Many people know that solar chargers are a good alternative to non-renewable energy sources, but not everyone knows just how easy they are to build. The purpose of this report is to explain important information about different kinds of solar battery chargers, including how to build your own.

In the simplest terms, a battery charger may be nothing more than a power supply that sends electricity of a specific voltage to a battery. All you have to do is connect the battery to the power supply, wait for it to fully charge, and then take it out. A 12 volt battery may be recharged in a 15-18 volt power supply. The price of this system’s simplicity, though, is that it’s easy to overcharge the battery.

When overcharged, a battery’s life is likely to decrease. Overcharging a 12 volt battery too often can damage it to the point that it will no longer maintain a charge. The method for ensuring that the right voltage is used and that the battery is not overcharged is to use a charge controller. A charge controller is equally necessary when you’re using a 12 volt solar charger, as it allows you to let a battery charge throughout the day without the possibility of overcharging.

The most widely used kind of charge controller for 12 volt batteries is a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) charge controller. With a PWM charge controller, a switch is turned on and off repeatedly in relation to the flow of the electricity. Initially, the switch stays “on” more. As electricity is moved to the battery, the switch spends more time activated than deactivated, and once the battery is fully charged, it no longer flips back on. The charging process is overseen by a microprocessor chip. Thus, you can leave this type of charge controller plugged into a battery indefinitely, since it will only transfer electricity to the battery when necessary, without the risk of overcharging. Topping up a battery in this way is known as “trickle charging,” and it will allow you to make sure that a battery is fully charged for whenever you happen to need it. If you’re using a 12 volt solar charger, it’s handy to have this feature. 12 volt batteries for recreational vehicles and boats are often charged in this way, for example.

These are the basic components that make up a 12 volt solar charger. What differentiates a 12 volt solar charger from a standard battery charger is the power source. Solar battery chargers collect power through the use of a solar panel rather than from a wall outlet.  If you want to save money, building a DIY solar panel to use in a 12 volt solar charger is a great way to go.  Read more at DIY Solar Panel.

For the common solar panels used on homes, the solar cells are usually around half a volt and three to four amps. Several of these cells have to be connected in order to produce the 15-18 volts necessary for a 12 volt battery charger. It’s possible to find small solar panels in quite a few different voltages. You do have to match the voltage of the solar panel to your charge controller. On each charge controller, you’ll see a voltage rating, which indicates the correct voltage. A solar panel of 15-18 volts is usually a fairly safe bet if you can’t use a charge controller for whatever reason. However, if you are using a charge controller, it’s important to use the appropriate voltage.  You can build your own 12 volt solar charger with the help of GreenDIYEnergy.  To read my article about it, visit GreenDIYEnergy Review.

Depending on the controller, the method for wiring it to the solar panel can be different. Whatever type of connector is used on your charge controller, just solder one onto the solar panel. If you’re not using a charge controller, you can do so with the same type of connector that’s on the battery. Spring loaded clamps are a good choice with most larger 12 volt batteries. You do have the choice of applying electrical tape instead of soldering, but soldering is a longer-lasting solution, and, in this case, it’s a very quick procedure. A soldering iron and solder, which you can find at lots of places including Radio Shack, are all you’ll need to do this. First, twist the wires together.  Then, apply the soldering iron to the wires.  Finally, touch the solder to the wires until it melts. There are only a couple of things to be careful of: don’t burn yourself on the wires, and make sure to heat the wires directly with the soldering iron, and not the solder itself.  Homemade Energy is another great guide to building your own 12 volt solar charger.  If you’re interested, check out Homemade Energy Review.

It’s really that simple! If you can do that, you can put together a 12 volt solar charger without any problems. First, you’ll have to have a 12 volt battery. A charge controller with the corresponding voltage is also necessary. Buy or build a solar panel that outputs the correct voltage for the charge controller. Then, you just need to connect the solar panel to the charge controller, then connect the charge controller to the battery as explained. That’s it; now, you’ve got free power forever! What’s more, you get some serious residual benefits: you save money, because you don’t have to pay for the electricity you need to charge the battery; you reduce emissions, as electricity generated by solar panels doesn’t pollute like electricity from oil or coal-fired plants does; and you help the country by reducing dependence on foreign oil.

