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Solar Powered Reading Lamp

Solar Powered Reading Lamp

The goal of this project was to produce a self contained reading lamp that could be used by students in developing countries for reading at night.
The circuit can be used for a wide variety of lighting applications.

The reading lamp consists of a small solar panel, a standard UPS style lead acid battery, and an LED circuit board. The circuit board contains a low power solar charge controller (regulator), a set of 8 white LEDs, a switch, an LED current regulator, and a low voltage disconnect circuit. The circuitry will insure a long battery life by preventing over charging and excessive discharging. The circuit was designed to work with lead acid batteries, it should also work with a string of 10 NiCd cells. Both the charge controller and LED regulator circuits can be used independently for other applications.



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Newer VW and Audi automobiles come with small solar panels for keeping the battery charged in the sales lot. These panels are available on eBay for around $15 and are a perfect fit for this project. An inexpensive 12V 7AH lead acid gell-cell battery that is typically found in a computer UPS is also a good fit for this circuit. Be sure to use a new battery.

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