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I have a project running on 2 regular AAA batteries, I'd like to convert it to NiMH or NiCd rechargable batteries using solar power. I wanna use a panel like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008DFW1WE/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01

It's cheap and it's slow on I enough. I know that you can't exceed 0.1C recharge for NiCD at temps below -18C

So I'm looking for a slow constant 3.3V chip for that.

Space is limited. This is an outdoor project. We designed it initially for 2 alkaline AAAs, but later thought it would be nice to use rechargable AAAs (NiCd or NiMH, doesn't matter) and if solar is n/a, a user can switch it back to regular AAAs.

I've found this chip http://www.st.com/web/en/resource/technical/document/datasheet/CD00287506.pdf

There is also EV board for it with more info: STEVAL-ISV006V2 Is this a good idea?

Any advise would be appreciated.

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2 Answers 2

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Very partial answer to start. More as/if wanted:

You need a maximum of about 3V AT the battery so a 4V panel would work well and a lower one say 3.5V Vmp (voltage at maximum power) is probably OK.

Maximum capacity of an AAA NiCd is liable to be about 500 mAh and may be less.
0.1 C at 500 mAh = 50 mA.
4V x 50 mA = 200 mW rated PC power.
You can buy say 300 mW 4V panels in 500 quantity for around $US1 in China.

Available solar energy is a longish subject in its own right and well enough covered in other SE answers. Look at www.gaisma.com for an idea of how many equivalent SSH (sunshine-hours) a day you can expect. A useful rule of thumb that is close enough for many areas is 2 SSH a day in winter and about 5 in summer. When dimensioning energy available from batteries you use 2 SSH.

By the time you have moved energy from panel to battery and battery to load you'll be lucky to get 50% of notional panel energy out. Working in mAh can give you a better feel. A say 4V 50 mAA Imp panel will deliver 100 mAh in 2 hours of full sun. You'll get much but not all of that out of the battery - say 60-75 mAh, and then you lose energy if you need to convert to another voltage to drive the load. End to end you can typically assume the equivalent of Vbattery mean x 50 mAh for load use. Note that with NiCd you start out at somewhere above 1.2V/cell when fully charged and end up at 1V or so when almost discharged. A lightly loaded cell will be close to 1.2V across much of its life - so in winter a 200 mW panel may give 120 - 150 mWh of energy from 2 equivalent hours of sun. I understand that this is well above the mean energy level that you need in this application - so a much less than 200 mW panel should be adequate.

Even on ebay you can get acceptable prices for small volumes.

eg this seller is offering panels at prices well below the one you showed.
This panel rated at 6V 100 mA costs about $5.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ In volume, you can buy a panel I mentioned in my first post for $0.85 including shipping or $0.65 without shipping \$\endgroup\$
    – Jim
    Commented Jun 26, 2014 at 17:24
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Jim - Yes. Prices vary widely amongst suppliers and with available technology. I mentioned "about a dollar" for a 300 mW panel. That is for a PET surfaced panel (with long life US SOURCED PET used)(Macdirmid) rather than an epoxy one and from a supplier who is able and willing to produce a quality product and to guarantee the performance levels of all panels in a batch. Epoxy is OK for occasional outdoor use or short lifetimes but degrades rapidly under all day every day outdoor use. (The carbon-carbon bonds in epoxy are not resistant to solar UV). \$\endgroup\$
    – Russell McMahon
    Commented Jun 26, 2014 at 17:58
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Search for energy harvesting and look for IC's that are made to charge batteries. They typically work with much lower voltages (ie from a solar cell) and can boost them to the required voltage for charging.

I have briefly read about them but some appear to include battery management functionality which will monitor/manage the charging of the cells

The chip you have found looks promising since it is aimed towards your application

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    \$\begingroup\$ With solar it's not just about boosting, this is an interesting article if you're interested. \$\endgroup\$
    – Jim
    Commented Jun 23, 2014 at 7:01
  • \$\begingroup\$ Also, for the most efficient charging read about Maximum Power Point Tracking. \$\endgroup\$
    – sherrellbc
    Commented Jun 23, 2014 at 14:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ Interesting, for solar and MPPT I think I would want to use a buck boost dc/dc converter. I thought I found a chip that was geared for this so that even in very low light conditions it would still boost to charge. I can't find the link again right now but I suspect it was a TI part. The adafruit page shows them talking about buck vs linear which will stop charging when not in great light conditions if I am not mistaken \$\endgroup\$
    – Dru
    Commented Jun 23, 2014 at 18:24

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