Solar power systems can provide all of the electrical needs for your home as long as you have adequate roof space and your home has the correct orientation to the sun. Some homeowners who might have been interested in solar power have been put off because they did not meet one or the other of these requirements. This meant that the solar panels may not have generated enough electricity to justify the cost of installation. The increasing efficiency and tolerance of sunlight angles of more recent solar panels has given some hope to these homeowners.  Combining the solar panel with a 12 volt battery and charge controller is the most common application, making a 12 volt solar charger.

The improved technology and more advanced manufacturing techniques used today provide better panels for all types of solar power systems. The newer solar cells used in modern panels can offer homeowners better energy generation than cells that were available even a few years ago because of several different improvements. Their biggest advantage is that they can generate more electricity from less sunlight than older cells. This is good for homeowners since it means that they are more effective for longer portions of the day. The number of hours per day the older panels could be used was more limited because they needed the sun to hit them more directly. During the early morning and and late afternoon these older panels would generate little to no power. If there were any clouds at all, even if the sun could shine through them, these panels couldn’t produce power consistently. The newer panels will generate more electricity for a solar power system in all levels of sunlight and this can help many homeowners to justify a solar power system for their homes. It is also good news for homes that have a less than perfect alignment to the sun, since it may allow them to produce enough electricity to justify the installation costs.

These modern panels will also mean fewer solar panels for the average homeowner to provide 100% of the power for their house. The cost for the system will also be less because fewer panels will be used. This is helpful for homeowners with limited roof space and may enable them to justify a solar power system for their homes.  If you’re interested in how much energy you’ll need solar panels to generate for your house, check out Solar Panel Calculator.

Longevity is the final advantage to the newer solar panels. Ten to fifteen years was the average life span of older panels. The panels would generate peak output for about ten years and then degrade over time. This was because as the solar cells aged, they would fail one by one. The collection of solar cells would produce less and less energy as more and more of its cells failed. The newer solar cells will last longer and will also generate more power while they are viable. The homeowner will get to enjoy the benefits of solar energy for many more years to come and this makes it an even better choice.  One great option to save money on a solar installation is home home build solar panel.

If you’re wondering what type of battery is the best to use with a solar power system, this article will tell you the answer. If you are planning to install a solar power system and you want to use electricity when the sun isn’t shining, you’ll require a way to store the power generated when the sun is shining. The way to accomplish this is with batteries and a proper charge controller. But, what is the best type of battery to use?

The recent battery technologies that are used in things like laptops, ipods and hybrid cars might be your first thought. Those battery types are great for these devices, but aren’t a very good fit for solar as you’ll see.

These types of batteries are much smaller and weigh significantly less than older battery types. The biggest drawback to these batteries is cost versus the older batteries. In applications where size and weight are very important, like laptop computers, people are willing to pay extra to have a smaller, lighter device.

You likely aren’t going to be carrying your solar power system around with you, however. What is going to be important is having as large a capacity as you can. So, much more important than size or weight will be cost per watt/hour of capacity.

If you want the best value for a given battery capacity, you can’t beat regular sealed lead acid. That’s right, the same kind of battery that is in your car. The newer types of batteries are going to cost you between 2 and 4 times what sealed lead acid batteries will for the same capacity. For toughness, low cost and safety, you can’t bead sealed lead acid batteries.

In most solar power systems you will find 12v sealed lead acid batteries. Most solar installations use some multiple of 12 volts like 12, 24 or 48. By wiring together 12 volt batteries in series, you can obtain any of these voltages. You can then begin to increase the number of appliances you can supply electricity to and also increase the amount of energy you can store by combining the groups of batteries in parallel.

For charging your 12 volt batteries, you should use a 12 volt solar charger. The charge controller lowers the amount of power applied to the batteries as they get more charged to prevent overcharging.

In order to power appliances you usually plug into the wall with batteries (or solar panels) you will need a power inverter. If you’re looking to sell extra power back to the electric company, you should use a grid tie inverter. If you don’t care about tying into the grid, or plan to live entirely off grid, a regular power inverter will work just fine and will also cost less than a grid tie inverter.

That’s the whole story. For a home solar power system, tried and true older battery technology is best. Sealed lead acid batteries are the best choice for home solar power systems.

