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Written by Miranda Huey   
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Wednesday, 14 July 2010

Solar Powered Fan

Making a solar powered fan is one of the easiest and simplest solar projects out there. Solar powered fans are also very portable and useful items, especially during the summer. Here’s your guide to building your own solar powered fan!

BENEFITS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: A solar powered fan is a great way to keep you cool wherever there’s a lot of light. Air conditioning can consume huge amounts of electricity, especially during the summer. The sunnier it gets, the harder the air conditioner has to work. On the other hand, a solar powered fan works even more powerfully as the sun gets stronger!

BENEFITS FOR YOUR WALLET: You can use a solar powered fan without ever worrying about powering it up with electricity, buying new batteries, or using electricity to keep batteries charged. As long as the sun’s out, the fan works for free.

BENEFITS FOR YOUR HEALTH: It’s a good idea to carry a hand-held fan wherever you go during your summer activities. You never know whether how long you’ll end up walking around in the sun without any air conditioning. If your body is unable to regulate its temperature, you risk heat cramps, heat rashes, and life-threatening heat strokes. Anything you can do to help your body stay cool on hot days is a good idea.

COST: Low
If you happen to have an old fan and some wires lying around the house, you could easily build the project with less than $10.

TIME AND EFFORT: Low
 Although hooking up anything solar can be complicated, this is one of the simplest and easiest solar projects out there. If you were hoping to start out building a simple solar project, this would be a good one to choose.

DIRECTIONS:
 Although these directions are one way to build a personal hand-held solar powered fan, you can use this same basic framework to use on any old fan you find around the house. Just remember that if you do that, you might also need to scale up the size of the solar panel and the battery holder.

Materials:
Single Solar Panel
Small Fan
3 V Battery Holder with Attached Wires
DC Motor with bracket
Wooden Dowel
Soldering Iron, Wire Strippers, and Wires/Alligator Clamp Wires
Duct Tape
Scissors
Switch
Screwdriver

  1. Buying the Solar Panel: Ideally, you’ll want a small solar panel only a few inches long on each side. A solar panel from a solar car kit works well because it is intended to be portable and light. If you can’t find a solar panel sold separately from a solar car kit, another good source is taking one out of solar backyard lights. Solar backyard lights are relatively cheap, sold both online and in most hardware stores.
  2. Getting the Fan: The fan also needs to be relatively small and light so that it can rotate without requiring much power. If you find an old discarded hand-held fan with the blades intact, that could be the cheapest option. If not, a propeller from a model airplane kit works just as well.
  3. Dissembling a Solar Light: If you bought a solar light, you’ll now need to disassemble it into its components. This may mean unscrewing any screws that hold the outer shell of the light together. Eventually, you should end up with three components: battery, motor, and LED. Essentially, all you need to do is replace the LED with the fan. Using the soldering gun, unsolder the LED from whatever wires or board to which it is attached. If there’s a resistor between the battery and LED, you can take that out too. Now skip to step 7.
  4. Manually Attach Battery Holder to Solar Panel: Strip the wire ends of any wires you’ll be using, unless they’re alligator clamp wires. Clamp or solder the red positive wires of the battery holder onto the positive terminal or spring on the solar panel. Then, clamp or solder the black negative wires of the battery holder onto the remaining terminal or spring on the solar panel.
  5. Attaching the Fan to the Motor: At this point, you’ll need to attach the fan to the motor. If the fan is from a functioning model airplane propeller or hand-held portable fan, you just need to stick the motor into the back of the fan. If the motor turns, the blades of the fan should turn. If there is no hole, you’ll need to poke a hole for the motor that isn’t too big.
  6. Attach remaining wires to motor: Test positive or negative wires to see which direction the propeller will turn. It may not make a difference if the blades produce air flow in both directions, but if it does, stick with the side that produces the best air flow.
  7. Attach a switch: Technically you don’t need a switch to turn the fan on and off if you want the fan to turn on whenever the solar panel gets enough light. To install the switch, cut the black negative wire between the fan and the battery or board. Using a soldering iron, solder the switch in between the place where you cut the negative wire.
  8. Putting it all together: Now all the parts should work together, but need to be attached to something solid so that you can carry around your portable fan. If the fan somehow still fits inside the solar light structure, try to re-screw, glue, or tape it all together again. If you didn’t use a solar light, tape the motor to the end of a wooden dowel or box, making sure to allow room for the fan to rotate. Tape the solar panel/battery onto another side of the box or wooden dowel. Tape the switch to a place you think is convenient. Now test it out. Once you find a configuration that works well for you, you’re done!
Keep cool all summer long, no batteries or electricity required with your homemade solar fan!!!

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1 http://fcs.tamu.edu/health/healthhints/2008/aug/index.php
2 http://www.instructables.com/id/%246-Solar-Fan/
3 http://www.yourgreendream.com/yp_solar_fan.php
4 Id.
5 http://www.instructables.com/id/%246-Solar-Fan/step1/Collect-Your-Materials/
6 Id.
7 Id.
8 Id.
9 Id.




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