Buluma Naphtali

Department of ICT
 Power Management
The Power Charge Regulator

Also known as the charge controller

By monitoring the voltage of the battery the regulator
prevents overcharging or overdischarging of the battery.

Regulators used in solar applications should be connected

in series:
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They disconnect the array of panels from the battery
to avoid overcharging
They disconnect the battery from the load to avoid
overdischarging.
The disconnection and connection is done by means of
two types of switches
-Electromechanical (relays)
-Solid state(bipolar transistor, MOSFET)

Guarantees the conditions set for the battery (longer

lifetime)
Provides the central point for connecting the load,
module and battery bank
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Manages the system so that the harvested electricity is
effectively managed

Allows the end user to monitor the system and locate

potential system problems. It is the brain of the PV system

Charge Controller: Physical Features

Most controllers have LED indicators
Others have LCD or analog display

Indicators show the condition of the charge-discharge

system
• Normal battery state
• Full battery state
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• Low battery state
• Normal battery state
• Overload

Solar Charging LED

• Indicates whether current is flowing into the battery or
not
• Is on when the module is connected

• Causes of light off during daytime

-loose connection on battery or module cable
-broken fuse
-disconnected circuit breaker
- broken or stolen module
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Low battery LED
Notifies the user that the battery is in a low state of charge
Saves the user the need to continuously use voltmeter to
know the state of charge
Different controllers have different indications

Battery Full LED

Indicates when the battery is fully charged
On some controllers it shows the state of trickle charge
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Charge controller: Electronic Features

Low Voltage Disconnect(LVD)

• Prevents the battery from overdischarging by
automatically disconnecting or shedding the load.
• Most controllers set at 80% discharge
Typical disconnect levels are 11.5-11.9V
• Happens during cloudy season or when overused

Low Reconnect Voltage (LRV)

• To prevent continuous connections and disconnection the
regulator will not connect back the loads until the battery
reaches the (LRV)

• Typical reconnection levels are 12.3V

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High Voltage Disconnect (HVD)
• HVD is also the cut-off set point.

• Prevents the array from overcharging the battery

HVD prevents the battery from gasification

• The feature monitors the battery state of charge

• The regulator switch opens the charging circuit when the

voltage in the battery reaches its HVD.

• Some controllers reduce current to a trickle charge then stop

charging (Pulsed Width Modulation Technology: PWM)
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On-off control regulators
• Turn the charge off and on over a period of time(known as
on-off control)

• Older technology

• Do not maintain constant charging voltage

• Switches off when voltage reaches voltage regulation set

point

• Controller reconnects when battery falls to reconnect

point

• Characterized with early battery failures

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PWM type charge controllers
• Is a new technology
• Effective in achieving constant battery charging
• Controller releases pulses of controlled width yet
maintaining constant voltage
• Slowly reduces charging current to battery
• Has a microchip with a charging algorithm

Load timers
• These are features that connect and disconnect loads
after a certain amount of time
• Inbuilt in controllers
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• Suitable for institutions, classroom lighting
• Saves on installing separate load times

Blocking diodes
• Prevent current from flowing back from the battery to
module
• Inbuilt diode circuit, some have electromagnetic relay
switches

Controller Types
Based on electronic circuitry, there are two main types:
• Series and Shunt regulators
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Series Regulator

• At sunrise, array voltage rises

• Regulator senses and closes S1
• The battery is now connected to the aray
• Current flows from array to battery then loads
• S1 opens when battery voltage reaches HVD
• No current flows to the battery
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Series Regulator
• At night fall an inbuilt timer that is activated 10 hours
after sunrise opens the charging relay
• If current is still flowing, it closes and reopens at 2 hour
interval until no more current flows (total darkness)
• Relay stays open till sunrise and the cycle repeats

Various designs:
1-step interrupt
2-step constant current design
Series PWM design
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Shunt Regulator
Circuit diagram

• Has a solid state switch

• At sunrise array voltage arises higher than the battery
bank
• If the batter voltage is lower than HVD level, HVD opens
and charging commences
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• When HVD level is reached, HVD closes shorting the

array
• Array controller circuit shedds energy as heat
• While in shunt mode, the regulator works in PWM
depending on the array current
• Continues until battery falls below HVD level
• Has a blocking diode to block batteries discharging
through the array
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Series vs Shunt
Series Regulator Shunt regulator
Require no blocking diode Shunt regulators get
heated
Higher current rating so Do not sustain higher
can be used on large current
systems
Parasitic loses due to Cannot tolerate array
relay’s power rating connection when battery
is disconnected
Are less reliable than Require a heat sink so are
shunt type bulky
!!Note: Reversing polarities burns the controller
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• When selecting a regulator, you should know the
operating voltage and the maximum current that it
can handle.
• The operating voltage will be 12, 24,or 48v
• The maximum current must be 20% bigger than the
current provided by the array of panels connected to
the regulator
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Choosing a charge controller
• Must be capable of supporting added modules in future
• Conform with system voltage
• Should support recommended cable sizes
• Must have a fail-safe mechanism for system shut down
• Should have system indicators, alarms and meters
• Consider the environmental and operating conditions,
mechanical design and packaging

