What Is a Solar Charge Controller and Why Are They Important?

 

A solar charge controller is one of the important parts of a solar panel system with a battery, like an off-grid system. Their fundamental job is to go about as a charge controller for the electricity going into the battery bank from a solar array.


For example, the LiFePO4 charge controller guarantees that batteries are not overcharged during the day and that they don't send their stored power back to solar panels at night.


One significant distinction is that if you have a storage battery installed with your grid-tie home system, you needn't bother with a charge controller. Commonly, your solar inverter will do the job of keeping up with your battery health. Charge regulators are best for off-grid to utilize, for example, for an RV or a small, off-grid cabin.


In this article, we will discuss the difference between a PWM and MPPT charge controller, how to figure out which charge regulator you could require, and the best kinds of charge controllers for your off-grid lifestyle.

 

How do charge controllers work?


Something vital to know is that power streams from high voltage to low voltage. So for example, sun-powered chargers produce the most energy in the day so their voltage is high while the battery bank's voltage is low. Overabundance power is then sent to be stored in the battery.


But, around evening time, the battery has a higher voltage than the solar panels because they are completely energized up from the day. To prevent this high voltage from streaming to the solar panels, the solar charge controller steps in to keep the power set up.


At the point when the battery charger is empty or close to it, the charge controller guides a lot of capacity to the battery and charges it rapidly. When the battery is close to being full or is being used, the charge controller sends a smaller amount of power to the battery through a stream charge to keep the battery always prepared to supply power.


Furthermore, charge controllers automatically disconnect non-basic burdens from the battery bank when the voltage falls under a specific edge. This is a cycle called low voltage disconnect (LVD) and it prevents the over-discharging of the battery's energy.


 

What type of charge controller do I need?

 

Whichever choice you pick, getting an excellent charge controller for battery charging is your smartest option. The charge controller is extremely important for your solar system to work appropriately, and you would rather not lose quality by trying to save money.


The type of charge controller that you need, PWM vs. MPPT, will depend on what you are using it for.


Pick a PWM charge controller if you need it for:

  1. Small systems - like for your RV with AGM deep cycle batteries.
  2. When efficiency is not a necessity, such as for trickle charging your boat battery.
  3. For solar panels with a VMP of up to 18V that will charge a 12V battery.
  4. To spend less money - PWM charge controllers are cheaper.

 

Go for an MPPT charger for:

  1. For larger systems, like your off-grid cabin where efficiency matters.
  2. In situations where the solar array has a higher voltage than the battery, for instance using your home's solar panel system to charge a 12V. An MPPT charge controller will charge this safely.
  3. MPPT charge controllers have the ability to monitor the state of charge and update their method based on situations, i.e., can add a boost of power when the battery is low.

 

Lift your off-matrix experience with your new charge controller

 

Since you have decided on a charge regulator, you can add it to your off-grid solar installation to deal with your battery. A LiFePO4 solar charge controller will maintain your battery by not overcharging it, this will help with ensuring that your battery stays viable for a long time.


If producing electricity with solar power is interesting to you, adding solar panels to your home can help you create power and save money.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How Do Lithium-Ion LiFePO4 and Lead Acid Batteries Compare?

PV Solar Systems - Building Our Own Power House

Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) Batteries in Australia