Give

Batteries: storing the sun

Size a battery bank for the night and a cloudy day, and wire it in series and parallel.

Back to Engineering · Solar power and mini-grids

Planned. This module is part of the plan and is not written yet.Handled with care: read the note under Practicalities before using this module.

EGEG-ELE-SOL-0303Level10–11

Why it matters

A clinic's vaccine fridge must stay cold all night and through cloudy days, so its battery has to hold enough energy for the hours when the sun can't help.

Draft outline · in review
For
Level 10–11 · SSS 1 to SSS 2
Inside
5 lessons and a test · about 90 minutes
Topic
Solar power and mini-grids · core, 2 of 4
Plate EG-ELE-SOL-03: planned.

Inside the module.

5 lessons in order, about 90 minutes in all, then a short test. Learners go at their own pace; the minutes are a guide, not a timetable.

Draft outline · in review

  1. Lesson 1: Amp-hours and watt-hours

    Wh = Ah × V, and why watt-hours let you compare batteries of different voltages.

    Explain15 min, from minute 0

  2. Lesson 2: Depth of discharge and cloudy days

    Why you never use all of a battery's capacity, and how days of autonomy add up.

    Explain15 min, from minute 15

  3. Lesson 3: Sizing for the night

    From a night-time energy need to a battery capacity.

    Worked example20 min, from minute 30

  4. Lesson 4: Series and parallel

    Series adds voltage; parallel adds amp-hours.

    Worked example20 min, from minute 50

  5. Lesson 5: Size a bank

    Size and wire battery banks for a fridge, a shop and a classroom, in simulation.

    Practice20 min, from minute 70

  6. End-of-module test

    Convert between amp-hours and watt-hours, size a battery bank allowing for depth of discharge, and wire batteries for a given voltage and capacity.

    Mastered at 85% or more. Retake it until you pass; nothing is lost, and each try gives feedback.

    Already know it? A Challenge Test (planned) clears the whole module: 90% overall, no objective below 75%.

    Last stageafter about 90 min

Practicalities

Draft outline · in review

  • Handle with care

    Never work on a live system. Hands-on work happens only with the facilitator and a qualified electrician; the rest is simulation.

  • Built to run offline

    Planned to run on the Lantern's own computer, with no internet needed.

  • Languages

    Planned first in English; every module aims to reach all of the Lantern's languages.

Try a question.

One question from the module, as a learner would meet it. Have a go, then open the worked solution a step at a time.

Draft outline · in review

Suppose a vaccine fridge uses 1,200 Wh between sunset and sunrise. It runs from a 24 V LiFePO4 battery bank that should only use 80% of its capacity. What capacity in amp-hours does it need for one night?

Work it out on paper first, then show the answer and mark it yourself.

Particulars

Where it sits

Engineering · Electrical · Solar power and mini-grids

What a learner can do after it

  1. Explain battery capacity in amp-hours and watt-hours.
  2. Size a battery bank for a night and a cloudy day, allowing for depth of discharge.
  3. Wire batteries in series and in parallel for voltage and capacity.

Needs first

Unlocks

Level

Level 10–11 · SSS 1 to SSS 2

Show levels in

Level mappings are approximate. A qualified teacher or lecturer in each country must check them before they appear in the app.

Difficulty for its level

2 of 4 · Core

Time

About 90 minutes

Alignments

None drafted yet.

Alignment in review until a qualified teacher or lecturer checks it. No exam body, university or vendor endorses us; learners still sit the real exam.

Challenge Test

Planned: a Challenge Test to prove you know it and skip it. Pass at 90% overall, with no objective below 75%.

University courses it previews

Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Renewable Energy Engineering

On these pathways

The route here.

Everything this module builds on, drawn as a route from its foundations. Solid lanes must be mastered first, or cleared by a Challenge Test; dashed lanes are suggestions that never lock anything.

