Portable Power Supply for Raspberry Pi 3

What you have?

Ans: Raspberry Pi 3 model B

What you want?

Ans: Find a way to power the Raspberry Pi 3 model B via the micro USB port and use it in projects which require remote sensor data access or a Pi powered wireless toy car.

Then you are in the right place.

There are not a lot of resources explaining the use of Power Banks with Pi so I created this blog post.

Initiation

• I was searching for a portable power supply for one of my projects with Pi that can run for hours and still have an option to charge itself at the same time; after a lot of research I found one.

It is the Mi Power Bank 2i with 10000 mAh capacity.

Image source: mi.com

• I have attached the links for products used at the bottom of this page.
  
• The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B requires upto 2.5A of current at 5V during peak times and 500 to 1000 mAh of current at 5V during normal usage.
• I was skeptical at first on whether this Power Bank would work with Pi, but later found out that it will.
• Here is a list of steps that I did before purchasing the Power Bank for myself.

Testing

• I borrowed this Power Bank from my friend to test it with the Pi.
• The Power Bank was fully charged and the Pi was loaded with Raspbian OS.
• I connected the cable which is provided with Power Bank to Pi and other end to the Power Bank.
• Any other micro USB cable would do just fine for normal use.
• The LED lights on both the Pi and the Power Bank started blinking and Pi started to boot up.
• There was no indication of power shortage during boot up.
• Now to take it a step further and make sure the Power Bank would supply enough current at constant voltage during all times, I tried to overclock the Pi.
• Guess what! it worked. 
• The Power Bank did lose 50% of its charge at the end of overclocking but it proved its usage.

Conclusion

• Having found the solution for my problem, I ordered the Power Bank for myself.
• Name a few Power Banks which you think would work with Pi in the comments section below.

Links

• Raspberry Pi: Raspberry Pi 3 model B
• Mi Power Bank:Mi Power Bank 2i

Pro Tip: An Android App to calculate the current consumption based on hardware used with the Pi.

• This app gives a basic and easy to use interface.
• I have not tested the current consumption practically as shown in the app but it should be more than enough to get a head start.
• Here is the link to the app: Pi Power Estimator

Note:

1. Perform overclocking at your own risk.
2. Overclocking the Pi without proper heat sinks or cooling solution will burn the Broadcom chip on board and make the Pi useless.
3. The links provided for Raspberry Pi and Mi Power Bank 2i are Amazon Affiliate links and are part of the Amazon Affiliate program.