DC-DC Buck Converter Design Project

High Level Requirements

Modular: easily installable, can be arranged up to 12 in a row (side by side), easily replaceable
Low Cost: less than $4 USD at quantities of 1000
Small: less than 3 cm wide, 6 cm tall
Robust: minimum 5-year life cycle

Technical Requirements

Greater than 90% efficiency

Output: constant current, constant voltage (CCCV) battery charging.
Lead Acid battery charging: 3 A, 15 V
Input: The charger could have either of the following:
22-28 V DC Bus (battery bank + MPPT charge controller)
16-20 V PV panel

Use Cases:
The main use case will be in Jaza’s Energy Hub, used as a charger for individual lead acid
batteries (12 V, 10 Ah, AGM). In this use case, 12 chargers are installed in a control panel. Their
inputs are wired into a 24 V DC bus. The outputs are fed into a Power Distribution Module (aka
PDM: custom Jaza hardware) which opens/closes the circuit using a mechanical relay, and
monitors voltage and current. When a battery is plugged in, the circuit is closed and the battery
begins charging immediately. When the charge is complete (determining by the PDM), the relay
opens the circuit.

A secondary use case is in Jaza’s Solar home kit. The charger is used to charge the same type of
battery, but in this case the input is a 10 W PV solar panel (18 V @ MPP). Instead of being
installed in the Hub control panel, the charger is encased in a custom enclosure.

Testing Requirements:
In order to test the charger, all that is needed is a benchtop power supply capable of up to 28 V.
The power supply can be used to simulate the DC bus, or the solar panel.

Jaza will provide a battery for testing and two of the DC-DC chargers we are currently using.

Project Objectives:
 Determine appropriate power electronics architecture
 Develop schematic capable of above design requirements
 Build functional prototype
Figure 1: Control Panel at Energy Hub. 12 DC-DC chargers are seen in the middle row.

Figure 2: Home kit.