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Solar Charge Controller

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http://www.jc-solarhomes.com/DIY/Charge_Controller.htm

Solar Charge Controller

This little charge controller could save your battery if you are using a PV panel for a drainback OR trickle down solar
heating system... Closed loop systems do not require as much power because they do not require a minimal flow rate.
For this reason closed loop pump systems do not require a battery backup although their efficiency is greatly improved
with the addition of PV controller. Unfortunately PV powered drainback systems do require a battery backup and a
charge controller is used to protect the battery.
These parts are all you need to build a simple
charge controller capable of handling as much as 20
Amps worth of current. It's designed to disengage
the load baring relay when battery voltage drops
below 11 volts, but it should be used in conjunction
with a solar application that's active when the
sunlight is intense. This prevents battery voltage
from rising above 15 volts. After the charge
controller relay is deactivated the voltage on the
battery starts to rise in proportion to the intensity of
sunlight available to the PV panel. Once the battery
is fully charged near 15 volts the charge controller
relay is activated and the differential controller is
free to activate the pump based on a differential
temperature.
A battery protected with a charge controller acts as
a buffer between the sun and the pump. Without a
battery the supply voltages swings available to the
pump would be extreme and not necessarily
proportional to the temperature in the collector. Remember DC pumps are designed to work best within a limited
voltage range. The charge controller prevents the low voltage damage and the pump load prevents over voltage
damage.

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Solar Charge Controller

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http://www.jc-solarhomes.com/DIY/Charge_Controller.htm

From this simple schematic you should be able to build your own charge controller. Watch this video to better
understand the nature of all charge controllers as well as this simple basic charge controller.

Closed loop systems can actually harvest some heat without the aid of a differential controller, but heat
collection efficiency can be greatly improved with the addition of a PV controller. W ithout a PV controller the
intermittent nature of sunlight may cause a pump to turn on pre-maturely before a collector has had time to warm up.
Also without a differential controller a pump may also stay on after storage temp is higher than collector temperature.
Drainback systems must at least pump water to the top of a collector in order to collect solar heated water. If a
collector is hot but the sunlight energy is insufficient to pump water high enough no heat will be collected. This is why
PV panels are used with a battery backup when theyre connected to a drainback system. Another reason for using a
battery back up in conjunction with PV panel has to do with supply voltage regulation. 12 VDC pumps are designed to
operate best between 10 volts and 14 volts. Below 10 volts the flow rate of the pump may be insufficient, Above 14
volts the bearings inside the pump may be damaged. A battery helps stabilize the supply voltage fluctuations within a
practical range and a charge controller provides assurance that this range is maintained. If the power requirements of a
drainback pump are less than 30 Watts a PV controller may be used with a battery backup and a charge controller.

Charge Controller Calculations

02-10-2015 12:08

Solar Charge Controller

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http://www.jc-solarhomes.com/DIY/Charge_Controller.htm

The analog charge controller resistors must be carefully chosen to keep the battery voltage between 10.5 volts and
14.5 volts. I use the simple voltage divider of 4.7K and 3.3K to sample the battery voltage and bring it close to the 5
volt reference. This voltage is then buffered with a voltage follower and placed on the left side of the 2.2K resistor. The
voltage that appears on opamp pin 10 is the voltage that's compared to the 5 volt reference. If this voltage is higher
than 5 volts the charge controller relay is activated. If this voltage is lower than 5 volts the relay is deactivated. To
determine the actual voltage on pin 10 we first need to simplify this circuit to two resistors and 2 voltage supplies...
The actual voltage across these two resistors would be their voltage difference or
9.8V-4.3V = 5.5 volts... Now the total current across both resistors would be
5.3V/12.2K = .45ma... SO... The voltage drop across the 2.2K resistor is 2.2K x
.45ma = 1 volt.
AND the voltage on pin 10 is... 4.3 V + 1 V = 5.3 volts.
As long as the voltage on pin 10 remains higher than 5 volts the relay remains
activated, but if the battery voltage continues to drop the battery load will be
disconnected..
By changing R3 to 1K... and R4 to 22K the voltage on pin 10 only has to reach 11.5
volts to disengage the charge controller relay...

For more information about DIY charge controllers, basic differential controllers and PV controllers as well as DIY
solar collector kits contact,,,canivan@optonline.net

02-10-2015 12:08

Solar Charge Controller

http://www.jc-solarhomes.com/DIY/Charge_Controller.htm

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