Philippines - In this article I will try to explain on the functions and settings displayed shown in an ordinary solar charge controller.
By the way, before we continue, what is Solar Charge Controller? A charge controller is the one that responsible for preventing the battery from overcharging basically it is the voltage and current regulator.
What are the functions that can be set in the first button of PWM Controller?
1. The main display – is where you can see the solar panel icon and an arrow right towards the battery icon the arrow icon is blinking if the solar is charging but if not especially at night only the battery
6. Type of Battery - 601 is the default type of battery.
The charge controller connects the solar panel trough the storage battery it controls the power coming from the solar panel so that it will not overcharge the battery. Without charge controller it can damage the battery from overcharging. That’s it, this is my own explanation on how to set my own off grid solar charge controller. Again, it may differ from other settings, especially for the professional solar installer.
By the way, before we continue, what is Solar Charge Controller? A charge controller is the one that responsible for preventing the battery from overcharging basically it is the voltage and current regulator.
There are two types of solar charger, the Maximum Power Point Tracking or MPPT Controller and the Pulse Width Modulation or PWM Controller.
The MPPT is the better controller out of the two charge controller and is commonly used in the higher set up of solar power and also the expensive one while the PWM is the one that I will explain in this article later is the cheapest and commonly used for low set up of off grid solar power.
In the PWM controller itself, there are three buttons, the 1st button is used for setting up the controller, the 2nd button is the (+) sign use for increasing value and the 3rd button is the (-) sign use for decreasing value along with the 3rd button is the bulb button where it is used for on and off switch of the bulb.
Aside from the three buttons there is also an LCD Display where it can be seen the current settings of the charge controller.
What are the functions that can be set in the first button of PWM Controller?
1. The main display – is where you can see the solar panel icon and an arrow right towards the battery icon the arrow icon is blinking if the solar is charging but if not especially at night only the battery
display can be seen.
2. The Float Voltage – the default or factory settings are 13.7 volts and it can be set ranging from 12.7 to 15 volts. This setting controls or limit the voltage coming in through the battery to prevent overcharging. For safety precautions mine is set to 14.1 so that it will not overcharge my battery.
3. Discharge Reconnect – the default value is 12.6 volt and it can be set ranging from 11.5 to 13 volts. The battery starts recharging if reach the 12.6 volts limit. mine is set to 12.5 volts.
4. Discharge Stop – the default value is 10.7 volts and it can be set ranging from 9 – 11.3 volts. Mine is set to 11.5 so that the battery is not too drain before it stop from discharging power.
5. Work Mode – Set the time of load output.
6. Type of Battery - 601 is the default type of battery.
The charge controller connects the solar panel trough the storage battery it controls the power coming from the solar panel so that it will not overcharge the battery. Without charge controller it can damage the battery from overcharging. That’s it, this is my own explanation on how to set my own off grid solar charge controller. Again, it may differ from other settings, especially for the professional solar installer.
