from Lars Schwichtenberg on 04/05/2022
Jasper Sikken / hackaday.com / YouTubeSmall component improves power yield in PV technology
An inconspicuous component could make the generation of solar energy much more effective in the future. A tinkerer who has been involved with PV technology for a long time has now significantly improved an award-winning technology.
Solar energy is almost always available, is sustainable and can generate 1,000 watts per square meter on a sunny day via PV modules. Inventor Jasper Sikken has developed many projects that take advantage of this power in the past, reports the blog hackaday.com. Sikken has recently completed or significantly improved its latest solar harvesting module for the power supply of microcontroller projects.
The underlying concept is quickly explained. A small solar panel is used to charge a Lithium Ion Capacitor (LIC), which can then be used to power other projects. A corresponding research project by Sikken was already recognized in 2021 at an inventors’ competition. At that time, the inventor was able to achieve an output of 80 mA at 2.2 volts. You can see how the project looks in practice in the video:
Five times more power enables more effective use in many areas
The current test setup is already delivering up to 400 mA at 3.3 volts. This opens up completely new possibilities and allows the module to operate projects with technologies such as Bluetooth, WLAN or LTE that require more power to operate. The inventor uses a large capacitor to store energy and a special chip to generate solar energy. With the help of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT), the greatest possible energy is teased out of a panel.
Also read: Operating your own balcony power plant, you need to know that
In the meantime, such systems are already ready to buy from many suppliers. You will also find an overview of the most important providers in our purchase advice on the subject, as well as clarification of the most important cornerstones for the operation of such a system in the form of simple questions and answers:
Solar systems for everyone: even tenants can use them