Power-efficient design

[Tim Auton]

I'm planning a to build a solar-powered robot. Efficient solar cells,
motors and electronics will of course be required. Efficiency has
never been much of a concern in my previous hobby projects.

Can anyone suggest any good books / papers / websites / whatever on
power-efficient electronic and mechanical design? It's not just
low-power, as I'll have around 0.5 sq ft. of solar panels, so at least
a couple of watts to play with (during full sunlight), but I want to
make the most of that power.


Tim
--
Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do.

 

[andy]

On Sat, 04 Sep 2004 22:01:08 +0100, Tim Auton wrote:

I'm planning a to build a solar-powered robot. Efficient solar cells,
motors and electronics will of course be required. Efficiency has
never been much of a concern in my previous hobby projects.

Can anyone suggest any good books / papers / websites / whatever on
power-efficient electronic and mechanical design? It's not just
low-power, as I'll have around 0.5 sq ft. of solar panels, so at least
a couple of watts to play with (during full sunlight), but I want to
make the most of that power.

Horowitz and Hill - 'The Art of Electronics' has a chapter on low power
design. More meant for ultra low power battery powered devices though.

Bear in mind that the rated output of solar panels is against a standard
value for light input (1 kW/m^2) - actual light level might be a lot less
than that. I think you only get close to that level at noon on the equator
on a clear day.

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