If you are thinking about organizing lighting for your garden plot, then do not rush to buy lighting fixtures in the store. You can make solar-powered garden lamps with your own hands.

If you want to illuminate an open area, but it is difficult to supply electricity to it, then you should think about solar-powered lamps, the batteries of which are charged by the rays of the sun. With the onset of darkness, such devices begin to work, creating a comfortable environment in your garden. The lamps are easy to use and install, and also attract with their quite affordable prices and wide selection.

Solar garden lamp

This article will be of interest to those who like to create useful things around the house with their own hands. One of the advantages of making lamps “on your own” is that your model will be exclusive and completely reliable (after all, you made it yourself). Remember: realize significant savings Money It's unlikely to succeed. We will not describe expensive circuits using ready-made controllers, but will focus only on the simplest option. Almost anyone who has ever held a soldering iron in their hands can repeat it.

Schematic diagram of an easy-to-replicate lamp

Below circuit diagram a lamp powered by sunlight is very simple, and has been tested many times by numerous amateurs who specialize in making useful devices with their own hands.

Schematic diagram

How it works:

• During the daytime, the solar panel (S) converts the energy of light rays into electricity.
• The current it produces through diode D1 charges the battery (A).
• The positive potential applied to the base through resistor R1 “holds” transistor T1 in the off state and LED D2 does not light up.
• When the solar panel illumination decreases significantly, the transistor opens (due to a decrease in the positive potential applied to the base) and connects LED D2 to the battery. The LED starts to light up.
• Diode D1 prevents the battery from discharging through the solar panel.
• With the onset of dawn, the positive voltage coming from the “+” output of the solar panel to the base “closes” transistor T1 and LED D2 stops lighting, and the battery begins to charge again.

Criteria for selecting parts and prices

The choice of parts depends on how powerful the lamp you intend to make. We provide specific ratings for a homemade lighting device with a power of 1 W and a luminous flux intensity of 110 Lm.

Since in the above diagram there are no elements for monitoring the battery charge level, then, first of all, you need to pay attention to the choice of solar battery. If you choose a panel with too little current, then during daylight hours it simply will not have time to charge the battery to the required capacity. Conversely, a light panel that is too powerful can overcharge the battery during daylight hours and render it unusable.

Conclusion: the current generated by the panel and the battery capacity must match each other. For a rough calculation, you can use the ratio 1:10. In our specific product, we use a solar panel with a voltage of 5 V and a generated current of 150 mA (120-150 rubles) and a battery form factor 18650 (voltage 3.7 V; capacity 1500 mAh; cost 100-120 rubles).

Also for production we will need:

• Schottky diode 1N5818 with a maximum permissible forward current of 1 A - 6-7 rubles. The choice of this particular type of rectifier part is due to the low voltage drop across it (about 0.5 V). This will allow you to use the solar panel most efficiently.
• Transistor 2N2907 with a maximum collector-emitter current of up to 600 mA - 4-5 rubles.
• Powerful white LED TDS-P001L4U15 (luminous flux intensity - 110 lm; power - 1 W; operating voltage - 3.7 V; current consumption - 350 mA) - 70-75 rubles.

Important! The operating current of LED D2 (or the total total current when using multiple emitters) must be less than the maximum allowable collector-emitter current of transistor T1. This condition is met with a margin for the parts used in the circuit: I(D2) = 350 mA< Iкэ(Т1)=600 мА. Battery compartment KLS5-18650-L (FC1-5216) – 45-50 rubles. If, when installing the device, you carefully solder the wires to the battery terminals, you can refuse to purchase this structural element.

• Resistor R1 with a nominal value of 39-51 kOhm - 2-3 rubles.
• We calculate the additional resistor R2 in accordance with the characteristics of the LED used.

Purpose and calculation of an additional resistor in the LED power circuit

The battery voltage may be too high for the LED (this may cause it to fail). To compensate for its excess we use an additional resistor R2. We calculate its denomination based on the formula: U(A) = U(D2) + U(R2), where:

U(A) – battery voltage;

U(D2) – LED operating voltage;

U(R2) – voltage drop across additional resistor R2.

For the TDS-P001L4U15 LED used in the above circuit with an operating voltage of 3.7 V, the use of resistor R2 is not required, since U(A) = U(D2). That is, our specific scheme will look like this:

As an example of calculating additional resistors, consider a circuit with the connection of two different types of LEDs: D2 - BL-L813UWC (operating voltage - 2.7 V; current consumption - 30 mA; cost - 15 rubles) and D3 - FYL-5013UWC/P (2, 2 V; 25 mA; 20 rubles).

