I’m planning to construct a solar powered ventilator. I have several questions.
If I use just one 12v dc solar panel (PV Module), how many fans( CPU Fan) can I operate?
Do i need a battery and a charge controller?
What about DC input?
How do I set up the system with the basic equipment to operate this solar powered ventilator project of mine?
Tips and links to other websites are are very much appreciated. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
P/S: I am not an electrician neither an engineer in any engineering field. I just want to learn and invent something for the sake of inventing only.
Very general answer. What you plan is difficult if you want to make it perfect. If you want to make it quick and dirty for fun, it could be a neat project.
A CPU fan is a great little thing to power because it is very well balanced and takes little energy.
Try to get some data on the fan. I am just guessing, but it is bound to be much less than 5 V DC.
If you want to play around, get some rechargeable batteries. See how many batteries, hooked in series, it takes you to power the fans. The fan has a little cable. One lead is positive and one negative. You might find that from 4 rechargeable batteries, you can run one to four fans for some period of time. Try a parallel configuration and see what happens.
Use the solar panel to charge the batteries. Use the batteries to power the fans. The reason is that the fans will then always spin at their usual rate, and they can spin even in the dark.
Get a good sense of what is positve and what is negative on your batteries and leads. Be careful not to mess up your panel by using positve and negative incorrectly.
Good luck.
April 30th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Very general answer. What you plan is difficult if you want to make it perfect. If you want to make it quick and dirty for fun, it could be a neat project.
A CPU fan is a great little thing to power because it is very well balanced and takes little energy.
Try to get some data on the fan. I am just guessing, but it is bound to be much less than 5 V DC.
If you want to play around, get some rechargeable batteries. See how many batteries, hooked in series, it takes you to power the fans. The fan has a little cable. One lead is positive and one negative. You might find that from 4 rechargeable batteries, you can run one to four fans for some period of time. Try a parallel configuration and see what happens.
Use the solar panel to charge the batteries. Use the batteries to power the fans. The reason is that the fans will then always spin at their usual rate, and they can spin even in the dark.
Get a good sense of what is positve and what is negative on your batteries and leads. Be careful not to mess up your panel by using positve and negative incorrectly.
Good luck.
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