CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION1.0 Background

Nigeria as the largest country in Africa with a population of about 148million is facing the challenge of
erratic power supply. This is because notless than 60% of the population has limited or no access to
affordableelectricity, hence there is need to stem the energy crisis in the nation [1].Due to the
increasing population of Nigeria, there has been a correspondingincrease in power demand without a
reliable supply to meet such. Theshort fall in the supply of electricity in this country especially in the
ruralsettlement where there are inadequate or no grid systems necessitates theneed to explore
renewable source of energy. Ref [2] ascertains that stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system configuration
offer an economical substituteto the costly grid extensions in rural areas in the world. Small
scaleaffordable production of solar energy can be used in the charging of phonesas well as lighting in the
rural areas.Solar power as a renewable energy source, is gaining wide spreadacceptance due to the
availability of technical know-how and solarresources. Like all other renewable energy sources, it
evidently hasnumerous benefits over non

renewable energy sources, such as coal, oiland nuclear energy etc. as an environmental friendly option
of powergeneration it is non

polluting, reliable and can produce energy anywhere

that there is sunlight. Another major advantage is that solar resources arenot going to run out anytime
soon. When compare with other sources ofres, it has some technical and environmental advantages.
Solar power isgenerated using solar panels, which do not require any major mechanicalparts, such as
wind turbines. these mechanical parts can break down andcause maintenance issues and can also be
quite noisy. both of theseissues are virtually non

existent with solar panels. also, the solar cells,that connects together to make up the solar panel, can
last up to severaldecades without replacement. However, there is a shortcoming to solarenergy
production

–
 energy can only be produce when the sunlight isavailable. to overcome this, usually solar panels are
coupled with back uprechargeable batteries, which can store excess power generated during theperiod
of availability and utilize this in providing energy to systems whenthere is no sunlight. in this way solar
power can be used in residentialareas especially for charging of phones and provision of light during
thenight.In these systems there is need for voltage regulation of the supply voltageform the solar panel
as well as a charging circuit for the
rechargeablebattery. This is because the solar panel usually produces an outputdirect current (dc)
voltage which is usually more than that needed tocharge the phone as well as charge the rechargeable
battery. Thereforethere is need for voltage regulation

For the purpose of this project, the load (phone) to be connected onlyrequires dc input, so dc

ac conversion is not needed. Instead, dc

dcconversion would be used to provide the correct power to the system fromthe power
generated by the solar panel.

1.1 Motivation of study

Following a survey of the duration of electricity power available during theday as well as night in
rural areas of Nigeria, there is a need to design asolar-powered cell phone charger that is fabricated
locally. This is ofprimary importance because a large number of cell phone owners or usersin the rural
areas as well as some urban areas with no or limited access toutility electricity, are forced to pay at least
N50 per charge for their cellphone from a commercial outfit using a 750VA petrol driven
generator. This adds up to a significant investment over a period of time, especiallyfor a poor rural
dweller.

1.2 Aim and objectives

The aim of this research is to design and construct a solar powered mobilephone charger. More
especially the objectives are:

1)

To design an electric circuit for the purpose of charging through thesolar power
 2)

To carry out a design calculation so as to ascertain the duration forwhich the rechargeable
battery will charge the mobile phone.

3)

To run a technical test to verify the variation in the input and outputof the charger.

1.3 Problem statement

As earlier stated the need for rural residents to charge phones during thehours of the day when
sunlight is available and the need to cut down thelevel of carbon emission is a major concern. In order to
achieve this a solarpowered mobile phone charger will be needed. As against this background,the
purpose of this project is to design and construct a cost effective,affordable solar powered mobile
phone charger.

1.4 Solution approach

The main design of the circuitry of this project is such that it would beimplementing the mobile
phone charging algorithm to charge the mobilephones at the
load. To solve this problem, the circuitry is connected to a solar panel with anoutput voltage of
9V. These were the considerations that were taken into account whiledesigning the project:

The finished product should not cost more than N10,000 dueto economic level of the targeted
consumers

The project design is made as simple as possible for easyreproductivity and for easy
maintainance.
 It should be users friendly because of the level of literacy ofthe targeted consumers

The product should be flexible such that it can charge thedifferent cell phone brands available
in market.

