Fran Hoffart at Linear Technology Corporation explores the benefits of using tiny 2-cell solar panel charger batteries in compact, off-grid devices
Advances in low power electronics now allow placement of battery-powered sensors and other devices in locations far from the power grid. Ideally, for true grid independence, the batteries should not need replacement, but instead be recharged using locally available renewable energy, such as solar power.
Although solar cells or solar panels are rated by power output, a panel’s available power is hardly constant. Its output power depends heavily on illumination, temperature and on the load current drawn from the panel. To illustrate this, Figure 1 shows the V-I characteristic of a 2-cell solar panel at a constant illumination.
The I-vs-V curve features a relatively constant-current characteristic from short-circuit (at the far left) to around 550mA load current, at which point it bends to a constant-voltage characteristic at lower currents, approaching maximum voltage at open circuit (far right).
The panel’s power output curve shows a clear peak in power output around 750mV/530mA, at the knee of the I-vs-V curve. If the load current increases beyond the power peak, the power curve quickly drops to zero (far left). Likewise, light loads push power toward zero (far right), but this tends to be less of an issue. Of course, panel illumination affects available power – less light means lower power output; more light, more power.
Although illumination directly affects the ‘value’ of peak power output, it does not do much to affect the peak’s ‘location’ on the voltage scale. That is, regardless of illumination, the panel output voltage at which peak power occurs remains relatively constant. Thus, it makes sense to moderate the output current so that the solar panel voltage remains at or above this peak power voltage, in this case 750mV. Doing so is called maximum power point control (MPPC).
Figure 2 shows the effects of varying sunlight on the charge current, with maximum power point control and without. The simulated sunlight is varied from 100 percent down to approximately 20 percent, then back up to 100 percent. Note that as the sunlight intensity drops about 20 percent, the solar panel’s output voltage and current also drop, but the maximum power point control of the LTC3105 from Linear Technology prevents the panel’s output voltage from dropping below the programmed 750mV.
This device accomplishes this by reducing the output charge current to prevent the solar panel from collapsing to near zero volts, as is shown in the plot on the right side of Figure 2. Without power point control, a small reduction in sunlight can completely stop charge current from flowing.
Boost converter with input power control
The LTC3105 is a synchronous step-up DC/DC converter designed primarily to convert power from ambient energy sources, such as low voltage solar cells and thermoelectric generators, to battery charging power. This converter uses MPPC to deliver maximum available power from the source. It accomplishes this by reducing the output current to prevent the solar panel from collapsing to near zero volts.
This device is capable of starting up with an input as low as 250mV, allowing it to be powered by a single solar cell or up to nine or ten series-connected cells. Output disconnect eliminates the isolation diode often required with other solar powered DC/DC converters and allows the output voltage to be above or below the input voltage.
The 400mA switch current limit is reduced during start-up to allow operation from relatively high impedance power sources, but still provides sufficient power for many low power solar applications once the converter is in normal operation. Also included are a 6mA adjustable output low dropout linear regulator, open-drain power good output, shutdown input and Burst Mode operation to improve efficiency in low power applications.
Figure 3 shows a compact solar-powered battery charger using a LTC3105 as a boost converter and a LTC4071 as a Li-Ion shunt charger. A 2-cell 400mW solar panel provides the input power to this converter to produce over 60mA of charge current in full sunlight.
Maximum power point control prevents the solar panel voltage from dropping below the 750mV maximum power point, as shown in Figure 1. The LTC3105 output voltage is programmed for 4.35V, slightly above the 4.2V float voltage of the Li-Ion battery.
The shunt charger limits the voltage across the battery to 4.2V. Grounding the FBLDO pin programs the low dropout regulator to 2.2V, which powers the ‘charging’ LED.
The LED is on when charging and off when the battery voltage is within 40mV of the float voltage, indicating near full charge. Although the circuit described here produces only a few hundred milliwatts, it can provide enough power to keep a 400mAhr Li-Ion battery fully charged under most weather conditions.
Linear Technology Corporation
