Making use of a 16 Watt Panel

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System
System Posts: 2,511 admin
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
Hi All,

I've been given a 16 watt unisolar panel. It says max output is 30 volts and 1.5 amps. I would like to use it to power a 12 volt device that I have. I was wondering if there is a way to do this without having a battery in the mix. In other words I want to run the panel through some kind of device (voltage regulator?) to convert it to 12 volts and run the device directly off the resulator's output. Is there a way to do this?

Thanks ahead of time!
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  • n3qik
    n3qik Solar Expert Posts: 741 ✭✭
    #2
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    Re: Making use of a 16 Watt Panel

    Yes it can be done. How much current dose the device need?
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  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    #3
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    Re: Making use of a 16 Watt Panel

    And is there a start up surge needed by this device? Or momentary surges while in operation?
    May we ask what the device is? Knowing that, would reduce the guesswork on our part.
    Cheers
    Wayne
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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #4
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    Re: Making use of a 16 Watt Panel

    The simple method is to use a common 3 terminal linear voltage regulator, with a heat sink.
    You will loose a lot of power to the heat sink (about 8 of your 16 watts) but you will get the desired voltage for less than $10 (regulator IC, heat sink, caps, proto-box). The more efficient method, with a DC-DC regulator, will be much more expensive.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

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