Solar power system for donation boxes - Cumbria trial going well!
25 February 2022
Our latest design of a solar power system for an electronic donation terminal has been out for public use and the trial seems to be going very well.
Donationboxes.co.uk came to us in 2020 after they were approached to produce solar powered donation points. With contactless payment becoming the norm, this seemed like a good solution to continue collecting donations in a cashless society without the need for a mains powered terminal.
We have previously worked on other bespoke projects with Donationboxes.co.uk but this is our first project from any customer requiring a renewable energy source. During our consultation we were instructed to power a specific pay terminal. From this we could determine the voltage required. We discussed how long the terminal needs to be powered for each day and whether it would need to be powered in poor sunlight and even at night. We carried out some research and our own testing to what power various sized solar panels could generate and came up with a system to use the solar energy to power the terminal and also to charge a battery and then in poor light the terminal could then run off the battery.
After some testing of the first proto-type in the Winter of 2020/21 we listened to the feedback from Donationboxes.co.uk and found there were concerns about the battery being charged enough during the day. We have since added a timer so that the terminal powers down when the National Trust property is closed. We then produced a small batch of these systems and were asked to fit all the parts in to a weatherproof enclosure small enough to be mounted inside the terminal. It was a tight fit, but we managed to mount the parts inside the enclosure while also allowing easy access to the timer should the settings need to be changed.
One of these systems has been fitted and is in use in a donation terminal at Watchtree Nature Reserve near Carlisle. This northerly site would obviously experience very few hours of good light during the Winter, but feedback so far regarding the power seems very positive. Two more terminals are set to be sent out soon. Hopefully a good number of visitors will be donating and this project will be rolled out further. So keep an eye out for these Bereton powered donation points coming to your local area in the near future!
