Resilient Solar Energy-Autonomous Infrastructure with Freifunk OpenMPPT Controllers

Explore the evolution and applications of Freifunk Open-MPPT, an expanding Open-Hardware and Open-Software development project for efficient and resilient energy-autonomous infrastructure. Learn about the currently available models, their scope of use, and future prospects in this 22-minute talk. Discover how the project, initiated by Freifunk in 2017, has grown from handling 50 Watt PV power to the newer FF-ESP32 generations capable of managing up to 400 Watt solar power. Understand the importance of Maximum Power Point Tracking in solar power systems and how OpenMPPT fills the gap for small, low-cost solar charge controllers. Gain insights into the project's applications, including powering communication nodes, environment monitoring, irrigation systems, and even solar-powered servers for off-grid communities. Delve into the reasons behind the increasing demand for open hardware and software solutions in solar energy management.