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DIY Solar Bottle bulb and Mobile charger

by Engg_suraj on February 15, 2015

Table of Contents
DIY Solar Bottle bulb and Mobile charger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Intro: DIY Solar Bottle bulb and Mobile charger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 1: Working method-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 2: Working method-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 3: Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 4: Lets get started : circuit-1

.............................................................................................

Step 5: Lets get started : circuit-2

.............................................................................................

Step 6: PCB making and soldering components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 7: Solar panels connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 8: Led inside plastic bottle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 9: Solar bottle & Mobile charging demonstration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Step 10: Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Step 11: Project Video demonstration & Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

Intro: DIY Solar Bottle bulb and Mobile charger

Hello everyone,
This instructable is about 'DIY Solar Bottle bulb and Mobile charger' in which we can build our own solar bottle light bulb and a mobile phone charger. This Instructable is
helpful were there is no electricity or electricity cost is very high.
I made this instructable to provide awareness about renewable source of energy and how people from developing areas where electricity isn't available can make their
own solar power light bulb using waste plastic bottle.
I had included many images and video in simple language so that it is easy to understand.
Favorite this instructable if you Liked it :)
1. Introduction
1.1 Importance of solar energy
We all know importance of Solar Energy in today life. It is ultra clean, natural and sustainable source of energy that can be utilize in use of making solar electricity, solar
heating appliances, solar lighting appliances and many more.
In developing countries there isn't much source of electricity.Hence to use solar as largest source of energy one can build own solar based light bulb without any
electricity cost.
1.2 Electricity in developing countries
Many people do not have access to light or cannot cover the cost for electricity. Thus, they do not have light in their homes, even during the day
1.3 About project
DIY Solar based bulb and Mobile charger project uses solar panel, a circuit that convert voltage from solar panel to charge rechargeable battery, 1 watt high power led
light fitted inside waste plastic bottle and mobile charging circuit to charge mobile phone via USB cable.
This project is very helpful in rural areas where electricity source are less.
1.4 Inspiration
My inspiration behind project is Liter of Light .
Little bit information: Liter of Light is a global open source movement with the aim to provide an ecologically sustainable and free-of-cost source of interior
light to rooms in simple dwellings with a thin roof

Step 1: Working method-1

There are two working method of this project
2.1 Working method-1
This is the simplest of all method in which only a plastic bottle is directly installed at the roof top as shown in figure. Fill the bottle with water and add few drop of bleach
(bleach help to make water clear and pure).
Plastic bottles are installed in the roofs of houses as a source of indoor light
The plastic bottle is filled with only water and bleach. The liquid inside the bottle harnesses the light from the sun, capturing and diffracting the light to all parts of the
room. It is equivalent to a 55 watt light bulb. The average lifetime of a solar bottle is estimated to be between 4-5 years
Whats the technology?
It consists of a 1.5l PET bottle filled with purified water and bleach (10 ml). A special glue is used to bond and seal the bottle to the roof. Adding the bleach to the water
makes sure that the water stays clean and transparent without algae growing inside and turning the water green.
The working of this setup is Dispersion of light

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

Daylight beam reach the top part of the bottle

The water filed bottle disperse the light beams
The dispersed light equals 55 W- even with cloudy sky
The solar bottle improves quality of beneficiaries
Advantage: Simple, No electricity cost, inexpensive
Disadvantage: This method only work during day time

Step 2: Working method-2

3.1 Working method-2 : This methods uses solar panel to charge a rechargeable battery. Hence during day time solar panel provide power to charge battery and if
required light can be turned ON.
The working of this setup is
The working is simple during day time the rechargeable battery get charge . Whenever we need to turn on the light switch is turned .
Additional this project can also be used as mobile charge.
Initially LED is connected inside plastic bottles as it reflect more light.
Inside bottle sometime water is added with some drop of bleach , bleach help in making water clean for several year and LED is covered with waterproof coating.
Even during night time as there will be less voltage from solar panel, battery will provide necessary power to turn ON led light.
Advantage: Can be use both during day and night time, mobile can be charged.
Disadvantages: Little bit expensive then previous one, require maintenance

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

Step 3: Block Diagram

Brief Idea about project:
1.
2.
3.
4.

