Solar charger

A solar charger employs solar energy to supply electricity to devices or charge batteries. They are generally .

Solar chargers can charge lead acid or Ni-Cd battery banks up to 48 V and hundreds of ampere-hours (up to 4000 Ah) capacity. Such type of solar charger setups generally use an intelligent charge controller. A series of solar cells are installed in a stationary location (ie: rooftops of homes, base-station locations on the ground etc.) and can be connected to a battery bank to store energy for off-peak usage. They can also be used in addition to mains-supply chargers for energy saving during the daytime.

Most portable chargers can obtain energy from the sun only. Some, including the Kinesis K3, and GeNNex Solar Cell 2 can work either way (recharged by the sun or plugged into a wall plug to charge up). Examples of solar chargers in popular use include:

A solar panel can produce a range of charging voltages depending upon sunlight intensity, so a voltage regulator must be included in the charging circuit so as to not over-charge (over voltage) a device such as a 12 volt car battery.

Portable solar chargers are used to charge cell phones and other small electronic devices on the go. Chargers on the market today use various types of solar panels, ranging from thin film panels with efficiencies from 7-15% (amorphous silicon around 7%, CIGS closer to 15%), to the slightly more efficient monocrystalline panels which offer efficiencies up to 18%.

The other type of portable solar chargers are those with wheels which enable them to be transported from one place to another and be used by a lot of people. They are semi-public, considering the fact that are used publicly but not permanently installed. A good example of this kind of portable solar charger is the Strawberry Mini device.

The solar charger industry has been plagued by companies mass-producing low efficiency solar chargers that don't meet the consumer's expectations. This in turn has made it hard for new solar charger companies to gain the trust of consumers. Solar companies are starting to offer high-efficiency solar chargers. When it comes to permanently installed public solar chargers, Strawberry energy Company from Serbia has invented and developed the first public solar charger for mobile devices, Strawberry Tree. Due to a built in rechargeable battery which stores energy, it can function without sunshine or at night. Other companies such as Voltaic Systems, Poweradd and others have started to push better products onto the market as well.

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Wikipedia