Hi folks, l have been using a 5v solar cell to activate a 5v relay for a 24vac separate circuit, am trying to find a way to use a small 1v 85ma solar cell to do the same but am struggling with what to use ? I have been looking into mosfets, ssd relays optocouplers but my knowledge is very limited and am totally confused. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Welcome to AAC!
Can you 'borrow' the 24VAC to create a 5VDC supply? You could then use the cell to drive a transistor which switches the relay coil.

 

Hi folks, l have been using a 5v solar cell to activate a 5v relay for a 24vac separate circuit, am trying to find a way to use a small 1v 85ma solar cell to do the same but am struggling with what to use ? I have been looking into mosfets, ssd relays optocouplers but my knowledge is very limited and am totally confused. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

A lot depends on the amount of power you need to control in the 24 vac circuit. An opto coupler with a thyristor output might handle a small amount of power. If the requirement is larger, you may need to use a sensitive gate triac again driven by an opto coupler. You would need to look at the requirements for the input of the coupler to see if the 1volt, 85 ma would be sufficient to turn the Ired on. I would go to the H11 series of opto couplers for starters. There is a good selection of input and output characteristics available.