SwitchDoc Labs' SolarMAX Aims to Bring Simple Solar Power to Raspberry Pi, Arduino, ESP32 Projects
Simple kits offer detailed monitoring via 433MHz LoRa radio, but you'll have to supply the batteries and panels yourself.
SwitchDoc Labs' John Shovic has launched a crowdfunding campaign for a solar power system designed specifically for makers, compatible with Raspberry Pis, Arduinos, and other low-power platforms: SolarMAX.
"If you are building projects that require a significantly larger amount of power than small solar cells can provide, the SolarMAX is for you," Shovic claims. "SolarMAX is a SwitchDoc Labs designed system to charge batteries from large solar panels in order to provide more power to small computer systems. SolarMAX is designed to collect and return data about the solar panel system to the powered computer (or even other computers) via a LoRa link."
The latter is a key feature. Every 30 seconds, the SolarMAX system transmits battery voltage and current, solar panel voltage and current, and load voltage and current plus the temperature and humidity inside the SolarMAX housing via a LoRa low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) 433MHz radio. "You plug the included LoRa receiver into a Raspberry Pi or Arduino," Shovic explains, "and read the data on the computer with the provided software drivers for the Pi, Arduino, ESP8266, and the ESP32."
While designed as a companion to the company's SkyWeather monitoring platform, the SolarMAX is said to be suitable for any maker project that needs reliable solar power. It's also designed to be friendly for beginners: "We have designed the SolarMAX system to require no soldering to build," Shovic explains. "You have grove connectors and cables (that are keyed so you can't plug them in backwards!), jumpers and some wires to cut and put in screw terminals. This is an easy kit to assemble."
SwitchDoc has developed two versions of the SolarMAX: The SolarMAX LiPo and the SolarMAX Lead Acid. Neither, however, actually come with the batteries mentioned in their names: the user must supply their own 3.7V LiPo or 12V lead acid batteries depending on model chosen, along with suitable solar panels and weatherproofing supplies.
The campaign has already reached its modest funding goal on Kickstarter, with Early Bird pledges starting at $145 for the SolarMAX LiPo and $175 for the SolarMAX Lead Acid — both, it must be noted, excluding solar panels and batteries. More information is available on the campaign page.