We calculate the additional resistor R2 for LED D2.

U(A) = U(D2) + U(R2)

U(R2) = U(A) – U(D2) = 3.7 – 2.7 = 1 V

According to Ohm's law (familiar to everyone from school):

U(R2) = R2 I, where I is the current consumed by the LED, therefore

R2 = U(R2) : I = 1: 0.03 = 33.33 ≈ 33 Ohm

Similarly, we calculate the additional resistor R3 for LED D3:

U(R3) = U(A) – U(D3) = 3.7 – 2.2 = 1.5 V

R3 = U(R3) : I = 1.5: 0.025 = 60 ≈ 62 Ohm

On a note! After calculations have been made, the values ​​of additional resistors are rounded to the nearest standard values.

The final circuit with two different types of emitters will look like this:

Installation

The circuit consists of a minimum number of elements, so installation can be easily carried out using a hinged method. The length of the “legs” of the parts will be quite enough to perform soldering without the use of additional wires. After completing installation and checking the functionality of the manufactured luminaire, all joints should be insulated using a heat pencil or appropriate sealant.

For those who prefer to mount components on a printed circuit board, they can do so using a universal circuit board of suitable dimensions or one made independently.

What is the lampshade made from?

Before we tell you what shapes can be used to make a lampshade, let us remind you of the requirements that must be observed when making the lamp body yourself:

The solar panel should be located outside on the top of the product so that it is well illuminated during the daytime.

All connecting seams between structural elements must be carefully sealed (the components of the circuit are afraid of moisture).

LEDs must be placed in the transparent part of the lampshade.
Otherwise, everything will depend only on your imagination, personal preferences and available materials. One of the simplest options is to use a glass jar as a lampshade (for example, for storing bulk products) with a wide neck and a tight lid:

• make a hole in the lid and pass the wires from the solar panel through it;
• fix the solar panel on the outside using sealant;
• We mount the battery compartment and circuit elements on the inner surface;
• We place the LEDs at the bottom of the can.

You can successfully use a food container made of transparent plastic as an almost finished case. There are a large number of such products on sale in various sizes and shapes (round, square, rectangular). The choice will depend on the size of the solar panel and the number of LEDs.

In custody

Repeating the simplest scheme and having acquired the necessary manufacturing experience, you will be able to produce the required number of a wide variety of homemade solar-powered lamps. Such economical and mobile lighting devices will not only decorate your garden plot, but will also significantly increase the comfort of its use in the dark (for example, if you place them along garden paths, above the front door or near a summer gazebo).

If you have any questions on this topic, ask them to the experts and readers of our project.

Many people have probably thought about how to illuminate the local area so that it is both cozy and aesthetically pleasing. But this means additional energy costs. And besides, in order to supply voltage to each of the street lamps, you will have to ruin the landscape and dig ditches into which the cable will be laid. Well, wires hanging in the air from one garden lamp to another is completely unsightly.

And here the thought arises: “But you can install a lantern on a solar battery, and then electrical energy will be produced by such a free generator as the sun!” Naturally, man walking to the store for similar devices and, looking at the prices of these lighting devices, forgets about his desire, because their cost is very high.

But there are hands and a head, and this device was created by the same people, which means that it is quite possible to assemble a solar-powered garden lantern with your own hands.

Let's try to figure out whether this is possible and how difficult this work is.

Preparatory work

Of course, the ideal option would be if you have a faulty device - in addition to understanding its structure, you can at the same time understand how to repair a solar lantern with your own hands, but there is also a drawback in the implementation of this idea. Naturally, you can take several cheap ones garden lanterns requiring repairs, and replace their solar panels, but modernize them Chinese stuffing will still be necessary. Therefore, their base is needed only for training, since a repaired flashlight will not last longer than one made from scratch.

Before you start creating a solar-powered lamp, you need to understand the design of such devices.

Although all flashlights look different, their operation scheme is very simple. It consists of a solar battery (panel), a battery, a voltage converter and an LED or module.

The diagram of such a lamp will be clear to any novice radio amateur and it looks like this:

And now, having already understood the circuit and understanding the principle of operation of a flashlight that runs on the energy generated by solar cells, you can decide what brightness is required, which light elements to choose, and in accordance with this, choose a battery and solar panel.

