My interesting little project done in high school.

This is not related to computer science, but it’s interesting to share.

Similar to many other boarding high schools in China, bringing digital devices to dormitory is forbidden in my high school, because they’re regarded as a distracting factor to student’s study. Consequently, no sockets are available in our dormitory.

However, we barely agreed with school’s policy. Apart from gaming, mobile phone let us access the Internet where educational resources are available. Therefore, some of us, including me, still took phones to dormitory, and we need to solve the energy problem.

I came up with an idea - use solar energy! I began my experiment from a simple solar panel, a power transformer and a USB cable. It was able to charge my power bank, but with limited stability under unpredictable weather condition. In the following months, I kept improving my system accordingly, and eventually, I made a finalized version: A system with 2-square-meter solar panels, a lead-acid battery, a battery monitor and an 18V-to-220V transformer. This system collects energy at morning when we’re at classroom, and releases it at night for our mobile phone.

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