What is a Solar Charge Controller?

The best solar charge controller

The solar controller is called the solar charge and discharge controller, which is an automatic control device used in the solar power generation system to control the multi-channel solar battery array to charge the battery and the battery to power the solar inverter load. The solar controller uses a high-speed CPU microprocessor and a high-precision A/D analog-to-digital converter. It is a microcomputer data acquisition and monitoring control system. It can not only collect the current working status of the photovoltaic system in real time, to obtain the working information of the PV station at any time, but also accumulate the historical data of the PV station in detail, which provides an accurate and accurate assessment of the rationality of the PV system design and the reliability of the quality of the inspection system components. Full basis. In addition, the solar controller also has a serial communication data transmission function, which can centrally manage and remotely control multiple photovoltaic system substations.

Solar controllers usually have 6 nominal voltage levels: 12V, 24V, 48V, 110V, 220V, 600V.

Why should we use a solar controller?

Because in a complete photovoltaic system, if you do not use a solar controller, and the battery is charged by the solar panel alone, due to the change in light intensity, the photovoltaic panel will produce a varying voltage, the voltage change is too large, so It is easy to damage a battery if the battery's voltage is used to charge the battery. We are all automatic in the entire photovoltaic system, the price of photovoltaic panels and batteries is relatively high, and it costs a few hundred pieces. And a solar controller only needs a dozen pieces, and such a simple and cheap little thing can play a role in protecting hundreds of pieces, why don't we do it.

How to use solar charge controller

The use of the solar controller is very simple, only need to pair the system, that is, the voltage of the solar panel and the battery are roughly the same, why is it roughly? Because our normal system is best to ensure that the solar panel voltage is 1.5 times the battery. That is, a 12V battery paired with a 18V (12*1.5V) solar panel is a pair of systems. Once the system is paired, it is connected. We must connect the battery first, then the solar panel. Otherwise it is easy to damage the solar controller. The use of solar controller is so simple.

How to select solar charge controller

1. Protection.

Whether it has over-current protection, over-voltage protection, under-current protection and under-voltage protection. If it is a grid-connected inverter, it also depends on whether it has island protection. The first four types of protection are easy to understand, but what is island protection? Simply put, when the power grid fails or the power fails, the inverter must detect it and stop working, that is to say, when the power grid is powered off, the inverter must be able to detect and power off at the same time. Why has to be this way? Mainly for the safety of maintenance personnel. When the grid is out of power, your solar power system is still supplying power to the grid, which can easily cause electric shock to repair and maintenance personnel.

Products with incomplete protection functions need not be considered.

2. Efficiency

Efficiency means rate of return. Therefore, it is better to choose the one with higher efficiency. The efficiency of grid-connected inverters currently on the market is more than 90%. Concentrated between 93%-97%. The efficiency of off-grid inverters is relatively low, around 86%.

Grid-connected inverters are divided into transformers and transformerless. Transformerless has a slightly higher efficiency, but it does not have electrical isolation capabilities. Transformer inverters are divided into high frequency and low frequency according to the type of transformer. Inverters equipped with high-frequency transformers are small and light. Inverters equipped with low-frequency transformers are large and bulky, and are not easy to handle and install. The weight is around 40KG (3KW level). The supplied inverter is a high-frequency transformer, the weight does not exceed 25KG (3.8KW and below power models), it can be hung on the wall for installation, which is very convenient.

We are here to provide you with three solar controller parameters from Fangpusun for your reference:

1.MPPT Solar System Controller regulator 12V 24V 20A Solarix MPPT2010

Fangpusun Solarix MPPT 2010 is a  solar charge controller with MaximumPower Point Tracking. It is specially  designed to work with all established module technologies and is optimized for  solar systems with module voltages higher than the battery voltage.

2.MPPT Solar battery charge controller 150V 80A Flexmax MPPT 60 80

The FLEXmax family of charge controls is the latest invention in Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controllers from fangpusun. The innovative FLEXmax MPPT program algorithm is both continuous and active, upping your liter range power yield up to 30%compared to non-MPPT controllers. Thanks to active cooling and intelligent thermal management coolingsystem, the two FLEXmax charge controllers can function at their full maximum current rating, 60 Amps or 80 Amps respectively, in ambient temperatures as high as 104°F (40°C).

3.LCD display MPPT solar charge controller MPPT100/15D

Untra-fast. Maximum Power Point Tracking(MPPT）.

Especially, in case of a clouded sky, when light intensity is changing continuously, an ultra fast MPPT controller will improve energy harvest up to 30 percent in comparison to PWM charge controllers and up to 10% in comparison to slower MPPT controls.