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343

I just hit this for basically free. My idea is to let it charge up some power banks for free using the sun.

https://pic8.co/sh/Vjb9Hw.jpeg

https://pic8.co/sh/dv7NgW.jpeg

Do I need anything else? Some things I read mention getting a regulator to make sure it doesn’t go above 5volts. Is this necessary? Likely need to leave it plugged in for days or weeks for larger power banks like 20,000 mAh

Some people mentioned in low or no light and plugged in, it will actually draw power out of the device it is plugged in.

I don’t know anything about any of this. Looking for your wisdom.

I just hit this for basically free. My idea is to let it charge up some power banks for free using the sun. https://pic8.co/sh/Vjb9Hw.jpeg https://pic8.co/sh/dv7NgW.jpeg Do I need anything else? Some things I read mention getting a regulator to make sure it doesn’t go above 5volts. Is this necessary? Likely need to leave it plugged in for days or weeks for larger power banks like 20,000 mAh Some people mentioned in low or no light and plugged in, it will actually draw power out of the device it is plugged in. I don’t know anything about any of this. Looking for your wisdom.

(post is archived)

[–] 1 pt

Given the panel seems to have its output to a standard USB A socket, I would venture that it contains a 5V regulator in it already. At a mere 6 Watts of output, charging anything is going to need a lot of light and a good amount of time. Photovoltaic cells can draw current in low or no light situations, but if it does have a regulator on-board, the regulator will prevent reverse current draw. It's hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like the PV cell is amorphous silicon rather than crystalline silicon where amorphous has a lower output efficiency but is a little more durable over crystalline Si. The sunlight is free, but don't expect much from this cheap chinesium panel.