LED lighting for paths and poles powered by an earth battery

We are accustomed to the fact that electricity for lighting must be taken from the outside. Well, as a last resort, for street lamps - from solar panels in the summer. But in winter or in cloudy weather, they do not work - there is not enough sunlight. The built-in battery corrects the situation, but the batteries themselves do not last forever. But what if the electricity for the spot illumination of the tracks is taken from the so-called earthen battery?

This method is not suitable for lighting a track - only for navigation marking of tracks. It can be relevant when there is a power outage or to mark stairs, ledges, pillars, fences on and along the site.

It is necessary to make a galvanic cell: from copper (cut along the copper tube) and a galvanized profile. Twist multiple lines together (for maximum surface area). Solder a wire to each electrode.

Next, we drill a hole to a depth below 2 m (below the freezing depth). We lower the copper electrode, sprinkle it with soil and spill it with water, then lower the galvanized one. We also sprinkle it with soil and spill it with water. The galvanic cell starts working immediately. After 30 minutes, the water will leave and the element will slightly reduce the output current.

This battery is enough for 1-2 LEDs to glow. Yes, the current is very weak. In order to squeeze something out of such a galvanic cell for a more serious illumination, the following configuration of electrodes was experimentally obtained:

Left - a view of such a cell made of zinc and copper. On the right is the illumination of the pillars. Two LEDs are inserted into a plastic tube. The result is road markers for gates that do not require electricity. They will work for a long time until the metal is oxidized. Even in winter (if submerged below the freezing depth).

Cell, lowered into the depth of the drilled hole.

If you want to power an LED lamp with, say, 20 W, you will need to bury seven of these cells. Or connect one battery element to an LED lamp (choose with a light and motion sensor). During the day, the battery will be charged, and at night it will additionally feed the lamp.

Below is a simpler spotlight option. But it will work only in summer because the electrodes are on the surface (in winter the soil will freeze). What you need:

Two plates are required: copper and galvanized or aluminum. We solder to each wiring and lay the sheets at a shallow depth under the paving stones or immediately under the road tiles. We install an LED between the tiles. One per item. We make such an element every meter. Everything, before the cold weather you will have a navigation point track illumination. Will work until the plates are oxidized. In the ground, this does not happen so quickly. It should be enough for 5 years. Maybe more. The developer of this system does not report, since did not make longer observations.

The developer installed his cells as road illumination:

In 2016 the developer of these earthen batteries made a test installation of 21 pillars for illuminating road barriers in the area of ​​the 70th km of Mozhaisk highway. And in 2018. installed 20 earthen batteries to illuminate the barriers on the 76th km of the M4 Don highway

Who often drives through this place, write in the comments if this lighting is working now or not?

The earthen battery developer was able to squeeze out of one cell using multipliers of 15.7 V and about 70 mA of current. And I was able to mount the illumination of such advertising signs:

At night they are powered by the battery and the current from the cell, and during the day the battery is recharged from the earth battery. The process is controlled by the MPPT controller so that the battery does not overcharge. There are five cells used in the backlight.

Another example:

“Lovers' shop” in Sokolniki. Power supply: Five earth batteries (supply: approx. 9.2 V and current approx. 150 mA). Used battery DT6045. Lighting: 4 triple LED modules (12V and 45mA each).

To make sure this all works, you can watch this video:

24 copper and zinc elements installed in the ground of flower pots connected in series produce 22 V. But under a load of 3 LEDs, the voltage drops to 6 V. It is possible that this scheme works more efficiently in the ground.

In general, this use of earth as an electrolyte between electrodes is many years old. At the time of the magazine Modelist-Constructor, the following circuits were printed for powering detector receivers:

For some reason, Chinese manufacturers have not yet picked up this principle of getting free electricity. What do you think of this backlight technology?

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Photos are taken from open sources, from Yandex. Pictures

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