Solar Power

[Greenhead329]

Somebody with some know-how please pm me. Im wanting to run some small electronics indefinatly without having to worry about a battery running down? can I use the solar as a direct source of power? If so what parts do I need?

[MudHog]

If your wanting to run something that is 12v DC, then you can simply hook up a bank of batteries, thinking 3 or 4 in parallel. This will give you 12v DC output, but at a higher ampacity (4 times the amount of amps with a 4 batt config). Then you would need to get you a Solar cell and hook it up to charge the batteries during the day. You can either get a fixed mount or spend a little and get one that will follow the sun.

You will need to start with knowing how much power you need to supply the device your running, both voltage and amperage.

[Dixie Land]

You will have to have a battery/battery bank. Solar panels may say 12volts but will actually produce more than 12 volts based on the sun so they would fry your 12v electronics.

I'm running a 20 watt panel with a charge controller to a battery bank to run my irrigation controller and valves. During the day the panel is producing over 18 vdc.

[MudHog]

definitely need a voltage regulator / controller anytime your dealing with charging.