Have you ever wondered why solar products are gaining popularity by the day? Apart from its environmental benefits, there is another big advantage that draws people towards this technology. It is the money you can save in long-term use.

‘Long-term’ is a huge word for solar products; you can say that it is the basis of their survival. In order to recover the invested money, solar power products should be good enough for long-term use. So quality of a home solar power system should be of very high standards, otherwise it just won’t survive in the market.

Whenever you think of a solar based PV system, the first thing that will come to your mind will be about the batteries. You will be concerned about the life of the batteries. Solar batteries are quite costly and so it is very important that you have a solar charge controller installed in your solar power system.

The life of the battery depends heavily on the solar charge controller. The function of a solar charge controller is to regulate the power going from the panels to the batteries. For example on a sunny day the panels may generate more power than the batteries could actually store, which might lead to overcharging and harm the batteries.

In this case, the solar charge controller controls the power generated and only sends the permissible amount of power to the battery. The technology used in the solar charge controller is called PWM or Pulse Width Modulation.

This technology ensures constant voltage battery charging. It is done by switching solar system controller’s power devices. With PWM we can prevent overcharging by controlling the power generated.

PWM is an essential technology for prolonging battery life. The problem with solar batteries is that, they release lots of gases during charging and discharging cycles, which in turn reduces the battery life. Solar charge controllers without Pulse Width Modulation system will not be able to deal with the gassing problem.

The working of PWM is based on algorithms, which works by gradually reducing the charging current to avoid overheating and gas release, ensuring normal charging of the battery at the same time. This technology provides you a highly efficient, quick recharging and durable battery at full capacity.

Some of the latest PWM chargers also come with additional features like recovery of lost battery charging capacity, increased charge acceptance etc. There are a variety of PWM based solar charge controllers available in the market and choosing the right one is always a tough task.

Moreover they will be coming with a high price tag, so it would be better to do some research about the manufacturer and find out whether they provide high quality ones or not. You can ask some of your friends for referrals.

Don’t go for cheap and low quality ones which will harm your system. Always look for warranty and servicing information. Make sure that the manufacturer has got good service coverage in your area. If chosen wisely, it is guaranteed that this technology will help to increase the efficiency and durability of your battery bank.

The cable from the solar panel is connected to the charge controller. The charge controller is then connected to the battery bank.

Its main function is to take care of the batteries.

The following is a list of 4 benefits of using a charge controller with a home solar power system.

1) Regulate the power from the solar panel before going to the batteries.

Photovoltaic (PV) cells can generate a good amount of power when exposed to direct sunlight. The problem is, sometimes we don’ get consistent sun light. This may due to cloud cover, rain or haze.

Therefore the power output from the solar cells also fluctuates. One of the functions of the charge controller is to regulate the voltage output of a consistent voltage level so it will not damage the battery units.

2) Prevent backflow of current back to the solar panel.

Solar cells produce power on the day time, but what does it do at night time?

As a matter of fact, the PV cells will consume energy!

The power generated the whole day will flow back into the solar cells.

One way of preventing this is with the charge controller. Charge controller usually has a current backflow resistor that prevents any current from the battery bank from flow back to the solar panel.

3) Protect the battery from complete discharge.

Even though when you are using a deep cycle battery, it is best not to discharge it more than 50 percent or you will weaken its life.

When we are using the power generated from the solar panel, we seldom check on the discharge level of the batteries. The charge controller with a LVD (low voltage disconnect) is used to protect the battery from complete discharge.

4) Maximum power point tracking.

A more sophisticated charge controller unit uses a pulse width modulation (PWM) or maximum power point tracking (MPPT).

The function is to assure the battery is being fully charged. The process of charging a battery is quite a complicated task. The first 70 – 80 percent of a battery capacity is easily replaced.

However, the last 20 – 30 percent requires more attention and therefore more complexity.

The charge controller uses PWM to track the battery charged level and changes the power output to meet the battery power requirement at high charged level.

It’s pretty confusing, but the charge controller does all the thinking for us.

DIY Home Solar Power System

Are you planning to setup your own home solar power system to cut down on your home energy bill? If you are, you may be a good DIY home solar guide.

For an easy to follow home solar manual, check out Michael Harvey’s Earth 4 Energy program. The program comes with a step by step e-book together with 7 High Definition (HD) instructional video.

For more information, read the Earth 4 Energy review post on this blog.

==> Click here to visit Earth 4 Energy now!

Related web pages:
1) Earth4 Energy Scam – Is Michael Harvey’s Earth4Energy A Fraud?

2) GreenDIYEnergy Review – Reviewing the Green DIY Energy Program

What does a charge controller do?

In essence it is a regulator of the energy coming from the solar panel. It is a customizable unit that regulates the flow of energy to the battery and determines how much energy is being pulled from the batteries at nighttime or in cloudy weather.

Connecting To The Solar Module

Last month, I did a blog post on how to build a DIY solar panel for under $100. As you can see from the post, constructing an inexpensive solar panel is possible if you are willing to spend the time to source for inexpensive Photovoltaic (PV) cell.

Now that you have to solar panel, what’s next?

The next step is to hook it up to the charge controller.

If you are planning to keep your budget down, check out the versatile and yet inexpensive charge controller from Sunsei, the CC 25000.

Sunsei CC-25000 Charge Controller Review

Firstly, the CC-25000 is designed for 12 volts to 24 volts battery bank. It is perfect for a conventional DIY solar panel which produces 18 volts of electricity under a clear sunny day.

The unit functional temperature ranges between -40 to 50” Celsius. (-40 to 122 degree Fahrenheit). It is pretty durable which means the unit will function properly either in winter or summer time.

Size wise, Sunsei CC-25000 is relatively small. Its dimension is 3.1” x 3.9” x 1.3” and the entire unit weights only 0.4 lbs. You can mount it on a panel or on a dry wall.

Best of all, the CC-25000 charge controller comes with 2 years manufacturer warranty.

One of the ways to reduce your home solar system Return On Investment (ROI) time is to have a good manufacturer warranty on all the components. In case the parts are faulty, you do not incur additional cost.

How much does the Sunsei CC-25000 charge controller cost? If you were to buy it from Amazon.com, you can get it for only $79.99 inclusive of shipping.

If you are looking for a reliable and inexpensive charge controller for your DIY solar panel, get the CC 25000 from Sunsei. It will worth your investment.

Click on read more about Sunsei CC-25000 on Amazon.com