Solar Cell Battery Charging: Maximizing Performance and Safety Considerations

Michael Day and Javed Casey, Power Management Group, Texas Instruments

Solar cells are a very popular solution for providing cheap, green energy. They are useful in applications where standard AC line power is not available, or where the power grid is intermittent and unreliable in rural areas such as parts of India and other developing nations. A typical system might be designed to use a solar cell for charging a battery during daylight hours, and then allow the battery to power the end application such as a solar-powered lantern during the night or under cloudy conditions. Read more about Solar Cell Battery Charging: Maximizing Performance and Safety Considerations

Cell Balancing: Better Safe Than Sorry (Part 1)

Upal Sengupta, Staff Applications Engineer
Texas Instruments, Battery Management Solutions

It may not be the law, but it’s a good idea!

Many of us can still remember when seat-belt laws started becoming the norm a while back. There were advertisements that said, “It’s not just a good idea – it’s the law!” We were reminded that we all should do the right thing and fasten our seat belts every time we get in the car. I feel the same way about cell balancing in a multi-cell, Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery pack. Read more about Cell Balancing: Better Safe Than Sorry (Part 1)