A charge controller, or charge regulator is similar to the voltage regulator in your car. It regulates the voltage and current coming from the solar panels going to the battery. Most "12 volt" panels put out about 16 to 20 volts, so if there is no regulation the batteries will be damaged from overcharging. Most batteries need around 14 to 14.5 volts to get fully charged.
Do I always need a charge controller?
Not always, but usually. Generally, there is no need for a charge controller with the small maintenance, or trickle charge panels, such as the 1 to 5 watt panels. A rough rule is that if the panel puts out about 2 watts or less for each 50 battery amp-hours, then you don't need one.
For example, a standard flooded golf car battery is around 210 amp-hours. So to keep up a series pair of them (12 volts) just for maintenance or storage, you would want a panel that is around 4.2 watts. The popular 5 watt panels are close enough, and will not need a controller. If you are maintaining AGM deep cycle batteries then you can use a smaller 2 to 2 watt panel.
Charger Controller Types
Charge controls come in all shapes, sizes, features, and price ranges. They range from the small 5 amp control, up to the 60 to 80 amp MPPT programmable controllers with computer interface. Often, if currents over 60 amps are required, two or more 40 to 80 amp units are wired in parallel. The most common controls used for all battery based systems are in the 4 to 60 amp range, but some of the new MPPT controls go up to 80 amps.
What happens when you use a controller
Charge controls take the output of the panels and feed current to the battery until the battery is fully charged, usually around 13.6 to 14.2 volts. A panel can only put out so many amps, so while the voltage is reduced from say, 33 volts to 13.6 volts, the amps from the panel cannot go higher than the rated amps - so with a 175 watt panel rated at 23 volts/7.6 amps, you will get 7.6 amps @ 12 volts or so into the battery. Ohms Law tells us that watts equals volts x amps, so your 175 watt panel will put about 90 watts into the battery.
How to Size a Solar Charge Controllers |
Boat Outfitting