1.5 Scope of study

The scope of this study is limited to the design and construction of solarpowered mobile phone
charger.

1.6 Thesis outline

The rest of this project is as follows: chapter 2 presents a literature review,while in chapter 3
the methodology of the work is highlighted. In chapter4, the results and its discussion are presented. In
chapter 5, conclusionand recommendations is drawn from the results presented in the previouschapter

CHAPTER TWOREVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.0 Need for Regulated Supply

 There are many applications where the variations in supply voltageassociated with unstabilised supply
would result in the equipment givinginconsistent results or where damage could even be inflicted on
thesupplied equipment. There are also a number of applications where a verywell smoothed supply is
required and a stabilized supply is of advantagehere because the regulator circuit counteracts all
variation in the outputpotential including ripple. In general, most domestic electronic circuitsrequire a
source of constant D.C. power. In practice, D.C. power forelectronic circuits is most suitably obtained
from commercial A.C. lines byusing filtered rectifier circuit, called a D.C. power supply. The rectifier-
filter system constitutes a normal D.C. power supply. TheD.C. voltage produced from an ac supply
remains constant so long as A.C.mains voltage or load is unchanged. Nevertheless, in many
electronicapplications, it is required that D.C. supply should remain stableirrespective of any variation in
A.C. mains or load. Under suchcircumstances, a voltage regulating devices are required. This
constitutesregulated D.C. power supply and keeps the D.C. voltage at fairly constantvalue. This chapter
focuses on the various voltage regulating circuits usedto obtain regulated power supply.

2.1 Unregulated D.C. Power Supply

An unregulated D.C. power supply basically consists of a rectifier and afilter circuit as shown in
Figure.2.1. The output from the rectifier ispulsating D.C. These pulses are due to the presence of A.C.
component inthe rectifier output. The filter circuit removes the A.C. component so thatsteady D.C.
voltage V

dc

is obtained across the load

Figure 2.1. Unregulated D.C. voltage supply.As earlier stated, the unregulated D.C. power supply has the
followingdrawbacks: The d.c. output voltage changes directly with input A.C.voltage; D.C. output voltage
decreases as the load current increases (thisis due to voltage drop

in transformer windings, rectifier and, filter circuit).Such variations in D.C. output voltage may cause
inaccurate or erraticoperation or even malfunctioning of many electronic circuits. Therefore,ordinary
power supply is unsuitable for many electronic applications andis being replaced by regulated power
supply

CHAPTER FOUR

CONSTRUCTION AND TESTING

4.1 Introduction

This chapter contains the details of the construction. It also contains thelist of tools used in the
construction work and the testing and resultanalysis. The tools used to carry out the construction are:
veroboard,soldering iron, lead sucker, long noise pliers, cutting pliers, screw driver,drilling machine,
digital multi-meter, frequency meter, spanner,
tweezers. The appropriate tools were used to carry out different in order to thedamage of the tools or
any materials used in the construction process.

4.2 Circuit Construction and Selection of component values

The construction of the circuit was carried out taking into considerationall components that are very
sensitive to heat or that can be damagedwhen they are over-heated. Also, those components that
consume very lowcurrent, in order of milli-ampere were mounted on the veroboard.

