Grid-connected solar microinverter reference design
https://www.electronics-lab.com/grid-connected-solar-microinverter-reference-design/
A PDF from Microchip on the theory behind inverter design connected to grip power.: There are two main requirements for solar inverter systems: harvest available energy from the PV panel and inject a sinusoidal current into the grid in phase with the grid voltage. In order to harvest the energy out of the PV panel, […]
Researchers Developed Highly Durable Washable And Stretchable Solar Cells
https://www.electronics-lab.com/researchers-developed-highly-durable-stretchable-washable-solar-cells/
Scientists of Japanese research institute RIKEN and the University of Tokyo have successfully developed a product that allows solar cells to continue to provide solar power after being washed, stretched and compressed. Takao Someya of Riken Center for Emergent Matter Science, a designated national R&D Institute in Japan, led the research team. The research results were […]
Bismuth Oxyiodide (BiOI)—A Non-toxic Alternative To Solar Cells
https://www.electronics-lab.com/bismuth-oxyiodide-bioi-non-toxic-alternative-solar-cells/
Bismuth is considered as a “green-element” and bismuth-based compounds are gaining attention as potentially non-toxic and defect-tolerant solar absorbers. The researchers of the University of Cambridge and the United States developed theoretical and experimental methods to show that bismuth, which sits next to lead (Pb) on the periodic table, can be used to make inexpensive solar cells. […]
Using a supercapacitor for power management and energy storage with a small solar cell
https://www.electronics-lab.com/using-supercapacitor-power-management-energy-storage-small-solar-cell/
Jean Mars & Julia Leem @ edn.com writes: In Part 1 of this series, we have reviewed solar cell performance, how to select and size the supercapacitor, requirements of supercapacitor charging circuits and charging IC characteristics. We will now use two case studies to illustrate these properties in detail. Using a supercapacitor for power management […]
Circuit implements photovoltaic-module simulator
https://www.electronics-lab.com/circuit-implements-photovoltaic-module-simulator/
José M Blanes and Ausiàs Garrigós writes: Electronics engineers often use photovoltaic-module simulators to test dc/dc-power converters, inverters, or MPPT (maximum-power-point-tracking)-control techniques. The use of these simulators lets you work in the laboratory with predefined photovoltaic conditions, thus avoiding the drawbacks of real photovoltaic modules. Various commercial simulators are available, but they are often expensive. […]
How to connect a Solar Inverter in 10 minutes
https://www.electronics-lab.com/connect-solar-inverter-10-minutes/
Let’s connect a solar power inverter for AC voltage output in just 10 minutes. How to connect a Solar Inverter in 10 minutes – [Link]
MPPT solar charger
https://www.electronics-lab.com/mppt-solar-charger/
Lukas Fässler show us his progress on the MPPT solar charger: One of my main goals with this design is to achieve very low standby current, somewhere in the tens of microamps. The basis for this is a low-power buck on the basis of a Texas TPS62120 where the microcontroller can switch the output voltage […]
DIY USB 5V Solar Power Bank
https://www.electronics-lab.com/diy-usb-5v-solar-power-bank/
Abdulgafur tipped us with his latest project, a 5V solar powered power bank. The circuit consists of two stages, the first stage is the battery charger stage based on MCP73831 and the second stage is the step up converter based on LT1302-5 which converts the battery voltage to 5V. Solar energy is renewable, free, widely […]
A very simple DIY solar-powered USB charger
https://www.electronics-lab.com/simple-diy-solar-powered-usb-charger/
Raj @ embedded-lab.com tipped us with his latest project. It’s a simple, but useful USB Solar powered charger able to charge a power bank or your smartphone. Yesterday, I built a very simple DIY solar-powered USB charger for my TP-link 10400mAh USB Power Bank. All I needed was a 6V/3.5W solar panel and the TD1410-based 5V buck converter module. […]
MPPT Solar Charger Design based on PIC18F26J50
https://www.electronics-lab.com/mppt-solar-charger-design-based-pic18f26j50/
Lukas Fässler shares his Maximum Point Tracker Solar Charger Design based on PIC18F26J50: At the core of the design is a PIC18F26J50 in a 28 pin SOIC package. It’s capable of running at down to 2.15 volts and consumes extremely little power when running at lower clock speeds. And apart from that it features USB […]