How to make any micocontroller run forever using solar energy?

[milanvarghese]

Hello I am working on a project using nodemcu.

In my home for years every day, someone has to walk up to the terrace of the house to check the water level and then turn the motor on/off.

I am planning to read the water levels in the tank using an ultrasonic sensor and push data into the cloud so that we don't need to go to the terrace to check the water level.

I would like my nodemcu module to run infinitely all the time using solar power. I have an old solar panel at home which is left unused and was used to charge a solar lamp. What other things do I need to implement this project? what battery should I use?

How do I implement this project?

[kowshik1729]

@milanvarghese Basically you have cited the solution to your question. yes, you can run the Arduino microcontroller from a solar panel with some protection circuitry in between. There are many tutorials and blogs out there. You can start with something as following.

[milanvarghese]

@kowshik1729 I have seen this, but doesnt it damage that battery? dischargeing and charging at the same time?

[kowshik1729]

@milanvarghese No, the battery comes into the play only if there is no power from the solar cell. It's like inverters in our home. They activate only if main power is gone, rest of the time they keep charging. similarly here the direct power will be coming from the solar cell, only if the solar cell can't produce enough voltage battery comes into the loop and starts providing voltage to our circuit.