Solar power is not a news nowadays. People are finding better ways to get power without harming the earth. To use of solar power, you need the solar panel that converts solar energy to electricity. So how to make a small solar charger for your home use? This solorb's website teaches you how to make a simple AA battery solar charger, few components are needed, a nice choice for your home project.
The project needs few solar cells, and 1 1N5818 Schottky Diode and of course the AA rechargeable battery. Why Schottky diode? this diode have less voltage drop when current flow through, it is important as we want to be sure the energy is not wasted on the diode which is only used for preventing the current through back to damage the solar panel when the charger leave in the darkness. You can also buy the solar kits from the author website as well.
Take it into real life application, you may add the solar charger to your radio! Let's read the tutorial bought you by gotwind.org "DIY Solar Powered radio for $5", the theory is the same as the AA charger.
Another video showing a home-made solar USB power charger:
Solar Powered USB Charger - Cheap And Easy To Make! - The most popular videos are a click away
A very comprehensive study on Solar power charger: REUK.co.uk - Solar Battery Charging.