In the block diagram we see solar panel as source of energy. We can use a single solar panel board or small solar panel connected in series.
There are many circuit to convert variable voltage from solar panel to constant voltage of 5volts. In this instructable only two circuit are mentioned
Rechargeable battery charge during day time and provide power to bright light and 5 volt for mobile charging.
Solar bottle is fixed at roof top with sealed led with water and few drops of bleach.

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

Step 4: Lets get started : circuit-1

To start our own DIY Solar night bulb and Mobile charger section is divided into three parts
1. Circuit diagram
A.Circuit using voltage regulators
There are many circuit that uses solar panel as light bulb and mobile charger, but in this instructable I have included two circuit diagram that are low cost and components
are easily available.
Image contain all components required for circuit-1
1. Solar panel: We will require 3Volts panel
2. Voltage regulator: 7805, 78015
3. Diode: 1N4001
4. Resistor: 1k, 4.7k, 0.5ohm, 6.8ohm
5. Capacitor: 1000uf, 470uf
6. Rechargeable battery
7. Bright LED: 1watt
8. Plastic bottle
9. USB connector
10. Connecting wires
Some of other item required are:
PCB board, permanent marker, soldering iron, Lead wire.
REMEMBER: You can make any one circuit as suitable to you. I explained description of both circuit with components and PCB making

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

Step 5: Lets get started : circuit-2

B. Circuit using IC MC34063A
Circuit 2 Components required are as follows
1. IC MC 34063: It is a monolithic control circuit containing the primary functions required for DC?to?DC converters. It is Step s up/down/ inverting Switching Regulators
2. Resistors- 1k, 39k, 10k, 1ohm
3. LEDS- Two (green and red)
4. Capacitors: 22uf, 330pf, 100uf
5. Inductor: 22uH
6. switch
7. USB port
8. connecting wires,
9. Rechargeable battery
10. Diode: 1N5019, 1N4148, 1N4001
11. Zener diode 4v7
Some of other item required are:
PCB board, permanent marker, soldering iron, Lead wire.
NOTE: Since I explained two circuit for this project you can use either circuit-1 or circuit-2 for your project as suitable to you:)

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

Step 6: PCB making and soldering components

Creating PCB layout of your circuit
This is usually done by converting your circuit's schematic diagram into a PCB layout using PCB layout software.
There are many open source software packages for PCB layout creation and design.
Some are listed here to give you a head-start:
1. Cadsoft Eagle
2. PCBWizard
Note :In Eagle: File> Export>Image Be sure to set DPIG to 1200 for better quality
I designed my circuit schematic in Cadsoft Eagle for circuit-1 voltage regulator
To show some little bit difference for circuit-2 using IC MC34063A instead oif using PCB copper board I used perf board and soldered components according to circuit
diagram.
Tip: If you want to make your own PCB of circuit at home without any special material, checkout my previous Instructable on :How to make PCB at Home

Step 7: Solar panels connections

Solar panel connection and variable voltage depending on intensity of light
1. We can use either readymade solar panel from electronic store which give 12 to 15 volts or In figure you can see I connected solar panel in series.
2. Figure also demonstrate that according to intensity of light we get variable voltage. Hence we use voltage regulator IC to get constant 5Volt

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

Step 8: Led inside plastic bottle

Follow simply this steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Connect long conducting wire to positive and negative terminal of LED.

We will require plastic tube. Insert this LED to hollow plastic as shown in figure.
Drill hole on bottle cap & mount cap inside bottle.
Seal the clear bottom part of the led light with clear epoxy.

Note: Make sure to test led light is ON condition before sealing bottom part of plastic tube.

