Hello, I've been lurking around youtube and this forum for a couple of years studying solar, and am finally thinking about my first solar purchase, very much a "starter" system. I live in an apartment with a small balcony, so space is a huge limitation.
I'm looking at a "Topsolar 100W Foldable Portable Solar Panel", which seems to have some sort of charge controller built into it. At least it has several outputs: 19V DC, 14.4V DC, and USB A and C ports. Would that indicate a built-in controller of some sort, or a voltage regulator of some sort, or what?
I'd like to get a small 12V 20AH lifepo4 battery to go with it, just a really cheap $60 battery. Since the panel has those multiple outputs, could I just connect directly from the 14.4V output to the battery to charge it, without a separate controller?
Eventually I want a larger battery and an MPPT controller. But that's not in the budget yet. Don't want to waste money on a cheap PWM unit if I don't have to. TIA!
I'm looking at a "Topsolar 100W Foldable Portable Solar Panel", which seems to have some sort of charge controller built into it. At least it has several outputs: 19V DC, 14.4V DC, and USB A and C ports. Would that indicate a built-in controller of some sort, or a voltage regulator of some sort, or what?
I'd like to get a small 12V 20AH lifepo4 battery to go with it, just a really cheap $60 battery. Since the panel has those multiple outputs, could I just connect directly from the 14.4V output to the battery to charge it, without a separate controller?
Eventually I want a larger battery and an MPPT controller. But that's not in the budget yet. Don't want to waste money on a cheap PWM unit if I don't have to. TIA!