Keeping our phones charged all the time can be pretty challenging, especially when we are out backpacking, hiking, camping, or even spending the day in the park.
Fortunately, there is a clean and easy way to keep our phones charged without the need for wall outlets. Solar-powered phone chargers.
Solar battery chargers use the free energy from the sun and convert it to usable electricity that can help to recharge our phone’s battery no matter where you are.
In this article, we are going to show you how to make a solar-powered charger easily and efficiently. This project also makes a great science project!
Don’t worry, you don’t have to be tech-savvy to make a solar phone charger, in fact, it’s pretty easy and in this guide, we will go through it step by step. A basic understanding of soldering is needed.
What Parts & Tools Do I Need To Make A Solar Charger?
Solar Panel (4V minimum)
To make a solar phone charger, we will need a solar panel that is at least 3-4 volts to do the charging process efficiently.
Consider also the size of the solar panel to fit into your container. For that, we can combine several smaller panels to fit.
It’s very easy to get your solar panel from the internet, just make sure it has the requirement you need for your project.
2. 1N914 Diode
The 1N914 diode is used to ensure the flow of power in one direction. In other words, it protects the solar panel by preventing the current from flowing back and damage your cell.
3. USB Charging Circuit
As you probably know, your phone’s battery has a charging voltage of 5V, as any higher than this can damage the battery, and any lower than this won’t be sufficient to charge it.
The DC to USB converter’s main job is to take the power of the AA batteries and convert it into 5V that we need to charge the USB.
There are a few ways to get your DC to USB converter like
You can just rip one out of an old USB charger you had
Go easy and buy one from the internet
4. AA Rechargeable Batteries
To store the electricity produced by the solar cell, so we can use it later, we need to build a storage system using rechargeable batteries.
For this project, a 2000mah battery is sufficient.
The reason we went for a relatively small battery size is to make sure that our solar panel will be able to fully recharge the battery.
This will help to protect the battery and prolong the lifespan of your solar charger unlike opting for higher capacity batteries that will lose most of their efficiency due to the memory loss effect.
It’s important to mention that you should size your batteries according to your solar panel current output, as you can’t opt for a big solar panel that throws more than 10% of the battery’s capacity at one time.
For instance, if you have a 2W, 200ma solar panel, your battery should have a capacity of around 2000mah.
Other Components
In addition to the solar panel, DC converter, and AA batteries, we still need a few things to help us secure and connect the solar charger such as
Battery holder
Copper wires
Suitable container like a small tin
Soldering iron
Solder
Melt glue gun
Glue
Tape
Tin snips
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Step By Step Instructions
Step 1: Connect The Solar Panel To The 1N914 Diode
The first thing we are going to do is to set up our solar panel by connecting it.
Similar to the solar panel, the 1N914 Diode has two ends, one positive and one negative (the one with the black bar).
Use the solder iron and solder to connect the diode’s positive side to the positive end of the solar panel and the negative side to the negative end.
This way, we make sure to have a current flow in our system. If we connected it wrong it will backflow and will not work. Don’t forget to tape for protection.
Step 2: Connect The Solar Panel To The Battery
Next step, we connect the panel wires to the battery pack wires.
It’s very easy, just connect all the positive wires to all the negative wires and that’s it.
Step 3: Connect The USB Charger
Similarly, the USB charger has 2 points on it, positive and negative.
Now, all you have to do to connect the positive wires we have to the positive point on the circuit and the negative wires to the negative point.
Make sure all the parts are in their right place, then start soldering.
Step 4: Fitting The Circuit In The Container
We now have our charger and ready to use, but we can’t leave it scattered like that.
Therefore, in this step, we will put everything and glue it inside the container or the container you chose.
And Viola! You just made a solar-powered charger yourself in less than 10 minutes.
Now, it’s time to give it a try and start using it as you want.
Last Words
As promised, in this article, we provided you with a step-by-step guide to easily make your own solar phone charger. Making our own alternative energy is both satisfying and cost-effective. This project also makes a great science project!
Kami Turky. Photo provided by author.
Guest Author, Kami Turky, founder and editor at SolarEnergyHackers.com. When he is not having fun with his family and friends, Kami loves to spend his time writing about renewable energy, sustainability, and tips to reduce carbon dioxide.