Ultra-bright ones are quite suitable for lighting a summer cottage. Cree LEDs, 1–1.5 volts in the amount of 3 or 4 pieces per lamp. With such elements, a battery with a capacity of 3,000 mAh and an output voltage of 3.6 volts will be sufficient. Such a battery will be charged from the solar panel for 8–10 hours, which is quite enough to operate the selected LEDs for up to 12 hours.

And, of course, the solar panel itself. The fact is that the solar battery of garden lamps produced nowadays is very small. A suitable battery would be 65 x 65 x 3 mm in size, with an output voltage of 4.4 V, 90 mA. It may well provide the necessary nutrition.

Electronic control unit. Now you need to assemble the “head” of the lamp, namely the control unit itself. For this you will need:

• four MLT 22 kOhm resistors;
• two KT503 transistors;
• one diode (Schottky 11DQ04 would be optimal).

Since all this will be placed on one board, it is of course better to etch it yourself. But there is an option that is more accurate and less labor-intensive. Nowadays you can buy universal breadboards in stores. In addition, stranded copper wire should be on hand when working to create tracks.

So when all the elements of the future electronic unit control assembly is complete, you can start soldering. You need to assemble the following diagram.

4 LEDs are freely included in such a circuit. And if the build quality is at a high level, then such a control unit will last for many years.

Lantern assembly

Naturally, everyone comes up with the shape of a solar-powered lamp themselves; there is complete scope for the master’s thoughts and imagination. Once the circuit of the electronic control unit is assembled, connecting LEDs to it will not be a problem. Of course, you can turn on a regular switch in the LED power supply, but it will be much more convenient if instead you install a photocell in parallel with the motion sensor. Then, at dusk, the solar-powered lamp, made by yourself, will automatically turn on, and turn off at dawn. Or it will trigger on a passing person, which is also convenient.

It is also possible to connect a controller when using RGB LEDs, then the solar lights will also be adjusted by the color of the glow, and remotely, but in this case you need to understand that it will also need power. Although we are also solving this issue. After all, the choice of solar panels on the shelves of electrical stores these days is unusually wide. This means that choosing the right ones will not be difficult.

Additional features using solar panels at home

conclusions

Of course, everyone decides for themselves, depending on their employment and financial situation, what to do - buy such a lamp or make it with their own hands. But it’s not even about the amount spent on new flashlights, although here the savings come out to be more than 4 times.

Isn’t it nice to know that there is a lamp working on the site of a house or apartment that was created not in a factory, but with your own hands, as they say, “on the knee”? This is probably the main reason why you should try to assemble a solar-powered garden lamp yourself.

An autonomous garden lamp can serve not only as a decoration for the garden path. This device creates coziness and illuminates the garden area quite effectively, eliminating the need to consume electricity. You can also save on its purchase: even a schoolchild who is somewhat familiar with the basics of electronics and electrical engineering can assemble a solar-powered lamp with his own hands.
In 1998, the production of LEDs began, emitting bright white light, which significantly increased the efficiency of lamps based on a rechargeable battery and a solar panel. The battery will have to be purchased at a radio store; its capacity must be at least 1500 mAh with 3.7 V at the terminals. It will fully charge in 8 hours. You should also look at a solar panel with parameters of 5.5 V/200 mA.

You can assemble a solar-powered lamp with your own hands according to the following scheme:

The element base consists of the following elements:

• resistor 47 - 56 Ohm (to limit current);
• resistor 47 - 56 kOhm (the choice depends on the type of transistor used);
• domestically produced diode KD243A or imported analogue 1N4001/7/ 1N4148;
• domestic transistor KT361G or imported 2N3906.

The Diode and Transistors look like this:

To assemble the circuit you will need printed circuit board this configuration (you can etch it yourself):

LED lamps should be used with a power of 3 W: such a source will provide sufficient illumination. You can install several pieces of lower power (from 1 to 1.5 W).

As a housing for the battery and electronic circuit You can use a deodorant cap. A solar panel is attached to the top using hot-melt adhesive. A laser CD can serve as a reflector. The assembled lamp will look like this:

A self-assembled SB lamp will automatically turn on at nightfall and turn off in the morning. Manufacturing costs will be 2.5 - 3 times less than the cost of the finished product, and if there are several lamps, the savings become more significant. Although, to be honest, the cost of a solar-powered garden lamp is not high. They make a solar-powered lamp with their own hands, not for profit, but for pleasure.

