A

PRESENTATION

ON

”SOLAR CHARGE CONTROLLER”

PRESENTED BY:- SUDARSHAN ACHARYA

PUL_075_MSREE_016
 SOLAR CHARGE CONTROLLER

 A solar charge controller is a voltage and current regulator that prevents a battery bank from
overcharging due to solar arrays
 The voltage and current coming from the solar panel is being regulated before going to the batteries
so that battery does not overcharge during the day
 Furthermore, no power gets back to the panels that will drain the battery during the night when there
is no sun energy to charge up the solar panel
 There are several charge regulators that have additional capabilities such as load control and lighting
However, controlling the current and voltages is their primary job
 Most of the 12-volt panels always supply 17 volts because if it was 12 volts, then it means it works
under perfect conditions something that does not happen in all places
 The extra voltage supplied by the panel to when the sun is low or when covered by heavy clouds so as
to ensure output voltage to the batteries
 The core function of the solar charge controller is the efficient transfer of power from a solar module
to a battery or load
 There are two different types of solar charge regulators, each with a different technology; MPPT
and PWM
 MPPT means maximum power point tracking and PWM means pulse width modulation
 Their performance is very different from each other; for example, the MPPT solar charge
controller is expensive compared to the PMW regulator
 Generally, the MPPT regulator performs better than the PWM solar charge regulator
 The PWM charge regulator operates by making a direct connection from the solar panel to the
battery
 The MPPT charge regulator measures the voltage of the panel and converts it into the battery
voltage
 The maximum power point tracker (MPPT) is a device which converts power from DC to DC then
ensures the support of the performance match between the solar panel voltage and the battery bank
voltage
 Therefore, the MPPT charge controller steps down high-power voltage from the solar panel to
low voltage needed to charge a battery, which is shown in figure below:
 TYPES OF CHARGE CONTROLLER

There are two types of charge controllers, they are:-

1. PWM (Pulse Width Modulation):-

 The PWM charge controller is a good low cost solution for small systems only
 when solar cell temperature is moderate to high (between 45°C and 75°C) the PWM controller is
used
 Generally PWM controller is suitable for those places where the efficiency is not critical, for e.g.:
trickle charging
 PWM is used for the solar up to voltage 18 V
 Pulse width modulation (PWM), or pulse-duration modulation (PDM), is a method of reducing
the average power delivered by an electrical signal, by effectively chopping it up into discrete
parts
 The longer the switch is on compared to the off periods, the higher the total power supplied to the
load
 Along with MPPT, it is one of the primary methods of reducing the output of solar panels to that
which can be utilized by a battery
  PWM is particularly suited for running inertial loads such as motors, which are not as easily
affected by this discrete switching, because they have inertia to react slow
 The PWM switching frequency has to be high enough not to affect the load, which is to say that
the resultant waveform perceived by the load must be as smooth as possible
 The PWM charge controller is used for small voltage applications only
 The average value of voltage (and current) fed to the load is controlled by turning the switch
between supply and load on and off at a fast rate
 The output from PWN controller is shown in figure:-
Fig:- Output graph from PWM charge regulator
Fig:- Whole solar system using PWM charge controller
2. MPPT

 To fully exploit the potential of the MPPT controller, the array voltage should be substantially
higher than the battery voltage
 The MPPT controller is the solution of choice for higher power systems (because of the lowest
overall system cost due to smaller cable cross sectional areas)
 The MPPT controller will also harvest substantially more power when the solar cell temperature is
low (below 45°C)
 or very high (above 75°C), or when irradiance is very low
 A MPPT solar charge controller is the charge controller embedded with MPPT algorithm to
maximize the amount of current going into the battery from PV module
 MPPT is DC to DC converter
 MPPT operates by taking DC input from PV module, changing it to AC and converting it back to
a different DC voltage and current to exactly match the PV module to the battery
 For the larger system MPPT system is used
 The output graph and of MPPT charge controller vs PWM charge controller is shown in figure
below:-

Fig:- output power vs current vs voltage graph

Overall system circuit diagram using MPPT charge controller is shown in figure below:-

Fig:- overall system circuit diagram using MPPT charge controller

 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

 1. PWM charge controller

Advantages
 
 PWM controllers are built on a time tested technology
 They have been used for years in Solar systems, and are well established
 These controllers are inexpensive, usually selling for less than $350
  PWM controllers are available in sizes up to 60 Amps
  PWM controllers are durable
  These controllers are available in many sizes for a variety of applications
 Disadvantages

 The Solar input nominal voltage must match the battery bank nominal voltage if you’re going to
use PWM
 There is no single controller sized over 60 amps DC as of yet
 Many smaller PWM controller units come without fittings for conduit
 PWM controllers have limited capacity for system growth
 Can’t be used on higher voltage grid connect modules
2. MPPT charge Controllers
• Advantages
 
• MPPT controllers offer a potential increase in charging efficiency up to 30%
• These controllers also offer the potential ability to have an array with higher input voltage than the
battery bank
• You can get sizes up to 80 Amps
• MPPT controller warranties are typically longer than PWM units
• MPPT offer great flexibility for system growth
• MPPT is the only way to regulate grid connect modules for battery charging
 Disadvantages

 MPPT controllers are more expensive

 Sometimes costing twice as much as a PWM controller
 MPPT units are generally larger in physical size
 Sizing an appropriate Solar array can be challenging without MPPT controller manufacturer
guides
 for smaller system, it is uneconomical
 CONCISIONS

 The final project satisfies all the client requirements

 Most client specifications are met and addressed
 Moreover, the circuit design is based on MPPT algorithm with 95% efficiency
 The project is built to have high efficiency and low cost Solar charge controller
 For further improvement, the buck converter can be upgraded to buck-boost converter in order to
charge batteries from lower voltage sources
 Also the solar charge controller is designed with extra push button, LED, and four pins on the
PCB for futuristic using
 The performance of MPPT is better than PWM which is shown in figure below:

Fig:- Output graph of PWM and MPPT

 REFERENCES

1. Medi, N. (2018). MPPT charge controller advantages compare to standard PWM. [online] MEEE. Available at:
https://meee-services.com/mppt-charge-controller-advantages-compare-standard-pwm/ [Accessed 7 Sep. 2018].

2. URJOS. (2018). MPPT Charge Controllers: What is MPPT and its advantages? - URJOS. [online] Available at:
https://urjos.com/solar-energy/mppt-charge-controllers-what-is-mppt-and-its-advantages/ [Accessed 13 Sep. 2018]. 
3. Element Community. (2018). Evaluation Module Synchronous, Switch-Mode, Battery Charge Controller for Solar Power.
[online] Available at: https://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-48798/l/bq24650-evaluation-module-
synchronous-switch-mode-battery-charge-controller-for-solar-power [Accessed 12 Sep. 2018].
4. Nagar, S. (2018). Current Sensor Module. [online] Research Gate. Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/ACS712-Current-sensor-module_fig17_281865046 [Accessed 7 Sep. 2018].
5. Muralikrishna, S. (2018). An overview of digital circuit design and PCB design guidelines - An EMC perspective - IEEE
Conference Publication. [online] Ieeexplore.ieee.org. Available at: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5154359
[Accessed 9 Nov. 2018].

6. Sharp3D. 3D Modelling software. www.sharp3D.com[online] [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018].

THANK TOU