I am thinking of creating a mobile charger using supercapacitors. Is this possible? I read that supercapacitors act like batteries.

Thanks for your help. Any idea is highly appreciated.

 

Nice idea. You have to plug in the numbers and calculate the capacity of the supercap. You will find out that you will need a lot of Farads to make it worthwhile.

 

I've not looked terribly much into supercapacitors but I think the question would be how much energy they can store and how effectively they hold it. If they are simply larger capacitors then I would expect the charge to dissipate prior to the charger requiring use.

If used in conjuction with a solar cell however then they may be able to level out the dips in voltage when a cloud passes over perhaps, initial charge may take forever though.

 

I've not looked terribly much into supercapacitors but I think the question would be how much energy they can store and how effectively they hold it. If they are simply larger capacitors then I would expect the charge to dissipate prior to the charger requiring use.

If used in conjuction with a solar cell however then they may be able to level out the dips in voltage when a cloud passes over perhaps, initial charge may take forever though.

I am going to used the supercapacitor for energy storage. It will be used in conjunction with a dynamo generator. I am still in the process of gathering data to check the feasibility of the project.

Do you have any suggestion?

 

I am going to used the supercapacitor for energy storage. It will be used in conjunction with a dynamo generator. I am still in the process of gathering data to check the feasibility of the project.

Do you have any suggestion?

I would like to save you time and energy by telling you battery molecules store more energy per unit than electrons in a super capacitor.

And, high density super caps at moderate voltages are $$$$$.

 

I would like to save you time and energy by telling you battery molecules store more energy per unit than electrons in a super capacitor.

And, high density super caps at moderate voltages are $$$$$.

How much does it cost if you don't mind PaulEE? I checked some sites and they have a feedback that the cost is high but the advantages they get as compared to a battery is sophistically high too.

Anyways, does anyone here tried using supercapacitor?

 

A quick look on the digikey site reveals that supercaps are indeed much more expensive than a common battery, it's the cheapest they have for a cap bigger than 1kF.
http://search.digikey.com/us/en/products/DDLC2R5LGN142KBF0S/565-3258-ND/1999343

Also have a look here under "comparison"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_double-layer_capacitor

And then you may read here:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/capacitor2.htm

 

The energy density per volume for supercaps is terrible compared to just about any battery type.

So if you use a battery it will be cheaper, smaller, and hold a heck of a lot more energy,
and hold that energy for longer too (ie will work better in every way).

 

The only advantage a supercap might have to a regular battery (I've built projects using supercaps as the main power source and had to think through what you're thinking through) is charge time. You can charge a supercap very quickly as compared to a battery. In theory, if your charge source can supply infinite current, charging is instant. Practical limitations are non-ideal current sources, internal resistance in the capacitor, etc.

Meanwhile, the voltage on the capacitor continuously drops as charge decreases. This isn't too big a deal if you're powering a microcontroller or IC with a wide supply voltage range; but anything volt-magnitude-dependent would need a regulator circuit, which may waste valuable charge in energy-sensitive applications.