If an autonomous lamp has already been purchased, but its decorative qualities leave much to be desired, you can improve its characteristics. Instead of white lamps, you can insert colored lamps into a solar-powered lamp with your own hands (they come in green, blue, yellow, and red in various shades), observing the polarity. A problem may arise: after an hour or an hour and a half, the garden lamp will begin to glow dimly and then go out.

To correct the situation, it is necessary to make changes to the circuit by adding a resistance of several tens of ohms in series to the circuit. To do this, you need to cut the track on the board and solder a resistor into the gap.

The resistor is selected based on current: its value should be about 5 mA. This current is enough for the lamp to operate for several hours even from a battery with half the capacity.

It is better to use a Ni-MH type battery (“finger-type” AA or AAA): it is cheaper than a Ni-Cd battery, the service life of which rarely exceeds 1 year. This is also justified by the fact that daylight hours are still not enough to charge a 3000 mAh battery to 100%.

Such lamps, made or modified on your own, can be installed on paths in the garden, near the entrance gate or on the porch of the house.

Sometimes the area adjacent to country houses and dachas is used in the evening and at night. To avoid injury, as well as to maintain the image, solar-powered garden lights are used, which not only illuminate the area, but also give it a unique decor.

Design and principle of operation

In order to understand the operating principle of the equipment in question, it is necessary to understand the diagram of a solar-powered garden lamp. Components of this device are:

• lighting unit (LED, as a rule);
• energy converter;
• a device that controls switching on and off;
• battery;
• fastener

The lamp itself consists of a housing in which the LED is located. The control board and battery are located nearby. Above them is a photoresistor, solar panel and protective glass.

During the day, in sunny weather, the converter accumulates solar energy and converts it into electrical energy, which goes into the battery. This energy allows the garden lantern to function at night.

More expensive models of these devices have a motion controller that automatically turns on the lamp when a person approaches.

The design of a solar-powered garden lamp includes a transistor or microcircuit that acts as a sensor, with the help of which the LED turns off when the battery is completely discharged or can reduce the brightness of the lighting if part of the charge is lost.

Main characteristics

The quality of such a device is determined by the silicon used. In inexpensive lamps, polycrystalline or amorphous varieties are used. Monocrystalline silicon can work in any season, it is resistant to aggressive influences. If it is not possible to purchase a monocrystalline element, it is better to use multicrystalline solar cells.

To give durability to the products, they are covered with a special film.

Manufacturers began to invent marketing techniques to hide some of the flaws in their products. In particular, polycrystalline devices began to be called, but their normal service life will be only one season.

Branded devices boast a long service life. There is a fairly powerful photocell here; sunlight penetrates into the deep layers, which ensures stable operation of the lamps for a long time. In Chinese lamps, the thickness of the photocell is comparable to foil, so its service life is much shorter.

The structure of the glass also influences lighting. When days with cloudy weather prevail, it is better to use textured glass, since it accumulates radiation, while a smooth surface contributes to its partial reflection. The most expensive and durable coating is tempered glass.

Positive aspects of devices

Landscape gardeners contribute to the improvement of recreation areas such as gardens, parks, and public gardens. These devices can be equipped with nickel-metal hydride batteries, allowing them to turn on when it gets dark, turn off and begin charging when morning comes.

Currently, lamps are produced in various designs. Mainly traditional columns of different heights are produced, as well as garlands. In addition, they began to produce lamps in the form of dogs, cats, gnomes, snails and other potential inhabitants of the green zone. Manufacturers also offer devices in the form of lamps, around which butterflies fly.

The devices in question do not require knowledge of the basics of installing electrical wiring, since the design of a solar-powered garden lamp does not imply the supply of electricity to it, which ensures savings financial resources their owners.

The light falling from these lanterns does not hit the eyes because it is not super bright.

These lamps are automatic equipment and can deceive thieves if they have malicious intent to attack your property.

They do not require grounding work and are completely safe for both people and the environment.

They do not require any special care.

At the same time, the service life of the types of lamps under consideration is quite long.

Since they are used in open areas, manufacturers provide them with a high level of protection from adverse weather factors.

Negative aspects

The design of a solar-powered garden lamp does not provide for the use of dimensionless batteries, so such devices have a limited lighting period, which, as a rule, does not exceed 8 hours. This figure is achievable if the weather was good and sunny all day. Cloudy weather significantly reduces operating time, bringing it to 4-5 hours.

