Hi,
I’m using the sunflower 5V solar power manager along with the Waveshare 6V, 5W solar panel to power an esp32 board and to charge a 3.7V Li-Ion battery. I monitor de current/voltage delivered by the solar panel with an ina219 board. The problem is that the current never exceed 400mA (max power of 2.5W), whatever the orientation of the solar panel. Does the current delivered by the solar panel depends on the charging level of the battery, or something else ?
From what I understand, the current output of any solar panel depends on the light intensity. For that solar panel, our supplier indicates that the specs “are tested on standard condition: 1000W/m2 radiation intensity, 25℃, AM1.5 air quality”
There are quite a few articles online. Ex:
My solar panel delivers up to 7V when fully exposed. I’ve connected a 5.6V zener diode in parallel of the panel, and now the current/power are what I expected (about 900mA/5W). The datasheet of the power manager specifies that the voltage must be between 4.5V and 6V…I should have read it more carefully !