How To Keep A Solar Panel From Overcharging A Battery

A cheap pwm controller will do this ok though they are less efficient for the charging process.

How to keep a solar panel from overcharging a battery. The solar power generated by the solar panel is received by the solar charge controller. If you want to get more efficient charge for your solar power you can use one of the many solar fed switch mode battery charger chips like the ti bq24650 this also gives you more flexibility for use of lifepo4 which is starting to replace lead acid. I ve spent the winter designing a pwm solar charge controller which is now finished and working. Connect the wires from the controller to the solar panel.

A solar charge controller is a component that helps manage the power that is going into the battery store from the solar panel. It safeguards the deep cycle batteries from being overcharged during the day. As peter said you can overcharge a battery if you don t have a solar controller between the solar panel and the battery. It is around 14v at 40c.

A solar controller with a battery temp sensor and adjustable setpoints will eventually pay for itself in battery life especially if one charges in areas with wild temperature extremes. Here i m using it to charge a 12 volt car battery as quickly as possible without overcharging. Match up the male and female connectors with the opposite ones coming away from the solar panel and snap the mc4 connectors into place.