Solar Cells or so-called photovoltaic cells, PV cells, has the function of converting light energy into electrical energy. Solar cells are small like in the photo below is suitable for experimental and small-scale science projects. one example is the solar cell that used as a charger Power Bank.
photo source: rekacipta.net
The above example is a solar cell that is easy to find on Ebay. for a science project that requires a higher power, then the combination of solar cells which are connected in series, parallel, or series-parallel combination to form a unit of solar panels. This way is more suitable in generating the appropriate size and power according to your needs, than if using a ready-made solar panels. not most units that we usually see mounted on the roof of the house, street lights, are solar cells are formed into a solar panel (a combination of several small units of solar cells). The following is one example of a solar panels that arranged from solar cells, which can be used to make Power Bank charger.
photo source: rekacipta.net
to the concept of a solar cell charger Power Bank, I will take the example of an experiment conducted by rekacipta.net by using solar cell from Sungold Co. Ltd. with 5 Volt 50 mA specs photo that looks like this:
photo source: rekacipta.net
The value is the absolute maximum rating a paddock in fact the highest value that was obtained under the scorching sun is only about 4.2 V and 20 mA. so if there are 6 pieces of solar cells arranged in parallel such that it will produce a total voltage of 4.2 Volt 120 mA. DC-DC step-up converter kit is needed to turn it into 5 Volt output. the output of the converter can be connected to Powerbank. refer to the following scheme:
The output of each different type of solar cell is due to the type of photovoltaic materials that are used, for example, there are monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, or copper indium.
In terms of color, bluish solar cell is made of the possibility of monocrystalline silicon material more efficiently, while the solar cell is likely colored black are of the type copper indium. maybe this could be your consideration before buying a solar cell.
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>> Simple Power Bank with DC converter & Li-ion battery
>> Make your own power bank with AA battery