How to Power Up Raspberry Pi with a Battery

Providing the correct amount of power to Raspberry Pi contributes to its efficient working and similarly there are multiple ways to power up the Raspberry Pi. The selection of method to power up the Raspberry Pi normally depends on the usage of it, like if you want to use it as your mini-PC then a power adaptor will be required on the other hand if you want to use it in a project where you want to continuous power then a battery will be used. So, if you are looking for a way to power up the Raspberry Pi using a battery then read this guide.

Things to Keep in Mind before Using Battery to Power Up the Raspberry Pi

Before going to buy a battery, first determine the capacity of the battery you need so normally a 3700mAh battery sounds to be good enough, but you can also use 10000mAh as well. To power the Raspberry Pi there are two things that you would require and those are:

Charge Controller
DC to DC Converter.

Charge Controller: The purpose of charge controller is to regulate the current drawn from the battery by the connected devices and ensure good battery performance.

DC to DC Converters (Boost converters): The prime purpose of these converters is to scale up the voltage from 3.7 volts to 5 volts. These are needed because as the battery starts to drain it might decrease the amount of voltage being received and as soon as the voltage drops below 3.3 the Pi will turn off.

Using Battery to Power Up the Raspberry Pi

There are three ways by which you can connect a battery with Raspberry Pi and that are:

Using charge controller and DC to DC converter
Using power boost module
Using Raspberry Pi battery shield

Using Charge Controller and DC/DC Converter

One way to connect the battery with Raspberry Pi is to use a charge controller and DC to DC converter separately, but it can create a mesh of wires. To connect the charge controller with the converter connect its “in” with the input of the converter and “out” pin with its output pin. Next connect the positive output pin of the converter with pin 2 of Pi and negative output with the pin 6 of Pi. The images below illustrate the connections of both the converter as well as the charge controller.

Using Power Boost Module

Another way to connect a battery to Raspberry Pi is by using a power boost module which is a comparatively better way to the method we discussed earlier. To connect the power boost module with Raspberry Pi, connect the 5v pin to the pin 1 of Pi and the GND pin to the pin 6 of Pi. Whereas to connect the battery connect its positive terminal with the “bat” pin of the power boost module and negative terminal with the GND pin. Below the image illustrates the connections of power boost converter with the battery and Raspberry Pi:

Using Raspberry Pi Battery Shield

The best way to power up the Raspberry Pi using the battery is to use the Raspberry Pi battery shield as it doesn’t include any wires and fixes on the top of the Raspberry Pi. Though you must buy the battery pack and the shield separately, some sellers give a complete package like PiJuice and PiSugar modules.

If you are interested in buying a PiJuice Hat, then click here for further details of the product.

Conclusion

Using battery to Power up the Raspberry Pi adds the functionality of making it work on the standalone mode. One of the main things one should consider is to look for battery capacity that will be determined based on the usage. There are three ways of using the battery with Pi: one is using a charge controller and DC to DC converter, the second one is using a power boost module and the third one is using Raspberry Pi battery shield.