Is there a way to charge a Li-Po battery using solar panels to increase the flight time of a quadcopter during its flight?
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$\begingroup$ Is there something about this question that is different from the last time you or your teammate asked about this? $\endgroup$– Chuck ♦Commented Feb 23, 2016 at 16:03
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$\begingroup$ Yes because we need to find a way on how to charge the Li-Po battery with the use of solar panels in just a few minutes, we've been checking on booster circuit to help increase the output of the solarpanels but it is still not enough to charge the battery $\endgroup$– Dale SebastianCommented Feb 23, 2016 at 16:28
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$\begingroup$ What do you mean, "in just a few minutes"? Can you edit your question to include (1) battery data, such as: (1a) the battery datasheet, (1b) nominal voltage, (1c) capacity, (1d) C rating; (1e) battery chemistry; (2) solar panel data, such as: (2a) solar panel datasheet, (2b) solar panel nominal voltage, (2c) solar panel nominal current; (3) design criteria, such as: (3a) desired charging time, (3b) starting and ending state of charge limits, (3c) schematic showing solar panel - battery arrangement (number of devices, connections, etc.). $\endgroup$– Chuck ♦Commented Feb 23, 2016 at 18:43
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$\begingroup$ Much more information is required: size of quadcopter, number of motors, current draw of motors, available payload size / weight, available square area of photo cells, what kind of efficiency do you anticipate getting from the photo cells (i.e. what is your latitude, will the cells be oriented to the sun, will it be shady / full sun), and many more... $\endgroup$– Ben ♦Commented Feb 23, 2016 at 19:26
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$\begingroup$ @Ben - I was restricting this to just "how do I charge a Li-Po battery using solar panels?" In previous questions (see links above), OP et al. have stated that their intention is to switch between two batteries; one online, powering the quadrotor; one offline, connected to the charging circuit. My comment continues to be, "Is it worth the effort?" - Does the added weight actually net any capacity, but they deflect and reiterate they're not interested in feasibility.. $\endgroup$– Chuck ♦Commented Feb 23, 2016 at 19:42
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1 Answer
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The short answer is no. This is not to say that someone won't extend the flight time of a copter using solar energy one day. But if you attach off the shelf solar panels to off the shelf LiPo batteries and use an off the shelf or quickly fabricated custom power conversion electronics, then the reduction in flight time from the extra mass will be similar to any energy gained from the solar panels.
You can review further discussion on this topic here: How do I create a portable solar panel lipo charger?