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

Step 9: Solar bottle & Mobile charging demonstration

After all step are performed check working of project. Although even I got more than 15 to 20 attempt to work project
Note to remember:
1. Check proper connection
2. Solder component properly
3. Sometime if seal is not proper LED inside bottle get wet and LED is damaged. If you are making it for hobby purpose you can continue without water inside plastic
bottle.

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

Step 10: Application

In the Indian metropolis of Mumbai 6.5 million people live in slums, which represents 54.1% of the total inhabitants. Mumbai is home to the biggest slum in Asia.
Solar night bulb is useful in typhoon hit areas.
Solar power street light.
Providing access to clean energy to rural community.
The electrical power supply in the slums is often tapped and unsafe.
Whenever the electric system is overloaded, which happens several times a day, the city administration cuts-off the supply for the area where the slums are.
Those circumstances make it hard for people and businesses in the slums to have a constant source of light.
Controlling Green house environment.
This project is indeed helpful to most of people who live in slum area were there is no electricity.

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

Step 11: Project Video demonstration & Conclusion

I had uploaded DIY Solar bottle & Mobile charger video. Bear with quality and some mistake if found in the video. I tried extremely hard to make this
Instructable as simple as possible with images and videos.
Hope you will find it useful :)
Favourite this instructable if you liked it and even VOTE for me :)
If you like this Instructable, checkout my previous instructable :How to make PCB at Home
Thanks alot and Cheers!!

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

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Comments
31 comments Add Comment

deba168 says:

Mar 1, 2015. 4:24 AM REPLY

Very nicely done. Keep it up. I am very happy to see your project For India this type of project is very useful. I am also working on solar power to help rural
people.
What is the wattage of LED used ?

Engg_suraj says:

Mar 1, 2015. 6:05 AM REPLY

Thank you @deba168. I followed many of our project and I liked it very much :)
I had used simple 1W bright LED for this project

deba168 says:

Mar 4, 2015. 11:27 PM REPLY

Glad you like it .

See my new design for rural people.Hope it will be helpful.
http://www.instructables.com/id/BUILD-A-NOCTURNAL-SOLAR-LIGHT-BULB/

genius4hire says:

Feb 25, 2015. 12:52 PM REPLY

Great work. I would suggest to put a plexiglass rod down that bottle. then there is no need to submerge the LED.I also would use glass bottles as the life
span on plastic is not that great. If you need help I can send you a Plexiglass rod.

ptdecker says:

Feb 23, 2015. 7:41 AM REPLY

Very well done. I really appreciate how much work you put into your design and your presentation. Very nice work.

Engg_suraj says:

Feb 23, 2015. 8:05 AM REPLY

Really thank you very much from my deep of the heart for appreciation @ptdecker :)
I m glad my hardwork paidoff.
This comment really boosted my confidence.
In next Instructable I will try even better.

stumitch says:

Feb 22, 2015. 10:33 PM REPLY

Well done! Its great to see people more aware of whats going on in the rest of the world. I am a Canadian shop teacher serving in Rwanda, East Africa. I will
be here until July if anyone wants input on this kind of idea... Most people in the villages are without electricity at all but solar cell sales are all over the place
in Kigali, much more than in Canada! I would be happy to give more info...more than can be shared in the comment section of an 'ible. check out
mitchellsinrwanda.org and drop me an email.

jsawyer13 says:

Feb 22, 2015. 8:48 AM REPLY

Great idea. I'm studying renewable energy engineering in college so this project is right up my alley. I read about the solar bottle light some time ago and have
always wondered if the theorem could be applied to make solar cells gather more light. I've been working on starting a Christian Mission group within my college
focused on teaching people how to freecycle to improve their physical needs. Sanitation, housing, electricity, clean water, etc...
Again, good work and keep turning trash to something useful!

