How A Solar Powered Battery Works
You use batteries all of the time, whether they are in your cell phone, a flashlight or your car. A solar powered battery works basically the way other batteries work, but instead of drawing its power from electricity, it draws energy from the sun and stores it until it is needed. Although the initial purchase price of solar batteries varies based on the size of the battery required, the energy produced is inexpensive, clean, and efficient.
Many cells make up each solar battery, and each is designed to hold a pre-determined amount of energy which depends on the size of the solar powered battery. Silicon semiconductors run between the cells and solar panels, which absorb sunlight and process it into the semiconductor, which in turn sends it to the cells for storage. When you turn on the device that the battery powers, the stored power from the cells is used, and then the cycle starts all over again.
A solar powered battery is considered a deep-cycle battery because they are designed to give off a small amount of current and then maintain it for hours, such as through the night until the sun appears to recharge them. This is quite different from a car battery, which produces a large amount of current for a short time to get the engine running, and then the car itself recharges the battery over time.
Solar batteries can be designed to be 12 volt DC, which can be used for lighting in boats and RVs, or can use an inverter system that converts 48, 24, or 12 volt DC into 120-volt AC, which is the type of voltage used to power such appliances as a fridge, stove, television, or even a water heater. There are also hybrid systems that include several different systems that include a battery bank. Understanding how a solar powered batter works is an important first step to knowing whether solar power is right for you and which batteries you need.