Are you also wondering if solar energy or artificial lighting is the only way you can charge a battery? Is there a special charger for solar light batteries that you can use? Or is there a battery charger that you can charge the solar light batteries in? The answer to all three questions is yes; you can charge solar light batteries in the battery charger.
The point is that the solar light battery is a battery in itself, and it is rechargeable. The medium you use to charge could be anyone. You can use the solar panel to take in sunlight or artificial lighting, or you could use a USB to charge the batteries. Some people even use battery charges to charge the solar light batteries.
Solar light batteries are nothing else but rechargeable batteries only; they just have more than one way of using various energy to charge it. Let us see how a battery charger can be used to charge a battery of the solar light.
Can you use chargers to charge solar batteries?
Yes, you can use a battery charger to charge the solar light batteries since the batteries of solar light are essentially regularly used batteries. Therefore, their usage remains the same. However, since there could be a variety of batteries used in solar light, you must know which battery charge would be suitable for this.
The main thing that you need to know is the battery’s voltage, and also it is current. You will purchase a battery charger that matches the solar battery’s voltage and current. This is because the output charge should be the same as the input needed so that your battery is charged fully. The reason behind this is simple. If the battery charger does not provide the voltage and current required by the battery, your battery won’t charge properly. Moreover, it will get discharged quickly upon use, and you will have to keep charging it.
Therefore, buy a charger that has the same configuration as that of the solar light’s charger so that you can use it easily whenever you want to.
Why should the solar light batteries be charged in a battery charger?
This is a simple question with a simple answer. You should charge the solar light’s battery with a battery charger because it will enable you to check how the solar battery is doing. This just means that when you use a battery charger, it not only charges the battery as required by it but it also lets you know if the battery is healthy or not.
Not just that, it will help you decipher if you need to get the batteries replaced or not. You can make this a yearly practice too. Use a battery charger to charge the battery by the end of every year so that you can see if the solar light’s battery is good to go for some more time or if it need replacement.
The solar batteries’ health deteriorates throughout usage. Therefore, if you keep this practice with you, you can save the batteries from being overcharged, and your solar lights will be safe too.
This is even a cost-effective method as overcharging batteries means that the batteries are not being used correctly. This also leads to the batteries deteriorating faster than they can last. It will not only increase your finances, but maintenance would take just as much.
How can I charge solar light batteries with a charger?
There are so many solar gadgets that you can find today, and they have specified batteries customized according to their use. Not only that, we can see how abundantly these are being used in gardens, driveways, and even patios. However, they have a specific battery type when compared amongst themselves. But first, let us understand how the battery charger works to charge a solar light battery.
The working of a solar battery charger is quite simple. It uses photons present in the sunlight to create electrons that flow through the entire circuit and form current. This way, the battery is charged by using a solar power bank or solar battery charger. These are getting famous these days as they are very efficient.
As a solar battery charger also uses sunlight as a source of its energy, it makes them the best gadgets ever invented because they are so efficient in their energy usage and turn costs too.
Solar chargers also work on the same mechanism as that of a solar power system, but they look more compact as they are used for comparatively smaller devices like phones and tablets.
One more difference between solar power banks and solar battery chargers are that solar charger is DC device which means they use Direct Current instead of Alternating Current (AC).
Best battery charger for solar light batteries?
To use a battery charger, you must know a great deal about the batteries fitted in the solar lights. The chemicals used for these batteries differ in composition. Usually, the solar lights are equipped with NiMH, a battery that is of low capacity and has a very decreased lifetime, but you can also have a different kind of battery. All you have to do is find out which kind of battery you have.
- Solar lights with LiPo, NiCad, and NiMH batteries have different chargers
Since deep cell batteries need a clean and filtered Direct current (DC) flow and a slow charge with zero damage. Lithium and Nickel Cadmium batteries have very different requirements, when it comes to charging.
- Using the wrong type of charger would destroy the battery
For instance, you use a USB phone charger for LiPo in mobile phones and a 12V charger for the car battery that is made of lead-acid. Therefore solar light batteries have different requirements that need their specific chargers so that they don’t get damaged.
- You must find the right charger for your battery
Yes, you can find the best fit for your solar light batteries so that you can use the battery chargers in time of need. You can also check their health now and then.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Why does the solar panel not charge the battery?
It is likely to be a battery problem or wrong wiring in the system, or there could be some problem in the solar charge controller.
Q2. How do you know that a solar panel is charging the battery?
First, note down the voltage and reconnect the wiring of the solar panel to let it charge. Now note the voltage again in the night to see if it’s increased or decreased, so that tells it’s being charged.
Q3. How long does it take to charge a battery of solar light?
For a full charge, the solar panel of the light should get 50 hours of charge in the battery.
Wrapping Things Up
You can charge the batteries by using the sun’s energy that is infinitely present, and when there is no sun, you could use artificial light like from a light bulb or lamp to charge these batteries. The solar lights also have an automatic on/off button that allows the battery to conserve the energy it has obtained from its surrounding.
However, a battery charger has a different purpose altogether. You can charge the solar light batteries with a battery charger too. This invention was necessary to keep in check the health of the battery itself. When we keep the battery under the sun or light, we could risk the chances of overcharging the batteries, which could lead to further damage.
The battery charger ensures that damage due to overcharging doesn’t happen at all. Therefore we can conclude here that battery charges must be used for charging the solar light batteries.
Eng. Matthew Joseph Nandirio is the Founder of walkingsolar.
After graduating from the University of Houston in 2002, matt started working as a Solar Electrical Engineer for several multi-national solar energy companies.
He has a wide range of experiences including solar system requirement analysis, planning, maintaining, debugging and even solar device development through research.
He now shares his 20 years of expertise through his articles on the walkingsolar website.
Further, he is also the author of two books on Solar Technology, “Solar Power for Villages” and “DIY Solar System for Dummies”.