Determination of R8:
4.1But

Typical vaues for

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 Introduction
Given the current energy crisis and increasing need for sustainable energy. I endeavor to create a
cost effective, small-scale electrical generator which could be used to power consumer electronics. Solar
energy has proven its worth as an alternative energy source because it is low-impact and emission free.
It has been implemented with much success for power grids with hundreds of acres of enormous solar
concentrations. In the small-scale, solar energy has been harvested through the use of photovoltaic (PV)
panels and have been used to power anything from an iPod to a residential home [1] .
Although PV systems are considered part of the green energy revolution, materials utilized for it
construction (like silicon) are extremely dangerous to the environment and much care must be taken to
ensure that they are recycled properly. PV cells also only utilize the energy stored in specific
wavelengths of light and therefore have an approximate efficiency between 14-19%. Sunlight, however,
produces immense amounts of heat which only serves to heat up the surface of the solar cell. Although
there are some PV cells that have reached efficiency levels over 40% (world record is 41.6%), they are
enormously complex and expensive.
Cell phones have become an extremely popular device in the entire world and it is easy to say they are
part of our daily lives. In the year 2010 there was an estimate of over 4.6 billion cell phones worldwide
and the number has been growing by more than a billion ever since; this translates to more than half the
world’s population. Both the developed and the developing world countries are buying more cell
phones, but it is in developing countries where the cell phone growth stays the strongest. However, cell
phones need electric sources to charge their batteries in order to work, but there are people in
developing and third world countries that find it hard to access electric sources. For example, one
resident of a village in Tanzania describes how he takes all seven of the village‘s mobiles down to a
nearby town with electricity to charge all seven mobiles. Obviously, this is quite different than what we
see in the United States or other developed countries. Their inability to access a centralized power grid
is due to either or the combinations of two things; the cost of constructing transmission lines to their
homes, or the inability to construct transmission lines due to their location.In an attempt to provide an
alternative means of charging to those unfortunate areas in third world and developing countries, a
solar powered multiple cellphones charging booth is to be designed and constructed in this project.
However, the focus of this project is specifically to design and construct a multiple cell phones charger
powered by solar energy.

Solar power is the practical add-on to the existing sources of energy. It effectively supplements the
current sources of energy. With intelligent designs, the solar cells can be integrated into the final
consumer electronic or portable devices. This reduces the dependence of recharging these with the
electricity, thus making this ideal choice for the locations where electricity may not be actually available.
The solar panels are costly today but their costs are coming down to affordable levels. Also many a times
the government aids are available especially for the remote areas [4] .
With the solar panels being available in various form factors, a range of consumer electronic devices
making use of the solar panels are making entry into the market place and it is expected that
this trendwould continue in the future. As of now there are speakers, earphones, calculators and other
small power consuming devices already available. The trend is to integrate the solar power in the small
form factor that enhances the battery life and acts as an additional source of energy to supplement the
battery power from other sources. As the efficiency of the solar panels and conversion would become
better, a lesser area would be able to generate more energy and
eventually the solar charging may become the sole energy source in many consumer devices.

1.2 Aim and Objectives

The aim of this project is to design and construct a working solar powered multiple cell phones charging
booth to charge a number of cell phones simultaneously.
The objectives are as follows:
i. To design a working solar charger circuit for the project.
ii. To arrange and solder the component according to the design circuit.
iii. To connect the solar charger circuit with the solar panel.
iv. To construct a well packaged housing for the project.
v. To test and evaluate the performance of the developed device.
1.3 Scope of the Project

The proposed project will be capable of charging 10 phones simultaneously.

1.4 Problem Statement

According to the International Energy Agency, in 2011 1.4 billion people around the world did not have
access to electricity [3] . And most users of cell phone in rural areas find difficulty in charging their cell
phones. Therefore this project is to overcome the problem and also to create a means of charging a
number of cell phones simultaneously. The Solar cell phone charging booth runs solely on produced
sustainable energy in the form of DC power. The project has no dependence on the power grid.

The system consists of Solar PV, a solar charge controller, USB port and cell phone battery. A solar
charger is similar to the voltage regulator. It regulates the voltage and current that is coming from the
solar panels and going to the battery [5] . My goal by the end of the semester is to have a product that
provides safe, cheap, clean and reliable energy to under-privileged families, villages and areas of
developing and third world countries.

