Raspberry Pi Project: Sun Power for Pi

This instalment of the Raspberry Pi Projects is perhaps a bit simplistic, depending on one's knowledge of electronics, but it can be a valuable project when available power is a problem.

Of course, with many of our personal electronics devices, they may be specifically designed to operate away from power sources, and come with their own battery packs.

And, a person can pick up kits to power their electronic devices which are to be used in locations where a power source is not available.

Today, we will discuss one specific solar powered kit by instructables user hackitbuildit which can take care of your Pi needs, when the Pi is to be used away from a power source, such as at camp or when the Pi is to be used in an outdoor application.

A Raspberry Pi doesn't really need a lot of power.  And this instructable uses a 12V 1.3amp battery which could give about 5 hours of use on a Pi that is using a constant 3W of draw.

As the user indicates, if you need more power (a longer time of use on battery), you might want a bigger battery or plug two smaller ones in parallel so that your voltage remains at 12V and your amperage doubles to 2.6amp, or some combination of those two options.

Now, the solar panel that the user has chosen, has a 220mA (max) capacity, but is rated as a 4W peak (suggesting a variation increase in voltage at peak) panel, which could be sufficient to run the Pi, directly.  But depending on the constant draw of the Pi, it may not be enough to both run the Pi and provide enough charging for no-sun power, uninterrupted over a 24 hour period.  Again, pick a bigger panel if you suspect (read: calculate) your Pi + other electronics needs are greater.

OK, that's enough nit picking.  Your mileage may vary, but a least this is a great starting point.  As noted in this solar powered raspberry pi instructable, you will require the following:

• A raspberry pi
• A solar panel (with built in charger controller or a Solar Charging Regulator)
• A car power socket
• A usb car power adapter
• A battery
• and some wire

 

Again, this is a fairly simple instructable.  There are only a few steps. The first is to plug the car power socket to the battery.  This might require making the wire and connectors to do so.  Next, plug the USB power adapter into the 12V socket.  This will then eventually be plugged into your Pi directly with a USB cable which should give you up to 5.5V that are required to power your Pi at peak consumption.  Finally, connect the solar panel charger to your battery which, when in sunlight, will charge your battery.

The end result will be a power source that should enable you to use your Pi in places where AC power is not available.



Of course, this could also power an Arduino project as well. And remember, changing out battery configuration and/or panel size can scale your project, as necessary.