode. As a conclusion, this project can be
improved with more investment to increase performance.