From Level 1, Adding and subtracting to Level 6, Energy from the sun: the Lantern
  1. MA-ARI-OPS-01 Adding and subtracting, Level 1–3, Maths. Planned.
  2. MA-ARI-OPS-01Adding and subtractingMaths · Primary 1 to Primary 3 (Level 1–3) · Planned
  3. MA-ARI-OPS-02 Multiplication as equal groups, Level 2–3, Maths. Sample lesson in the demo.
  4. MA-ARI-OPS-02Multiplication as equal groupsMaths · Primary 2 to Primary 3 (Level 2–3) · Sample lesson in the demo Needs Adding and subtracting (required).Try the sample lesson: Multiplication as equal groups
  5. MA-ARI-OPS-03 Division as sharing and grouping, Level 3–4, Maths. Planned.
  6. MA-ARI-OPS-03Division as sharing and groupingMaths · Primary 3 to Primary 4 (Level 3–4) · Planned Needs Multiplication as equal groups (required).
  7. MA-ARI-OPS-04 Multiplying and dividing together, Level 3–4, Maths. Planned.
  8. MA-ARI-OPS-04Multiplying and dividing togetherMaths · Primary 3 to Primary 4 (Level 3–4) · Planned Needs Division as sharing and grouping (required).
  9. MA-ARI-ORD-01 Order of operations, Level 5–6, Maths. Planned.
  10. MA-ARI-ORD-01Order of operationsMaths · Primary 5 to Primary 6 (Level 5–6) · Planned Needs Multiplying and dividing together (required).
  11. MA-ALG-LIN-01 What an equation means, Level 5–6, Maths. Planned.
  12. MA-ALG-LIN-01What an equation meansMaths · Primary 5 to Primary 6 (Level 5–6) · Planned Needs Order of operations (required).
  13. MA-FDP-OPS-02 Adding and subtracting with different denominators, Level 5–6, Maths. Planned.
  14. MA-FDP-OPS-02Adding and subtracting with different denominatorsMaths · Primary 5 to Primary 6 (Level 5–6) · Planned · recommended
  15. MA-ALG-EXP-01 Letters for numbers, Level 6–7, Maths. Planned.
  16. MA-ALG-EXP-01Letters for numbersMaths · Primary 6 to JSS 1 (Level 6–7) · Planned Needs Order of operations (required).
  17. MA-ALG-LIN-02 One-step equations, Level 6, Maths. Planned.
  18. MA-ALG-LIN-02One-step equationsMaths · Primary 6 (Level 6) · Planned Needs What an equation means (required).
  19. MA-ALG-LIN-03 Two-step equations, Level 6–7, Maths. Sample lesson in the demo.
  20. MA-ALG-LIN-03Two-step equationsMaths · Primary 6 to JSS 1 (Level 6–7) · Sample lesson in the demo Needs One-step equations (required), Adding and subtracting with different denominators (recommended).Try the sample lesson: Two-step equations
  21. SC-ENV-SOL-01 Energy from the sun: the Lantern, Level 6–9, Sciences. Planned.
  22. SC-ENV-SOL-01Energy from the sun: the LanternSciences · Primary 6 to JSS 3 (BECE) (Level 6–9) · Planned · recommended
  23. MA-ALG-FRM-01Substituting into formulaeMaths · JSS 1 to JSS 2 (Level 7–8) · Planned Needs Letters for numbers (required).
  24. SC-PHY-ELC-01Circuits and currentSciences · JSS 1 to JSS 2 (Level 7–8) · Planned
  25. MA-ALG-LIN-04Unknowns on both sidesMaths · JSS 1 to JSS 2 (Level 7–8) · Planned Needs Two-step equations (required).
  26. SC-PHY-ELC-02Voltage, current and resistanceSciences · JSS 2 to JSS 3 (BECE) (Level 8–9) · Planned Needs Circuits and current (required), Substituting into formulae (recommended).
  27. EG-ELE-SOL-01How a solar panel makes electricityEngineering · JSS 2 to JSS 3 (BECE) (Level 8–9) · Planned Needs Circuits and current (required), Energy from the sun: the Lantern (recommended).
  28. SC-PHY-ELC-03Electrical power and energySciences · JSS 3 (BECE) to SSS 1 (Level 9–10) · Planned Needs Voltage, current and resistance (required), Substituting into formulae (recommended).
  29. EG-ELE-SOL-02Watts and watt-hours: an energy budgetEngineering · JSS 3 (BECE) to SSS 1 (Level 9–10) · Planned Needs How a solar panel makes electricity (required), Electrical power and energy (required), Substituting into formulae (recommended).
  30. MA-ALG-FRM-02Changing the subject of a formulaMaths · JSS 3 (BECE) to SSS 1 (Level 9–10) · Planned Needs Substituting into formulae (required), Unknowns on both sides (required).
  31. SC-PHY-ELC-04Series and parallel circuitsSciences · JSS 3 (BECE) to SSS 1 (Level 9–10) · Planned Needs Voltage, current and resistance (required).
  32. EG-ELE-SOL-03Batteries: storing the sunEngineering · SSS 1 to SSS 2 (Level 10–11) · Planned · the destination Needs Watts and watt-hours: an energy budget (required), Series and parallel circuits (required), Changing the subject of a formula (required).
21 stops across Maths, Sciences and Engineering. 2 have a sample lesson in the demo; the other 19 are planned and not yet written.

Help light the room where this is learned.

Every route on this map starts in a classroom with 24 stations, a tutor that works offline and a facilitator upstairs. Four are planned and waiting for light.

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