☀ What voltage can generate Solar Panel 6V (experiment)?
Intro
I'm considering using small solar panel for IoT device with long sleep time and short active time (battery powered soil moisture sensor). Let's find out which voltage range will be available using normal 6V solar panel, which critical for power conversion/charger chip.
Specs
It's noname solar panel from Ali, that I bought ~7y (not used before):
|  |
☀ Testing (Summer Sunny Day)
I intentionally used not the best position relative to the sun to emulate real device using.
Photos
| 10:31:00 AM | 12:09:00 PM | 2:10:00 PM | 3:14:00 PM | 5:09:00 PM |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
Table
Plot
☀ Testing (Bright Sun)
In some conditions voltage achieved 7V with no load.
| V=6.68V | I=70.7mA |
 |  |
Conclusions
- At bright sun normal Chinese solar panel 6V generate up to 7V, which could be dangerous for many ICs with VCC=5.5-6V MAX
- Need to try 5V solar panel to have lower maximum voltage
- Bad installation result extremely low energy producing