Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

walkie919 — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 11:17:25 GMT

For anyone out there trying to build a similar project, this might be useful: www.kickstarter.com/.../pv-pi-power-your-raspberry-pi-with-the-sun

Simplifies all of the power needs into a board compatible with the Raspberry Pi.

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

robogary — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 16:36:52 GMT

My first thought was to increase the voltage of the battery pack by adding another battery bank in series, but the battery manager isnt rated for it.

I myself would do an experiment, with case open, add another battery in parallel with jumper clips. It would add 2 hours to operation, hopefully the MPP tracking is going to limit the charging volts and long time current regardless of additional battery load. The solar panel is going to sag big time anyway, the difference between full load and short circuit is 6 mA.

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

tyronegrey — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 06:00:16 GMT

To power a Raspberry Pi, the solar panel needs to output at least 5V. The wattage and current ratings of the solar panel will determine how fast the battery charges. This means a 2W solar panel can charge a battery twice as fast as a 1W solar panel.

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

beacon_dave — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 14:33:12 GMT

Looks like it should be comprised of 4x 2600mAh cells.

However the price looks a bit on the low side.

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

beacon_dave — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 14:19:18 GMT

I have one of these as well. Be careful on the polarity of the battery connector - I've noticed that some are reversed from Waveshare/Adafruit polarity.

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

feiticeir0 — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 14:11:53 GMT

I am so stu....

Because of your post, I'm checking what I already have at home regarding solar - all I was missing was a good solar panel.

After all, I have this:

That I can connect one of those 1s4p 10400 mAh packs...

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

feiticeir0 — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 14:08:38 GMT

I have this ones at home

Will see if I can use them

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

feiticeir0 — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 13:51:24 GMT

Thank you beacon_dave for the information.

I would love to keep using the Waveshare Solar Charger - I've bought it for this purpose . I will take a look at those batteries.

[quote userid="41967" url="~/products/raspberry-pi/f/forum/53345/power-raspberry-pi-using-solar-panel/212085"]

The 3-cell battery holder looks like it plugs into the circuit board so would just need unplugging and a slot cutting in the cover to pass a power cable through and allow it to be plugged in.

There is potential to expand this to 13400mAh if required, either using an off-the shelf pack containing 4x 3350mAh cells

[/quote]

I'm not against this - heck, I would prefer this. Need to dig a bit further on the solar charger to see if I can replace that.

I have 3 cell packs at home for a LED cube project - that sits there - and I don't mind to use them..

Again, thank you.

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

beacon_dave — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 13:50:49 GMT

[quote userid="241826" url="~/products/raspberry-pi/f/forum/53345/power-raspberry-pi-using-solar-panel/212086"]I'm talking of temperatures around 45º C or more.[/quote]

This high ambient temperature will also likely affect the efficiency of your solar panel. The power ratings are usually for a panel operating at 25ºC.

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

feiticeir0 — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 13:09:45 GMT

Well, I've been reading and reading - something I did before, but probably not so thoroughly as I should have - thank you for your comments . This is mainly from projects that uses the PiJuice hardware - that I have - I did support them on KickStarter.

I need at least a 20W solar panel - That I have.

The battery is the crux of this . They recommend at least 12.000 mAh battery - or at least 5000 mAh or above - that I don't have. My main problem with this is:

- The Pi will be sitting on a waterproof box - in the sun - lots of heat. a lipo battery will be suffering with this and I don't want to burn down the house. I'm talking of temperatures around 45º C or more. I will have some openings (protected from rain) to vent, but the temperatures inside will be around that value.

- So, probably Li-ion batteries should be the choice.

Since a 10000mAh power bank can power the Pi and still has juice left (from experience), I'm going to guess that the batteries in the Waveshare power solar Manager are the key .

Will have to see how are they connected - serial or parallel.

The other version that waveshare sells has an 10000mAh li-po battery inside.

Tonight will try with a Raspberry PI Zero W 2 !

Thank you all

Here's some links :https://sustainablewww.org/principles/how-to-build-a-solar-powered-raspberry-pi-with-pijuice

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

beacon_dave — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 12:46:00 GMT

12V battery is probably more scalable but the initial cost might end up being quite high. Depends if you are planning on adding additional load in the future. There should be lots of off-the-shelf kits available due to off-grid camping.

Wesley did an off-grid solar project over on element14 presents which may be of interest:

/challenges-projects/element14-presents/project-videos/w/documents/28102/episode-598-how-to-build-a-portable-solar-charged-off-grid-power-station

However, you have previously stated that the 10000mAh power bank provided sufficient capacity to power the R-Pi 4 setup, and that it works being charged off the solar power bank. You could perhaps just use that as a solution and increase the size of the powerbank if needed.

However, it should be possible to get around 10500mAh out of the Waveshare solar powerbank using 3x 3500mAh 18650 cells. So perhaps worth taking a closer look at your existing '3350mAh' cells and replace them with known high quality ones that will give the full stated capacity. It's the neatest solution but those higher capacity cells can be quite expensive.

Buy Now

Alternatively you could perhaps look at using an external 3.6V power pack with the solar charger, using 4x 2500mAh cells which probably works out cheaper to give similar capacity of around 10000mAh.

Buy Now

The 3-cell battery holder looks like it plugs into the circuit board so would just need unplugging and a slot cutting in the cover to pass a power cable through and allow it to be plugged in.

