Whereas studying the fundamentals of electronics, you will usually hear capacitors described as being “type of like batteries.” That is as a result of they retailer electrical energy. However they are not usually used like batteries and are as an alternative built-in into circuits to carry out features like smoothing out energy supply to different elements. Supercapacitors, however, can carry out like batteries and supply some large advantages, resembling extraordinarily quick charging. JGJMatt took benefit of that functionality to construct this supercapacitor-powered speaker that expenses in simply seconds.
Supercapacitors supply two large benefits over your typical lithium batteries. First, they’ll stand up to tons of of 1000’s — and even tens of millions — of cost/discharge cycles with out degradation. Examine that to tons of of cycles earlier than a lithium battery begins degrading. Second, they’ll cost and discharge extraordinarily rapidly. A lithium battery could take a few hours to cost, whereas an equal supercapacitor could do the identical in beneath a minute.
The main drawback of supercapacitors is their excessive self-discharge fee, which implies that they will lose all of their power briefly order, even when the units they energy are off. In a single month, a supercapacitor will self-discharge about 30% of its power, whereas a lithium battery will solely lose about 10%. That makes a supercapacitor a poor selection for long-term power storage.
On this case, JGJMatt did not want long-term storage; he solely wanted to energy his speaker as soon as a day for a four-hour interval whereas South Africa performs loadshedding to lighten the load on energy infrastructure. His supercapacitor-powered speaker lasts a minimum of six hours and can recharge in seconds as soon as the mains energy comes again on, making it excellent for that scenario.
JGJMatt’s customized PCB for this system comprises two 400-Farad supercapacitors wired in collection. Voltage output of supercapacitors decreases as their power depletes, so the PCB has a lift converter to provide a steady voltage. That powers a class-D amplifier, which pumps up the audio sign from a USB-C analog supply (a smartphone or PC). Optionally, a Bluetooth module allows wi-fi connections. An built-in photo voltaic panel retains the supercapacitors topped off, permitting for steady music playback if there’s sufficient daylight obtainable.
All of these elements match into a sexy 3D-printed enclosure that might make Dieter Rams smile. However past attractiveness, we predict this can be a very helpful system. Many individuals would gladly commerce long-term storage for fast-charging relating to units they use often and this speaker makes the advantages apparent.