The negative aspects include one of the positive aspects: dim light. Perhaps some places need to be well lit, and this will require additional installation electric lights.

In some cases, there are reviews from customers that the lamps do not work well or do not shine at all during precipitation.

When winter comes, they require dismantling, since subzero temperatures can damage the battery.

Types of Equipment Considered

The most practical lamp for a garden is one with a shortened leg. In this case, installation is carried out by simply pressing the device into the ground using your hands.

Among the rather dimly luminous lanterns there are spotlights. If the power of a solar lamp is 10 kW, then the power of the floodlights is equivalent to a 100-watt incandescent lamp.

There are hanging ones. They are used as an element of garden decor, placed on tree branches or gazebos. Most often, such solar-powered garden lamps are balls arranged in a garland.

Wall models are used for the home. Operated when attached to it.

Improving garden lamps

The cheapest models are Chinese. Over time, the buyer of such products comes to understand that something needs to be done to improve their design or performance. When improving, some elements of the lamps are replaced with more powerful ones. This way you can replace the battery or LED, as well as the choke used in tower lights. Installing a more powerful choke will help achieve a brighter glow coming from the lamp. This action automatically leads to replacing the battery, since its power will no longer be sufficient for a long time, or it may simply fail.

Instead of one LED, you can use three, but when installing them you need to ensure that the voltage spread is minimal, otherwise the illumination will be high in one place and low in another.

Thus, repairing a solar garden lamp mainly comes down to replacing individual parts.

Adding colors

Flashlights can also be improved by using colored LEDs. This replacement requires knowledge of whether this device is adapted to perform such actions or not. If it is not adapted, and color LEDs have been installed, the flashlight will work for about 2 hours, after which it will go out.

In order to prevent premature termination of the work of solar-powered colored garden lamps, it is necessary to make an additional track in the microcircuit, where another resistor is soldered.

Assembling a garden lantern yourself

Some lanterns are designed quite simply, so there are no difficulties in assembling them yourself.

To make it yourself, you need to draw up a diagram of a solar-powered garden lamp and calculate the required number of components.

First you need to purchase an energy converter, the best of which is a polycrystalline silicon battery, which has a low mass but good protection from moisture and high power. Next we buy lithium ion battery. Next we buy a regular LED.

The last acquisition is the most important - an electronic control module, which consists of a pair of transistors and two pairs of resistors.

Connecting the solar battery, LED and battery is done separately. Assembly can be carried out on an inexpensive universal DIY PCB board 42x25mm.

Finally

The gardening scheme is quite simple. With its help, any knowledgeable person can assemble such a lantern. In this case, you need to take into account the quality of the materials used in the lamp, since they determine the service life and price of this device.

The previous article already talked about how to make a solar panel from old garden lamps. Since the power of the solar cells used in them is not so high, a fairly large number of elements are required to create a medium-power panel. After assembling the solar panel, the author still has a few garden lights left, but they are not enough for another solar panel. Therefore, the author decided to do Charger based on solar cells used in garden lamps.

Materials that the author used to create a solar charger:
1) a piece of plywood sheet
2) garden lanterns 4 pieces
3) Schottky diode
4) soldering iron and necessary consumables
5) rechargeable batteries AA or AAA.

Let's look at the main stages of creating and assembling this charger.
To begin with, the author calculated the approximate number of solar cells from the lamps based on their power and the power required for power supply batteries. As a result, at least four garden lamps are needed to create a charger.

After this, the author began to disassemble the garden lanterns in order to remove the solar cells from them. You can also use existing battery holders, but the board and LED are not useful in this design.

If desired, you can carefully separate the solar cells from the cover of the garden lamp, since the elements are coated with a special resin, they are quite strong and, with the proper approach, will remain intact. Then place these elements in a plastic case. However, you should carry out such a procedure only if you need a beautiful appearance products, otherwise it is permissible to use elements together with covers. The author did not add more work to himself and simply attached four solar cells along with covers to a sheet of plywood. After this, the author began to combine the elements into one design.

Below is a diagram of connecting the solar panel that will power the batteries:

As can be seen from the diagram, all elements are connected in parallel. To prevent the batteries from being discharged through the solar cells in low light conditions, the author installed a Schottky diode in the gap between the solar cells and the batteries. Thanks to this diode, the charger will accumulate energy in the sun and successfully store it at night.

The result was a charger made from 4 solar cells from garden lamps that power the batteries.