Question running a Pi-Project with solar

thedighubs

Member
Nov 21, 2024
27
1
11
good day dear community :)

frst of all - i hope that i post this in the right sub-forum here.


if not -plz set me straigth. i thought that i can post PSU-related questions here.

what is the topic: I'm looking to build an off the grid system using a Raspberry Pi powered by a power bank or a battery and a solar panel.
That said i think that in the field of Raspberry Pi, power management plays a crucial role. It's not just about keeping the device running; it's about ensuring optimal running under good and stable condition (here we talk about the term stability) - and Performance (i think that i want to avoid crashes) and longevity of the project.

my major goal: I'm looking to build an off the grid system with a Raspberry Pi powered by a power bank or a battery and a solar panel. And here i think i need to have is a kind of a power interface, that will shut the Pi down safely when battery is very low. And besides this i think that it is obvous to have some kind of power-management: What about to power it back on soon as the batter has a significant amount of power, or the solar panel is providing enough power for both, the Pi and to charge the battery?

What do you think about this considerations!?

Background: i am a big fan of Battery-Powered Raspberry Pi Projects: i am lovin to take Raspberry Pi projects off the grid and making them portable. This step is amazing and it opens a world of possibilities, opions and much more, from outdoor environmental monitoring systems to a Tiny weather wstation.

And if we talk About powering this: i think using batteries as a power source is key to this mobility and all the great options,

Is there any interface for this? Does any body of you have some experience here ?
 

thedighubs

Member
Nov 21, 2024
27
1
11
good day dear mindless1

many thanks for the reply thank you for the link - this is very very helpful.
:)
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
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Should be doable, easiest would probably be to run a 12v system with 2 golf cart batteries and then use a 12v to 5v power converter such as a car USB plug. if you can find a charge controller that does 6v you could also run straight off a golf cart battery and skip the converter, although the RPI might not like the higher voltage. A 6v battery would float around 7v.

Make sure you also have something that is monitoring the battery voltage so that if it goes below say, 11.0v, it shuts down. Should be able to do that with the RPI itself. But you will also want a separate circuit powered directly by the solar panel that can turn it back on when the voltage reaches a proper state. Actually been meaning to figure that out for my shed's solar setup, so that the inverter can be set and forget, and it will shut off and turn back on based on solar power coming in. At this time of year I just turn it off completely, but we do get the odd day with sun.
 
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thedighubs

Member
Nov 21, 2024
27
1
11
Hi there dear Red Squirrel

many thanks for the reply.

Should be doable, easiest would probably be to run a 12v system with 2 golf cart batteries and then use a 12v to 5v power converter such as a car USB plug. if you can find a charge controller that does 6v you could also run straight off a golf cart battery and skip the converter, although the RPI might not like the higher voltage. A 6v battery would float around 7v.
thank you. good ideas - and food for thought.

Make sure you also have something that is monitoring the battery voltage so that if it goes below say, 11.0v, it shuts down. Should be able to do that with the RPI itself. But you will also want a separate circuit powered directly by the solar panel that can turn it back on when the voltage reaches a proper state. Actually been meaning to figure that out for my shed's solar setup, so that the inverter can be set and forget, and it will shut off and turn back on based on solar power coming in. At this time of year I just turn it off completely, but we do get the odd day with sun.

convinced - your ideas were very very good. I will take them all into account.

have a great day
cheers