![]() I just put tape on my panel’s four corners, but you can do the whole frame if you’d like. Stick the double-sided mounting tape to the back of your solar panel. I picked a sunny spot on my shed’s most south-facing roof to mount my solar panel. ![]() If you’re able to control the tilt angle of your solar panel, also check out our solar panel tilt angle calculator. Tip: If you’re at all unsure what direction to face your solar panel, use our solar panel azimuth angle calculator. I recommend picking the roof whose direction is closest to your location’s optimal direction. ![]() If you’re in the southern hemisphere, the optimal direction is due north. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, the optimal direction to face solar panels is due south. Step 4: Mount & Connect the Solar Panelįind a sunny spot on your shed’s roof to mount your solar panel. All we have to do next is mount and connect the solar panel and lights and our DIY solar lights will be done. In my opinion, that was the hardest part of this project. Now your charge controller and battery are properly connected! And lithium batteries shouldn’t be charged below freezing (unless they have low-temp charging protection, which is usually only available on larger lithium batteries, such as 100Ah sizes or greater). The reason is simple: because this DIY solar lighting setup is in my uninsulated shed, the battery will experience temperatures below freezing. Note: If you know anything about batteries, you may be wondering why I’m not using a lithium battery for this project. I selected the “SEL” option on mine, which stands for sealed lead acid batteries. Your charge controller needs to know what type of battery you’re using to charge and discharge the battery to the right voltages. The screen should turn on automatically and start displaying system specs such as battery voltage.įollow the instructions in your charge controller’s manual to select your battery type. Once you’ve connected your battery, confirm that your charge controller turned on. If you want to make the connection a bit more permanent - such as in vehicles where things can get jostled around during transit - you can pick up some electrical tape and tape the alligator clips to the terminals. Tip: If your alligator clips don’t reach your battery terminals, just use an SAE extension cable. I didn’t use one - this is a zero-tools build after all! Beyond tweezers, other household alternatives include the nail cleaner on a pair of nail clippers, the flathead screwdriver on a multitool, a hair clip, and even a pocket knife.Ĭonnect the battery alligator clips to their respective battery terminals on the 12V battery. ![]() Tip: Don’t have a flathead screwdriver? No worries. Use a pair of tweezers (or a small flathead screwdriver) to tighten the terminals. Insert the positive wire end into the positive battery terminal and the negative wire end into the negative battery terminal. They are usually labelled with a battery icon or the letters “BAT” or “BATT”. Locate the battery terminals on your charge controller. Here’s one of them, which you’ll see already has a built-in fuse for overcurrent protection - a safety best practice in DIY solar power systems like this.Ĭonnect the two adapter cables - the SAE pigtail and and the SAE to battery alligator clips - together. Though rare, some call for connecting the solar panel first.įor this step, I picked up a couple adapter cables that make this process a cinch. But always double-check the recommended connection order in your charge controller’s manual. Note: Most charge controllers - including the one I’m using in this tutorial - require you to connect the battery first, so that’s the order of connection I’ll detail here. Step 2: Connect the Charge Controller to the Battery If you’ve ever mounted a charge controller before, you’ll know this is as easy as it gets. With your mounting location picked, stick some of the double-sided mounting tape to the back of your charge controller. For mine, I picked a spot on the wall next to my shed’s doors. Above all, I’d recommend taking into account where you’ll mount your solar panel and picking a place for the charge controller where the solar panel’s wires can reach. Pick a place to mount the charge controller. You can find different solar panel sizes based on your desired runtime at the end of this article. 12V 10W solar panel - Again, this is a good size for infrequent use.12V 10A solar charge controller - This one has a 2A USB port, which is necessary for this project.I discuss at the end of this article different battery sizes based on how long you want your lights to run for. 12V 7Ah lead acid battery - This is a good battery size if you’ll be using your lights infrequently and for short stretches of time.
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