{"id":16656,"date":"2014-07-02T14:08:36","date_gmt":"2014-07-02T20:08:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=16656"},"modified":"2014-07-06T10:36:49","modified_gmt":"2014-07-06T16:36:49","slug":"diy-solar-charger-7-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/diy-solar-charger-7-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"The DIY Solar Charger: 7 Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Looking for a solar charger<\/a> for your phone, your laptop, or even for a back-up generator for your home. You can find products for all three of these needs, but expect to shell out: even smallest solar battery charger runs $30-40. A diy battery charger<\/a>, on the other hand, can cost you as little as $4-5, and even make use materials you already have on hand.<\/p>\n

After a visit to some prepper boards on Pinterest (it’s not all weddings and wish lists over there), I discovered that homemade solar chargers are pretty popular with that crowd, and run the gamut from really cheap models that can power up small rechargeable batteries to full-scale generators that will cost you several hundred dollars to build. But if you’ve got a dead phone battery on a camping trip, or the power’s out after a storm, you’ll be glad to have one of these on hand.<\/p>\n

DIY Solar Charger Projects: From the Petite to the Household Workhorse<\/h3>\n

1. The Super-Cheap $4 Solar Charger<\/a>:<\/strong> From Instructables, this project is the cheapest of the bunch… and project publisher JoshuaZimmerman<\/a> gives a nice overview of solar power and batteries. You need to know how to solder for this one… via Lifehacker<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. Another $4 Solar Charger for Rechargeable Batteries<\/a>:<\/strong> You know those cheapy solar path lights you can buy at the discount store? You can hack those into a charger for AA or AAA batteries. The video below from The DIY World shows you how.<\/p>\n