1.5 Justification of the Project

Solar power is one of the widely available energy sources. It has been in focus worldwide and solar
installations of capacities in megawatts order are reality today. The efficiency of the solar panels
remains low even today and the requirement of ensuring highest efficiency outside the panel remains
stringent. Thanks to this, several techniques have been deployed to harness the maximum energy,
Maximum Power point tracking being one of them.
Consumer electronic devices typically need few watts and many of these devices/gadgets now use USB
port for charging. The standardization to USB voltage presents opportunity to design more and more
chargers that conform to this form factor and voltage requirements.Solar charging is slow and this
presents another challenge of keeping the devices in the sunlight (daytime). This may not be always
practical and hence there is a need to have battery backup solutions.
Solar USB chargers can be used to charge gadgets like mobiles, PMP, PDA’s and even e-book readers or
any other devices that use a USB or mini USB interface. It can be especially useful during
• Conferences/All Day Meetings
• Camping trip /Picnic
• Power outages
• Natural disasters
• No access to power outlet
At present all the gadgets are charged typically with a 5V to 5.5V source (current could vary depending
upon the capacity of the battery, typically limited to 500mA). Hence for charging the voltage provided to
the gadgets should not be higher than the above mentioned voltage range.

1.6 Thesis Outline

This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One will discuss about the overview of the project,
objective of the project, project scope and problem statement.
Chapter Two contains a detail description of the original setup. It explains about the concept used and
the components that involved in the project.
Chapter Three includes the original designed circuit and its components. Also a complete analysis to the
presented design will be given.
Chapter Four shows the experimental work and the practical testing results to the constructed circuit
will be explained.
The last Chapter contains the detail description about conclusion and recommendation. It concludes the
whole project and gives a future recommendation to make this project perfect.Also it explains the
important merit of the project.

I. INTRODUCTION Though the years, technology has allowed the cellular phone to shrink not only the
size of the ICs, but also the batteries. However, as technology has advanced and made our phone
smaller and easier to use we still have one of the original problem that we must plug the phones into
the walls in order to recharge the battery. Most people accept the reality as there is no other option to
this problem so they carry extra batteries with them. Every time it is not possible to charge mobile
batteries everywhere at any time so we design this mobile charger from which we can charge the
mobile battery anywhere at any time. In this project we are using the concept of energy harvesting by
using solar energy for battery charging purpose. By using this we can charge our mobile battery in
remote areas where there is a problem of electricity. Cost of this circuitry can be reduced to certain
extend so that common man can easily purchase that and get benefit from that. We will give the wide
scope to this project by making certain modifications and we can use this charger for different handsets.
Also modification to this project will be applying to any battery operated devices like laptop. This project
can be divided into two main parts which are hardware and software development. The hardware
development includes the solar panel connection, charging and control circuit and microcontroller. The
software developments include the microcontroller programming. Manuscript received July 18, 2014
Rohit Kamble, Department of Electronics& Telecommunication, Shivaji University/ P.V.P.I.T.Budhgaon/
Budhgaon, India, Phone/ Mobile No.9405582058, (e-mail: rk212128@gamil.com ). Sameer Yerolkar,
Department of Electronics& Telecommunication, Shivaji University/ P.V.P.I.T.Budhgaon/ Budhgaon,
India, Phone/ Mobile No.9421453607, (e-mail: sameeryerolkar@gmail.com ). Dinesh Shirsath,
Department of Electronics& Telecommunication, Shivaji University/ P.V.P.I.T.Budhgaon/ Budhgaon,
India, Phone/ Mobile No.9975328204, (e-mail: shirsath.dinesh@gmail.com). Bharat Kulkarni,
Department of Electronics& Telecommunication, Shivaji University/ P.V.P.I.T.Budhgaon/ Budhgaon
India, Phone/ Mobile 9822672383, (e-mail: bk.2983@gmail.com ).

