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Small Solar AA Battery Chargers & NiMH
Batteries
By
David W Walker, Chadron, Nebraska
One major crisis facing us all today is
that our many landfills continue to
build up huge amounts of toxins from
vast quantities of disposable batteries
as well as from old NiCad
(Nickel-Cadmium) rechargeable cells.
Fortunate for Earth, all of her many
creatures & her vegetation are the
newer, higher capacity NiMH
(Nickel-Metal Hydride) batteries.
Not only do NiMH cells store 3 to 4
times
or more energy than the
older-technology NiCads, they are
essentially non-toxic! They also are
rechargeable up to 1000 times & suffer
no cell memory problems like NiCad cells
do.
Enter the small solar battery charger
such as the B101 available from
CETSolar.com. Using only energy from
direct Sunlight & then converting it,
this inexpensive little solar battery
charger will effectively recharge your
NiMH AA batteries from nothing more than
the abundant, free power coming from our
little star/Sun. Though originally
designed for NiCad batteries, the B101
will also do a fine job recharging NiMH
cells. Just be aware that it will take a
lot more time to fully recharge these
higher-capacity batteries, so the old
tried & true adage of “Patience
is a virtue” is important to keep in
mind here.
In direct Sunlight the B101 can fully
charge 4 older 700 mAh
(milliamp hour) NiCads in about 28
hours of direct Sunlight while the unit
is generating about 100mA of current
(100 milliamps). Newer NiMH AA
batteries store 2500 mAh
or more of energy so they will take
much longer to fully recharge. An
example equation: 4 discharged batteries
of 2500 mAh storage capacity
(totaling 10,000 mAh of energy)
divided by 100 mA current each hour =
100 hours… or about 12 days of 8-9 hours
per day in full-Sunlight charging. The
charger contains a blocking diode so one
can leave the batteries in the unit
after it gets dark without the stored
energy draining from them.
One single AA battery at a time may be
recharged in the B101, or just 2 or 3 as
needed. Hence, the recharging
calculations will alter & are faster.
For instance, if only one 2500 mAh AA is
being recharged then all 100 mA of
energy is directed into this lone cell,
fully recharging it in about 25 hours of
direct Sunshine. If 2 AA cells are
charging then the current is divided
equally between each cell, or 50 mA of
current each, 50 hours. When 3 AA cells
are charging then the charging current
becomes about 33 mA each for 75 hours &,
as already discussed, charging 4
batteries together will send 25 mA of
current to each cell each hour in full,
direct Sunlight, 100 hours.
Keep in mind that an economical charger
like the B101 is in no way
weather-resistant. It should
not be left outdoors when a chance
of rain or snow exists. Take care not to
mar the plastic coating protecting the
solar panel, as the energy producing
capability can fast become compromised.
While the unit will charge from behind
windows at home & in vehicles, the
charging will be at a slightly reduced
rate as ultraviolet light
(readily available from direct &
indirect Sunshine) is a factor in
the strongest possible conversion from
Sunlight into electrical current & not
much UV makes it through most glass.
Having several sets of rechargeable
batteries available will aid your
success in battery recharging from a
small solar charger.
Once one begins to realize the many
benefits from using the free energy
available from solar charging then it’s
easy to become enthusiastic over doing
something much more sustainable than
throwing away massive amounts of toxic,
disposable batteries every year. Getting
into the routine may take some personal
adjustments for many of us, though the
benefits greatly outweigh the
detriments. Saving a lot of money,
easing-up on toxic waste production &
investing in our future are but a few of
the reasons to recharge NiMH batteries
using plentiful Sun power. It’s also
quite contagious! Sharing good things
with family & friends is pretty easy too
& even feels good. Best wishes to you
towards increasing responsibility &
greener Earth, as her future is one &
the same as our own.
* Distinctive differences that
readers will find on this page are
references to as well as the
capitalization of Sun & Earth, which are
not commonly found so in our languages &
societies today… & why not? We
capitalize Venus & Mars along with the
rest of our solar system’s planets, yet
most of us have come to write “the
earth” instead of “Earth” & “the sun” in
place of “Sun”. Is this a subtle
indication of how little reverence we
have for the planet that we were first
given stewardship over? Can this be an
indication of a lack of respect for the
center of our solar system that would
cease living were it not for Sun’s
life-sustaining warmth & energy?
Consequently, both Sun & Earth are aptly
capitalized on this page.
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