There is potential to expand this to 13400mAh if required, either using an off-the shelf pack containing 4x 3350mAh cells

Buy Now

or building a custom pack (with appropriate protection). I think the Waveshare battery holder is just three cells in parallel, I didn't notice any fuses to protect against shorted cells.

If using external batteries, there are also the larger higher capacity 26650 sized cells.

However by this stage, replacing the Waveshare solar powerbank with the likes of a Voltaic laptop one might end up being better value

https://voltaicsystems.com/v88/

as although is is at around $149 you are getting around 24000mAh capacity which sounds like it would be enough to power your setup for 2-3days.

Another thing to consider is your solar charging capacity over the typical year. As nights grow longer and there are less sunny days, then you may need additional solar collection and storage to keep things running through the night. You may want to power down the R-Pi during daylight hours to conserve power rather than adding batteries and panels.

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

feiticeir0 — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 08:24:00 GMT

Thank you all for the replies.

Powering a RPi with solar is really really hard. 🙂 But lets not discourage.

What about a 12v battery with a solar controller ?

Like something like this:

with something like this ?

I still have to try the Raspberry PI Zero W 2 .

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

michaelkellett — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 08:12:09 GMT

When I've tested batteries of this type (Li-Ion 18650) I've used an electronic load programmed for constant power or current, depending on the application.

I wouldn't connect an 18650 claiming 12Ah to anything, in fact I wouldn't knowingly allow it into my lab !

I've had good results from low cost batteries making reasonable claims and very poor results when I have tested ones making extreme claims.

The big problem with the duff ones is that catching fire is a common failure mode. If you are determined to test them then set up a rig outside with reasonable precautions against it catching fire.

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

shabaz — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 23:31:16 GMT

Proving it remotely to AliExpress may be hard. They might not accept anything other than evidence from some pro battery test tool. If you can simply cancel the order now, that would be better. Setting it all up and testing them (when you know from fact that they won't support that capacity) is also a waste of your effort surely.

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

genebren — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 23:16:05 GMT

There are battery testers that can verify the capacity of a battery. I have built battery chargers for Li-Ion batteries for products (professionally) and projects (hobby). One way to verify the capacity of battery is charge a dead battery to full capacity while monitoring the charge current. By totaling the charge current over time you can calculate the capacity of the battery. The same thing can be done by taking a fully charged battery and discharging it into a load while measuring the current. Again by totaling the discharge current over time you can calculate the capacity of the battery.

Years ago I posted a blog on a robot project (Walky the Biped Robot - Power pack ) where I charged and discharged a 1200 mAh (14500) battery and discovered that in had a capacity of 210 to 290 mAh. This blog has some more details on the testing of the battery.

Good luck!

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

feiticeir0 — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 22:48:12 GMT

Thank you all. I'l check them when they arrive. If they are not what they claim, I'll filled a complaint.

Btw, how can i see if the advertised capacity is really what they have? a multimeter ?

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

genebren — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 22:14:15 GMT

There have been battery vendors claiming extremely high capacity values. The truth is there a limit to the amount of energy that can be stored into a battery, given a certain chemistry and size. For Li-Ion batteries in the 18650 package, the current maximum is 3600 mAh. Any advertised value in excess of 3600 mAh is a sham. Many people, including myself have purchased these so call high capacity batteries only to find that they are nothing but junk. Not only are they less than the advertised values, but they are also well below the 3600 mAh level. Don't waste your money on junk batteries. Buy from reliable sources, and be highly suspicious of any values in excess of 3600 mAh in a 18650 cell.

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

beacon_dave — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 21:15:49 GMT

If you have sourced your 3350mAh batteries from a similar place, then you may want to check them out, as they may be nowhere near their stated capacity either. Especially if your 10000mAh power bank manages to power the Pi 4 all night long, with some room to spare.

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

beacon_dave — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 20:22:27 GMT

Judging by this review, you will be lucky to get 1200mAh out of these

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtKJFffD0Hw

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

feiticeir0 — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 19:40:29 GMT

I might have jumped the gun on this one, but, hey, here it is:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32983015969.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.4.21ef194dQCtjpu

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

beacon_dave — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 18:31:19 GMT

Shrink-wrapped pack I think without the battery holder

Possibly something like this which is 3x 3500mAh shrink-wrapped

Buy Now

I don't have that one either, just the single cell 14500 (but use an external battery pouch with it) one and the three-cell 18650 one you have.

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

shabaz — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 18:27:33 GMT

Think you need to explain with annotated photos or diagram (or a web link). It's unclear what you mean regarding individual 18650 cells with 12,000 mAH capability, This doesn't exist.

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

feiticeir0 — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 18:15:54 GMT

It's not a battery pack . Individual 18650 batteries.

They also sell a 10.000mAh solar power manager. It's similar, but you don't have to provide the batteries. - what's inside ?

I bought this one because it was the only one available .

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

beacon_dave — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 17:54:54 GMT

Yeh, I have one of these solar power managers here, but 3,500mAh is around the maximum capacity for each cell. The 12,000mAh are usually a pack of 4x 18650 shrink-wrapped together so wouldn't fit inside the 3-cell Waveshare battery compartment.

RE: Power Raspberry PI using Solar Panel

feiticeir0 — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 17:29:57 GMT

No. This is to replace the 18650 batteries inside the Waveshare Solar Power Manager . The ones inside are 3350mAh each.