How much power does the charge controller itself use?

[Skippijo]

Hello solar peeps.

Epever xtra 40A charge controller

Two 100w flexible panels on the roof of my van. 40amp lifepo.
They're currently in parallel but I will be switching up to 24 v series soon.
All my van electric needs are 12v, so I have a 24/12 output unit arriving soon.

I'm in the UK and yes, I wish there was a mobile vertical wind turbine that's really easy to put out when I park instead. It's a bit hazardous by the roadside though. Too much attention too. The UK is not at all can dweller friendly...unless you're in a known area.

Anyway, I'm barely getting enough power to run a smartphone and a tiny led camping lamp.
It's a bit grim. The angle is never quite rightly and I'm doing a lot of parking in unsuitable places for the direction.

I may have powered up the solar incorrect, I thought I added the battery first, but it was run down badly too, so I think it's all go e a bit wonky.

Anyway, no possibility of charging batteries today so I'll have to wait till the voltage rises.

My burning power question is, how much does my fancy mppt contrôler use?
Would it be better to assume I'm not going to be likely to need it until July and just leave it out for a few weeks until I get the 24 volt system set up?



???

 

[Tim Tim]

Hi again, I see you posted your questions here.

Your solar controller uses less than 12mA.

Firstly, 100W flexible panels on the roof will not provide you with great power being in the UK. It would be better if you had some portable panels which you could angle to the sun to supplement the system.

You do need to connect the solar controller to the battery first so you have done that correctly.

What size battery do you have and what are you proposing to run off your proposed 24V system.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

Duplicate threads are confusing

 

[Tim Tim]

Duplicate threads are confusing

All good it wasn‘t a duplicate just an introduction in Newcomers