Hey guys! I wanted to make a solar powered battery charger, so I'm going to need some help, the only info I could find on the internet told me to just buy one, so I came here in the hopes someone could help me make one. I don't know too much about electronics sadly, and I'm pretty new to this forum so sorry if i accidentally break some rule. If you guys could help me know how to connect a solar panel to a battery to charge it, that would be great!

 

Welcome. What type of battery do you want to charge?

 

"" .......... I don't know too much about electronics sadly ........... ""

Buy one.

I know how to build one,
but it can't be built for less than ~3 or ~4-times as much Money.
Just the Box to put the Circuit-Board in can cost as much as a reasonable Chinese-Charger.
Get 2, just in case the first one breaks, or doesn't work.
.
.
.

 

Give us an idea at what power/current/voltage levels you need.

Here's a secret, with low powered systems (15W or less). With a 12vdc nominal voltage panel at a moderate charge rate for the battery and a 12vdc nominal voltage LA battery you can usually direct connect them. If you disconnect the panel when the battery gets to the proper recharged voltage.

 

sorry i came into this extremely unprepared, i really shouldve looked more at specific specs for the solar panel and the battery, but either way LowQCab is probably right and i should just buy one

 

sorry i came into this extremely unprepared, i really shouldve looked more at specific specs for the solar panel and the battery, but either way LowQCab is probably right and i should just buy one

Hello there,

That is probably a good idea because there are a lot of different types of batteries and some of them need some critical specifications when charging. That is especially true with Li-ion cells. With NiMH sometimes you can get a solar panel that matches the cells somewhat and just connect the panel to the cells, but there are still important considerations for getting it to be both right and safe. Safety is a big factor for charging batteries of any kind really and that means you should have some experience working with power electronics and in particular, battery specifications.

These days you can find solar panels that come with charge controllers although they may be made for a specific type of battery.