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

pallc says:

Feb 22, 2015. 5:17 PM REPLY

Awesome post @Engg_suraj! @jsawyer13: I've wondered the same and have pondered potential benefits from using another or a different material in
the water that would provide the best transmittance for the specific solar cell radiation/wavelength absorbance range. With the newer cells that are multijunction, there is a wider range of solar radiation converted to energy. There are good Google images that detail the wavelength and section of the solar
cell that absorb which wavelengths. The solution in the bottle is the only novel idea I have pondered that I have not read about on the web or anywhere.
Maybe a potential research subject for whomever.
You definitely would get a better performance if the cell can handle the temperature and intensity at the bottom of the bottle. Technically, you would think
if making a layer of bottles on top of the solar cell, you could concentrate more energy if there is no losses in the desired range. In a way the bottle layer
would act like a Fresnel lens. The lids though would block energy too and that would have to be added to solar losses. If more total surface area is
directing the absorbed light to a focus on the surface of the solar cells in the desired wavelength range than would be if just the flat solar cell surface then
we may be on to something. Granted the solar cells life span would decrease if temp and solar intensity are not considered and solar cells are
overloaded during usage cycle. Huh, interesting brainstorming and potential for experimentation. Thanks gentlemen!

Engg_suraj says:

Feb 22, 2015. 9:18 AM REPLY

thank you @jsawyer13

wobbler says:

Feb 22, 2015. 4:58 AM REPLY

Hi, interesting 'Ible.

Isn't your LED charge indicator the wrong way round? I probably wouldn't bother with it anyway. It is only using a little solar juice, but it doesn't really show
anything except that the solar cell is powered up. The sun is usually a good enough indicator for that. It doesn't actually show that the voltage on the cell is
high enough to charge the battery. You could put an appropriate zener in series with it so it only switches on when the voltage reaches a certain level, but I'm
not sure it is much use even then in practical terms.
I'm not sure you actually need the 78015 regulator. It depends on the maximum current the solar cell provides. Feeding the solar cell directly into the battery
means you are not wasting any energy in the voltage regulator. The 78xx series are not particularly energy efficient, they effectively act as a dropper resistor
to lose the excess voltage and as such waste that proportion of the energy from the solar cell. You shouldn't need to regulate the solar cell voltage as the
battery will effectively soak up all the current the solar panel provides and in this case the solar panel is acting as a current source and the battery as a
voltage regulator. Unless the solar cell is capable of providing significantly much more current than the battery needs, it is superfluous. In a large solar
array/battery system it is necessary, but in this it probably isn't. You just need a single blocking diode to stop the battery discharging through the solar cell at
night.
On your diagram 1 there also seem to be some other issues as it stands with respect to the list of components:
1) On the diagram the battery is 12v, on the list 6-9v.
2) The solar cell is given as a 3v panel, which isn't enough to charge a 6-9v battery.

Engg_suraj says:

Feb 22, 2015. 5:24 AM REPLY

Thank you @wobbler for suggestion. I will make necessary changes.

wobbler says:

Feb 22, 2015. 6:35 AM REPLY

Glad to help. Let me know when you've made the changes and I'll remove my comments so they're not cluttering up your replies with unnecessary
comments.

Rolando.Savoie says:

Feb 22, 2015. 5:53 AM REPLY

Very Interesting will play w ith it.

Living in freezing country,can I use bleach in Antifreeze water ?With a led.
Any bad reaction?
Thanks
Du Bord d'la Mer
Rolando

wobbler says:

Feb 22, 2015. 5:22 AM REPLY

In this circuit, the green charging LED
is attached across the battery. This means it will be permanently lit and
wasting energy. You could use it to show "battery charge" by putting a
suitable zener diode in series with it so it only turns on when the
battery reaches a certain voltage. Both LEDs are shown back to front in the circuit diagram (confusingly on LEDs the + denotes the end
that connects to the negative of the battery when turned on, unlike caps where the +
goes to +). Your other diodes are the correct way round for their usage here.
You could
also drop the capacitor attached at the solar panel diode. It's not
needed in addition to the 100uF on the MC 34063, which is needed
according to the MC 34063 datasheet.
The zener diode on the red

