10w crystalline solar power system

This solar power system is updated with a more powerful panel and slightly
simplified construction.

Components

2 5w Solar panels:£30 from eBay(may be no longer available)

Charging regulator 1.5A:£20 from Maplin

Battery: see other solar power page

Connector blocks

Cables

Cigarette lighter socket.

Instructions:

The two solar panels I have are actually 5watt 6v panels put in series to make
12v 10w. This is quite simple with the positive output of one panel connected
to the negative of the other panel and the the remaining 2 connections used
as the output. The solar panels were bought of eBay quite a long time ago and
aren't available anymore so any other panel putting out 10w at 12v could be
used.

I mentioned in the other solar page that polycrystalline or monocrystalline
panels are better than amorphous. These panels are polycrystalline and are built
much more sturdily, have more power in the same space and have mounting holes
at the back. I would actually recommend using one larger panel instead of two
smaller panels since the connections are easier and with two panels a frame
has to be made to hold them together. I have been trying different configurations
with these panels and I find this works best. I made a mount so they can be
placed on a flat surface out of angles from shelves.

The panels have connection boxes at the back which can be screwed open. The
cable is passed through the gland and it has screw-down connections inside.
Ordinary 240v mains cable can be used with this. The cable can be quite long
from the panels to the battery if needed. I made a power panel for this with
readily available parts. I used the same battery as before but I took it out
of the battery case. Connectors can be bought to connect to the terminals which
are crimp terminals. You pass the cable into the hole and 'squeeze' the hole
together. Pliers seem to work but the cable can slip out. I would recommend
using mole grip pliers or a tightly tightened vice to crimp the connectors.

I bought a charging regulator from Maplin which should be used with panels
of 10w and above to use with this system which stops the battery getting overcharged
and means that you can leave the system alone. It is connected as shown below,
with the brown and blue being the cable coming from the solar panel, the brown
being the positive and the blue being the negative. The negatives of the battery
and the solar panel are connected together. When connecting a cigarette lighter
plug, the connections go to the same connection point as the battery does. It
was then all mounted on a sheet of plywood and cable ties(not shown in the picture)
securing the battery to the backboard. The connector blocks are screwed on with
one of the holes in between the connection points.