A. How are Solar Panels Made Solar energy has long been grabbing attention of the scientists and
researchers as true alternate solution to fossil fuel energy. Noticing the enormous abundance of sunlight
available to us as a blessing from our sun, it is not unusual to wish to tap this energy which has been
there since the beginning of time and use it drive our engines and homes. However the solar energy
even though it is available in abundance, the efforts to use this energy and transfer it into a usable form
and drives our day to day appliances has been in vain. That is why solar energy has not become our
prime source of our energy requirements. We are either relying on hydroelectric power which in turn
causes environmental disaster or we burn coal or use nuclear energy to generate electricity. The main
reason why we are not able to use the solar energy is our solar panels are not able to tap more than
20% of its energy. This results in huge investment cost but low return of investment. This makes the
investment in solar energy unattractive and therefore is becoming less and less popular. However
researchers all round the world have been able to develop solar panels that will tap this solar energy
more efficiently. In order to understand how this is possible we need to understand how solar panels
are made. There are two basic types of solar panels, first is the crystalline solar panels made of
crystalline silicon and other is amorphous silicon panel which is made from amorphous silicon. In order
to make Crystalline solar panels, thin disks are cut from silicon in its crystalline form which are .8 cm
thick. These disks are then subjected to a careful polishing and repairing process to ensure that no
damage occurred during the cutting process has remained unattended. The thickness of these disks is so
less that they appear to be wafer like disks which gives them the name “silicon wafers”. Now for the
main part of the process, adding the “dopants”. Dopants are materials that are added to these silicon
wafer disks so that they get electrically charged. The positive and the negative charges are added
accordingly in these silicon disks and then are joined together so that electrons when subjected to
sunlight can flow and conduct electricity. These disks now with the dopants in them are aligned
horizontal and vertical manner to form a matrix pattern forming a solar panel. These solar panels are
then covered with glass plate in order to protect them from any physical damage or scratches. The solar
energy that our panels receive has two types of energy light and heat energy. These solar panels are
then fitted with a special type of cement. This is conductive cement which transfers the thermal energy
from the solar panels this preventing the solar

panels from the heat. This method of manufacturing solar panels is quite traditional and has been used
by many solar panel manufacturers. The amorphous silicon solar panels are made quite differently. The
manufacturing process of amorphous silicon panels involves depositing silicon alloys in various layers.
The solar cells made by this process are far more efficient and are capable of absorbing a wider range of
solar spectrum. This type of panel manufacturing is now becoming very popular and is fast growing into
an industry. The material cost of such solar panel is also cheap. The solar cells made from with this
process have special ability to continue giving the same output even when the entire array of cells has
come under shade. This prevents the circuit from being breaking and thus maintains the same energy
output.

VI. ADVANTAGES  Cost Effective: Compared to the other mobile chargers, the solar chargers are cost
effective as it absorbs power from the sun. It does not require electric power  Versatile: It is also
known to be versatile as it can be used for all types of mobile phones  Uninterrupted Power Supply:
One of the greatest advantages of solar mobile phone charger is that it can be used to charge mobiles
even during power outages.  Emergency Purposes: Another benefit is that it hardly requires any
electrical outlet. It can therefore be used during emergencies and outdoor purposes.

 Compact Design: Solar mobile phone chargers are compact in size and easy to carry around.

VII. LIMITATIONS

Quite expensive: One of the most important drawbacks is

its price compared to the ordinary mobile phone

chargers, it is quite expensive as it utilizes solar energy

captivators.

Charging time large: Another significant drawback is the

time frame required by the chargers to charge mobile

phones. It can take six to eight hours to charge mobile

phones compared to the other.

VIII. CONCLUSION
Renewable energy is not a new concept, nevertheless at an

exponential growing population, the development and

improvement of them are essential to sustain world power

hunger. In 2050 the population expectation on earth is

about 9 billion people, where approximately 5 billion will

use mobile phones. The application of renewable energy at

portable devices starts to plays a significant role at global

energy saving. Solar chargers are simple, portable and

ready to use devices which can be used by anyone especially

in remote areas.

XI. FUTURE SCOPE

Basically the solar mobile charger is designed for charging

mobile battery. But in future, by making some

modifications we can use this charger to charge batteries

used in different portable devices like laptop, walky-talky,

i-POD, digital camera etc.

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[11] ZEMAN,M.(s.d.).Fonte:http://ocw.tudelft.nl/courses/microelectronics/

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