Hello people,
I have been building a small solar set up as a test for building a bigger one. This has a 12V solar panel from Aliexpress supposed to provide 30W but as indicated in product comments from other buyers, it really just provides 10W, a voltage regulator, a 2,6Ah battery made out of 4 18650 of 3,7V each connected in series (14,4V approx.) and a power inverter.
To evaluate the input of the solar panel I have connected all the elements to the voltage regulator and in the solar panel circuit I have added a wattmeter. The result of the wattmeter is that I obtain a voltage but no amperage (so effectively no power).
I have tested the wattmeter with the battery and it works. I have tested the panel with a power sink and it does provide some power (don't know how much). I have made sure that the battery is only half full. I am wondering why I can not measure any power when the solar set up is assembled.
Could it be that the solar panel is too small for which no power can reach the battery?
I don't understand what might be happening because my understanding from voltage regulator is that it will manipulate the solar panel voltage regardless of the battery voltage to always charge it. Or am I wrong?
I have been building a small solar set up as a test for building a bigger one. This has a 12V solar panel from Aliexpress supposed to provide 30W but as indicated in product comments from other buyers, it really just provides 10W, a voltage regulator, a 2,6Ah battery made out of 4 18650 of 3,7V each connected in series (14,4V approx.) and a power inverter.
To evaluate the input of the solar panel I have connected all the elements to the voltage regulator and in the solar panel circuit I have added a wattmeter. The result of the wattmeter is that I obtain a voltage but no amperage (so effectively no power).
I have tested the wattmeter with the battery and it works. I have tested the panel with a power sink and it does provide some power (don't know how much). I have made sure that the battery is only half full. I am wondering why I can not measure any power when the solar set up is assembled.
Could it be that the solar panel is too small for which no power can reach the battery?
I don't understand what might be happening because my understanding from voltage regulator is that it will manipulate the solar panel voltage regardless of the battery voltage to always charge it. Or am I wrong?