The PowerFeather Is an Espressif ESP32-S3 Board Tailored for Off-Grid Solar-Powered Projects
Launching soon with a software development kit for handling the power side of things, the PowerFeather ticks a lot of boxes.
A pseudonymous maker, adopting the name of the device which they are making, has unveiled a Feather-format development board tailored specifically for solar power and other low-energy projects: the PowerFeather.
"This came about when I needed something for a project powered by a Li-Po battery and charged through a solar panel," the maker, "PowerFeather," explains of the board's origins. "The consensus on the internet for building such a project would be to just use an [Espressif] ESP32 board + [NanJing Top Power ASIC Corp.] TP4056 [battery charger]. However, for what I wanted to build, I needed a little bit more features."
That feature-set wish-list included support for 2A of charging current, the ability to measure the charge of a connected battery, an input for a solar panel with, ideally, maximum power point tracking (MPPT), and a sub-100µA quiescent current. Having found nothing on the market offering all of the aforementioned, the PowerFeather came about.
Built around an Espressif ESP32-S3 microcontroller, giving it a dual-core Tensilica Xtensa LX7 processor running at up to 240MHz, 512kB of static RAM (SRAM), 8MB of SPI flash, and 2MB of pseudo-static RAM (PSRAM), the PowerFeather hits the wish-list: 2A charging, an onboard fuel gauge for battery monitoring, an up-to-18V solar panel input configurable "pseudo-MPPT," and a low quiescent current of just 20µA in deep sleep.
"PowerFeather has a companion SDK [Software Development Kit] that gives you access to the power management features such as charging control, battery monitoring, turning load switches on/off, setting MPP voltage, etc.," the board's creator writes. "The SDK supports both Arduino and ESP-IDF so you can leverage the libraries, documentation, and community built around these platforms."
The PowerFeather isn't the only device out there which borrows the form factor for a gadget aimed at solar-power projects. Earlier this year Joey Castillo, of Oddly Specific Objects, showed off the Solar Feather Express, built around a Microchip SAM L21 system-on-chip — then, two months later, used it to power a satellite-connected Internet of Things (IoT) weather station in the Republic of Zaqistan.
Those interested in the device can find out more in its creator's Reddit thread, or sign up to be notified when it becomes available to order on the official website.