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About Charge Controllers
A charge controller is an electronic voltage regulator, used in off-grid systems and grid-tie systems with battery backup, that controls the flow of power from the charging source to the battery. The charge controller automatically tapers, stops, or diverts the charge when batteries become fully charged. Some charge controllers have metering and datalogging capability to show system operation parameters and battery charge status. Some have low battery load disconnect to prevent over-discharge.
Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controllers take power from the charging source at a voltage where it can put out the most power (its maximum power point) and convert that to the correct voltage to charge the battery. This technique significantly increases the power from a solar array, especially when batteries are discharged, battery voltage is low, and the temperature is low causing the maximum power point voltage of the solar modules to be high. Most MPPT charge controllers can take an array voltage much higher that what is required by the batteries, allowing the use of modules with higher peak power voltage, designed for grid-tie use. A higher voltage solar array also allows smaller wire to be used between the array and the charge controller, which can save wire and installation cost in large systems. Maximum power point tracking allows a PV array to deliver up to 30% more power to a battery than it would if it were connected directly to the battery.
