Solar battery charging station with automated switching system

Abstract

In today’s environmentally conscious climate there is more and more interest being taken in alternative forms of power supply. Bangladesh is witnessing a significant increase in solar energy generation as a part of renewable energy generation as a safety net for the shortage of conventional power sources (coal, oil, gas etc.). Solar energy can be produced and converted to electrical energy via solar panels and then stored in batteries which can then be used for multiple household and commercial purposes. This project deals with the modified design of the pilot project, SBCS or Solar Battery Charging Station. This project is an attempt to assist the urban and rural areas with eco-friendly and cheap electricity supply, decreasing the load on the national grid in the process. The batteries charged in the process can also be used by electricity-driven rickshaws that will be helpful for those rickshaw pullers who are either old or physically handicapped. The implementation of the project includes charging 48-volts battery sets using two 200W solar panels providing discrete amount of power at different times of the day. In addition to that the project also includes an automated switching system by which the station will shift to backup power to charge the batteries if the solar irradiance is too low for the batteries to be charged in a given time constrain. This paper gives a full description of the charging process, both by the solar panels and by national grid.