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Solar Panel Charge Controller

10A 12V Solar Panel Charge Controller products, buy 10A 12V Solar ...

How To Get Inexpensive Batteries For DIY Solar Panel

Due to the rising cost of energy, many home owners are starting to look for ways to reduce their electricity consumption. Apart from the house mortgage, the second largest expense is the power utility bill.

As a solution to cut power bill, many people are turning to solar energy. Due to the high demand, there has been a boom in the home solar power industry. Many people are engaging the service of professional contractors to install solar panel on roof tops.

A full blown residential solar power system can be very expensive. Those that do not have the budget will build their own solar array via a Do It Yourself (DIY) approach.

A DIY solar power system consists of a few key components. The main elements are the solar panel, charge controller, battery bank, meter gauges, power inverter etc.

About the author: Will Yap is a green energy enthusiast and writes about renewable energy for home at www.diysolarhomes.com. The trick on finding cheap batteries on ebay, he learned it from Michael Harvey's Earth 4 Energy e-book. If you are wondering if Earth4Energy is a scam, make sure to check out the e-book review before you make your decision.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/how-to-get-inexpensive-batteries-for-diy-solar-panel-1078596.html

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. QUESTION:
    what is the diffrence between a solar panel charge controller and a wind turbine controller?
    they both charge a 12v or bank of 12v batteries? i have built my turbine but confused on what controller to use?thanks

    • ANSWER:
      lets start with basics

      the solar power supplies DC and it is running all morning, the power it supplies not as much as the wind turbine so the controller and the power it supplies mostly constant becasue the sun changes slowly

      the wind turbine supplies AC with diffrent frequncy so it needs to be converted into DC then converted back to AC with 60 or 50 Hz frequency, the power it supplies much higher than the solar power and the wind changes frequently so the ammount of power it supplies isnt the same so that the controller needs to monitor that power in order to charge the batteries

  2. QUESTION:
    Solar Panel Charge Controller?
    My 2 solar panels are 70watt Vmp 32.3v, Voc 45.2, Imp 2.17, Isc 2.63

    would these be 24v panels? what type of charge controller do i need?

    • ANSWER:

  3. QUESTION:
    Is a solar charge controller necessary for a low power panel?
    I have a 45 watt 12 volt panel charging a deep cycle boat battery about the size of a car battery. I figure it is charging about 3 amps max. Is a charge controller necessary for this low power charge and a large battery?

    • ANSWER:
      It depends on what the circuit voltage is at the time of peak charging. Moderate pver voltage even at three amps can lead to more frequent water addition, which is not practical for AGM type batteries. If the circuit voltage is 16 volts or lower at peak panel output time, you should be fine.

      If it is higher than that, you would want to add voltage regulation. Batteries in general require a higher voltage input into them to charge them to overcome the internal resistance of the battery itself, so modest over voltage is not an issue with lead acid batteries.

      You might find this blog useful to you if you know basic electronics. http://altenciruits.wordpress.com/ It can save you some money.

  4. QUESTION:
    Is a solar charge controller really necessary for a low power panel?
    I have a 45 watt 12 volt panel charging a deep cycle boat battery about the size of a car battery. I figure it is charging about 3 amps max. Is a charge controller necessary for this low power charge?

    • ANSWER:
      No charge controller needed for that kind of panel. If this is one of those kits with 3 panels from Harbor Freight or Northern Tool, you may find that the maximum current is really more like 1 amp.

  5. QUESTION:
    How to make charge controller for solar panel to batteries?

    • ANSWER:
      I don't think you'll get a straight answer here ... If you do, beware. It's much to complicated of a topic to address in a forum like this. It depends on the battery type, the voltage and current of your panel, etc. There are may schemes that can be used depending on whether you are charging lead acid, NiMH, Lithium (can be dangerous if done wrong). If your panel has a lower voltage than your battery, you need a boost converter. If the panel has a high voltage, you need a buck converter. These types of supplies/chargers are tricky to design and build correctly even for experienced engineers.

      Having said all that, if your panel has a voltage slightly higher than 12V (like 14V) and your battery is a 12V lead acid type, you might be able to just get by with a direct hookup using a reverse blocking diode so the battery does not back feed the solar cells when shaded.


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