Do you dream of being energy-independent? Then living “off-grid” might be ideal for you. Most of those who live off grid are in remote areas where electric utility service is either not available or very expensive to connect. But a growing number of people are considering it as a personal lifestyle choice.

See How To Gain From Off-Grid Solar Systems

There are a couple of important considerations involved in living off-grid. First, you’ll need to learn how to use your electricity judiciously.  You want to be careful not to waste it.

Second, you’ll want to become familiar with how your solar energy system works, and what kind of maintenance is required. It’s a good idea to become somewhat of an expert on your particular system so you could troubeshoot any problem that arises. Becoming an “pro” is not too difficult to do since there is so much information on solar power available now. However, it does require time and commitment on your part.

An off-grid system typically consists of nine components.

First, the photovoltaic array and mounting rack. Wikipedia describes the array as “a linked collection of photovoltaic modules, which are in turn made of multiple interconnected solar cells”. The mounting rack is what attaches the array to the roof.

Second, the array DC disconnect. This is basically a breaker between the array and the rest of the system.  It allows you to disconnect from the system so you can troubleshoot problems with the array.

Third, the charge controller prevents the batteries from overcharging.

Fourth, the battery bank stores excess electricity. You will usually need sufficient batteries for 2-3 days worth of stored electricity in case of a cloudy period.

5. The system meter. The system meter is like the dashboard of your car. It shows what’s going on with the various components of the system.

A Guide to Off-Grid Solar Electricity

6. The main DC disconnect. It’s better known as a circuit breaker which is connected between the batteries and the inverter.

Seventh, is the inverter. This is the component that converts the DC (direct current) electricity, which is generated by the array and stored in the batteries, into the AC (alternating current) electricity that can be used by your household appliances.

Eighth, the AC breaker panel. This is the same kind of breaker panel that the utility company uses to connect your house wiring to its electrical source.

9. The backup generator. A backup generator may become necessary if there is a period of cloudy days and you have depleted the power that was stored in the batteries. Traditional fossil fuels can be used for your generator; however, if you’re maintaining a green lifestyle, you will want to use biodiesel.

As you can see, each component is relatively simple in and of itself. The only motorized parts are in the backup generator (which you hopefully won’t have to use much). Now that you’ve examined the components of the photovoltaic system, you can see why it’s not too complicated to become your own expert.

Read The Domestic Off-Grid Power Report Here

A residential solar power system can produce tremendous benefits for a homeowner in the area of reducing energy costs, which can cause large strains in an average American home by draining large amounts from the household’s monthly budget. Even a do-it-yourself or DIY solar power generator can reduce energy bills down to considerable levels. In some cases where the solar power backup generator is efficient enough, energy bills can drop to zero and even negative levels, meaning the household is actually returning excess power back to the utility companies.

A few solar power kits can be found on the internet and from other places offline. Prices are dropping considerably as further advancements make it possible for solar panels to be more affordable to the average American household. Build solar power generator kits are also available, or you can make one on your own. The following describes a procedure on how to build a solar power generator for only a few hundred dollars.

A Basic Procedure in Building Your Own DIY Solar Power Generator

The following describes a procedure of building a DIY home solar power generator capable of generating 100 watt-hours of electrical energy from a daily solar exposure of just 5 hours. This is enough to power a 25-watt load like a laptop, an electric fan or a small television for four hours.

A 12v solar power already available in the market will be needed for this project. You will also need a 4-amp charge controller and a 32 amp-hour battery. This sealed battery can store up to 400 watts of electrical energy and the charge controller can prevent the batteries from overcharging.

• When solar energy is converted into electrical energy by the solar cells, DC or direct current is produced. In order to convert DC to AC power, a power inverter will be needed since typical household appliances use either alternating current or AC.

• Along with the DIY solar power generator, a voltage meter should also be used in order to watch the electrical overload the generator created in addition to the electrical power levels during usage or charging.

• For the enclosure, you can use a wooden or plastic container where you can easily drill holes where you could pass the insulated wiring for the battery and inverter. The solar panels are packaged separately and should be installed in a strategic location on your roof where it can receive maximum exposure to sunlight.

• The manufacturer can provide you with wiring diagrams for you solar panel modules. The negative and positive leads of the panels, the battery and the charge controller should be properly identified first before making any connections. Ensure that polarities are matched during connections, otherwise your components will be damaged during operation.