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

LED is also not a good idea. It should be an appropriate dropper

resistor or current limiter. The zener diode will work, but it has
problems in use. Firstly, it is always "stealing" 4.7v, even when the
voltage drops at the expense of the red led.
Secondly, it still
presents to the red led a voltage source, rather than a current source.
By putting in a resistor which is calculated to give the best current at
the maximum voltage you are driving the LED with a current limited
source, which is what you should do with a LED. You could even be more
efficient with your circuit by eliminating the resistor totally and
using a dpdt switch so that when the LED is switched in, you switch the
MC 34063 also to provide a better voltage for the LED. This will provide
much more efficient use of the battery, enabling either longer lighting
time or a brighter LED for the same time. Or you could use two red (or
white) LEDs in series instead of the zener and a smaller dropper
resistor. That way, any voltage drop is turned into extra light. It
looks in your image like you eventually used white LEDs anyway.
A suitable online LED resistor calculator is here:
http://led.linear1.org/1led.wiz

Nikaoj says:

Feb 20, 2015. 5:18 AM REPLY

Very good idea! Perfect explanation!

Engg_suraj says:

Feb 20, 2015. 5:28 AM REPLY

Thanks @Nikaoj :)

diy_bloke says:

Feb 19, 2015. 11:43 AM REPLY

Great project. Greenhouse control is certainly possible, but it would be better to do that outside :-) as you wld need fairlu expensive lights and panels to
make decent grow lights :-)

Engg_suraj says:

Feb 20, 2015. 5:12 AM REPLY

Thank you. And yes I will note your tip :)

diy_bloke says:

Feb 19, 2015. 11:27 AM REPLY

instead of using discrete components, search at Aliexpress.com. They have buck stabilizers for really low prices, definitely competitive with discrete
components

diy_bloke says:

Feb 19, 2015. 11:24 AM REPLY

Intriguing. I have installed many solar bottles and many solarlights.
Just wondering why u combine the two. Water and bleach is a bit of a hostile environment for LED lamps and whereas with a solar bottle there are some
restictions on where to put it, The LED lamp doesnt have those, as long as the panel is outside

aahmad30 says:

Feb 18, 2015. 6:17 PM REPLY

This is my first Comment ever, thumbs up. Great work. Keep it up.

Engg_suraj says:

Feb 19, 2015. 9:09 AM REPLY

Thanks :)

dpenjweni says:

Feb 18, 2015. 4:33 PM REPLY

very goog nice job

Engg_suraj says:

Feb 18, 2015. 11:30 PM REPLY

Thanks @dpenjweni :)

AlexanderR1 says:

Feb 18, 2015. 10:15 AM REPLY

Interesting work here, definitely would recommend for anyone wishing to use circuit 1 that it is not worthwhile to go over 6V with the solar/battery
combination. I'm assuming that the LED runs around 3V, and the USB port needs 5V, so a higher voltage battery like 9 or 12 V is doing no extra work with
linear regulation.

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

AlexanderR1 says:

Feb 18, 2015. 10:15 AM REPLY

Interesting work here, definitely would recommend for anyone wishing to use circuit 1 that it is not worthwhile to go over 6V with the solar/battery
combination. I'm assuming that the LED runs around 3V, and the USB port needs 5V, so a higher voltage battery like 9 or 12 V is doing no extra work with
linear regulation.

MPaulHolmes says:

Feb 17, 2015. 1:34 PM REPLY

This is spectacular. My favorite instructable ever!

Engg_suraj says:

Feb 18, 2015. 6:14 AM REPLY

Thankyou very much @ MPaulHolmes.

I m glad you liked my Instructable :)

Mr AbAk says:

Feb 16, 2015. 7:28 PM REPLY

Nice Ible....

Engg_suraj says:
Thanks @Mr AbAk

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Bottle-bulb-and-Mobile-charger/

Feb 17, 2015. 12:06 AM REPLY