• Cost, warranty and availability

• Consider the regulation algorithm, HVD and LVD set points
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Converters
• The converter provides DC power at a specific voltage.
Converters are used to adjust the voltage to match the
requirements of the load

DC/DC Converter
• Transform a continuous voltage to another continuous
voltage at a different value
• There are two conversion methods which can be used to
adapt the voltage from the batteries

1) Iinear conversion
Lowers the voltage from the battery by converting excess
energy into heat, a simple but inefficient method
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2) Switching conversion
uses a magnetic component to temporarily store the energy and
transform if to another voltage. The resulting voltage can be
greater, less than, or the inverse (negative) o f the input voltage.

DC/AC Converter or Inverter

Inverters are used when your equipment requires AC power.
It has to turn the electricity from a constant (flat-line signal)
into a mathematical pattern called a sine wave

makes it compatible with your household appliances.

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Types of Inverters
a) Square wave
b) the modified sine wave type.
c) pure sine wave type (also called a sinusoidal type)
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a) Square wave inverter
• the pioneers of inverter development.
• square wave output has a high harmonic content,
not suitable for certain AC loads such as motors or
transformers
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b) Modified sine wave solar inverters
A modified sine wave inverter generates a blocky wave
which has none of the smoothness of a sine wave.
• It is simple and low cost
• compatible with most electronic devices, except for
sensitive or specialized equipment, for example certain
laser printers, fluorescent lighting, audio equipment.
• Most AC motors will run off this power source but at a
reduction in efficiency of approximately 20%
• Modified sine wave inverters were originally used in
early non-grid connected (stand alone) solar systems.
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c) Pure sine wave inverters
• These types of inverters are simply a modified sine
wave inverter that has electronics that creates a “pure”
sine wave as opposed to the square sine wave.
• Similar to grid generated electricity
• Have PWM technology

• Powers any device/appliance which can be powered by

mains electricity - a modified square wave inverter
cannot.
• Costs at least double the price of a modified square
wave inverter.
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Inverters can also be:
a) Transformerless
b) Transformer type

a) Transformer type solar inverters

• A transformer increases the voltage of the electricity
produced by the solar panels to the same voltage as
the mains electricity grid (240 volts).
• Transformers are quite heavy and but simple to make.
• a little cheaper
• less efficient in converting the energy than equivalent
transformerless inverters. .
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• Transformers can also create a humming noise and
this can be a problem if the inverter is near where
people want quiet space (e.g. bedrooms

b) Transformerless solar inverters

• The lack of a transformer generally makes them
lighter and slightly more efficient than equivalent
inverters with transformers.
• react faster to changes in power and are a bit more
sophisticated in how they behave
• less likely to create a humming sound
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Choice of inverter
• Quality of inverter
A quality inverter is the key to:
Safety and efficiency,
Reliability and usability of solar power systems..
It’s also worth looking at the company behind the
inverter - how long have they been around and what is
their expertise?

• Size and price

In general, as a minimum, the inverter needs to be able
to handle the maximum power that your solar power
system can generate
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For example, a 1.5 kilowatt (kW) solar PV system
needs a grid connected inverter of 1.5 kW DC or
above.

A word of caution here to be aware that inverters are

rated in DC and AC output terms.
Make sure your inverter is rated to suit the output of
your system in DC!
As with solar PV panels, grid connected inverters are
constantly being improved and their prices will tend
to reduce in the future. In general, the more features
an inverter has, the more you will pay.
Thus, it is best to work out what you need in an
inverter and compare prices within the overall
system costs.
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• Quality inverters are heavy and large in size

They are generally located as near as practicable to
your electricity meter and should always be located in
the shade for best performance.

The best advice is to have a look at the inverter (or

check out it's specification sheet) and see whether it
will fit near your electricity meter and what it will look
like.
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• What about the display?
Most grid connected inverters have display lights indicating
whether the unit is on, off or in standby.

Some of this information (e.g the total amount of power

generated) is also available on your meter.

• Warranty
Typically, grid connected inverters have a life span ranging form
10 to 20 years. You should expect most inverters to last 10 years
minimum.
Obviously, the longer the warranty the more protection you have.

• Continuous rating: output power that is produced indefinitely