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Charge Controller

Kasangazi

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Jul 15, 2021
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Hi, I have 8 by 330W panels connected in series powering a water pump. But most of the time they system is idle. So I would like to charge 2 by 150Ah to power the house with a 2000W 12V/24V inverter. So What could be a suitable Charge controller to use to charge my batteries with the 8 panels in series as is now?
 
We need full specs on your solar panels. Either the specs from the label on the back or a link to those panels.

The charge controller would have to be very beefy to handle that much voltage.
 
The uploaded picture gives specs of the solar panels.
 

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46.98 Voc. Call it 47v for simplicity. 376 volts of PV input to the solar charge controller for 8s panel configuration. That's going to have to be a large solar charge controller to handle that voltage. A 24 volt inverter may be needed because a battery bank at 24v makes this more likely to happen. 48v would be better.

The solar charge controller could potentially output 220 amps @ 12v, 110 amps @ 24v and 55 amps @ 48v.

You could switch the panel configuration to 4s2p to get the PV input voltage under 200 volts.

What is the voltage of your water pump? That will probably dictate the direction you go.
 
The water pump is a three phase 2.2kw AC powered via a 2.2kw solar converter. Hence the series configuration. In the present configuration does it mean I need a 400volts input and 24volts output controller?
 
The water pump is a three phase 2.2kw AC powered via a 2.2kw solar converter. Hence the series configuration. In the present configuration does it mean I need a 400volts input and 24volts output controller?

Before you go down that road, I would come up with a plan for how to divert the solar input from the existing solar converter to the new solar charge converter.
 
That is basically what needs to be done. But as you pointed out that is some 492volts. Any gadget that could downgrade this voltage to input into the charge controller?
 
That is basically what needs to be done. But as you pointed out that is some 492volts. Any gadget that could downgrade this voltage to input into the charge controller?

I'm not aware of a gadget. I'm sure someone could cobble together something complicated. Changing the solar panel wiring configuration is a simple solution. The cost of switch from 8s to 4s2p is a Y adapter. The fewer panels you put in series, the lower the voltage. But once you go beyond two parallel strings you have to add fuses between the strings.
 
Just use the solar converter to feed a battery charger. What is the three phase voltage and is it delta or WYE ?
 
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