Charge Controllers

MEE 1038
Schematic of a stand alone PV power system

2
Charge Controllers
 Charge Controllers
Functions of a charge controller
• Overload protection
• Deep-discharge protection
• Prevention of unwanted discharging
• State-of-charge monitoring
• Adjusting to battery technology (electrolyte/gel)
• Voltage conversion (possibly)
• MPP tracking (possibly)
 Charge Controllers
• Series Controller

• Control electronics constantly measure the battery voltage and when end-of-
charge voltage reaches switch S1 is turned OFF.
• Similarly, switch S2 separate load from the battery in the case of falling below the
end-of-discharge voltage, thus avoiding deep discharge (deep-discharge
protection)
• Diode (D) at the input of charge controller prevent battery from deep discharge
during night, such that enough energy will still remain to maintain control
electronics
• Switch S1 must be closed during next day operation for the battery to charge
 Charge Controllers
• Shunt Controller

• A shunt controller (S1) is a parallel controller where a transistor is

connected in parallel to solar module
• When transistor conducts (ON) it short circuits the solar generator and
interrupts the loading to battery.
• Two advantages with this model, one is that no losses during charging
due to voltage drop since no MOSFET is used.
• Second, battery can be charged during morning after deep discharge as
no MOSFET used so that blocking of voltage signal at the gate is absent.
Hence this controller type are mostly preferred today.
 Charge Controllers
• MPP controller

• MPP tracking usually get maximum power from solar generator

(module) for a stand alone system.
• This system is mostly a buck converter that reduces input voltage
from (up to) 48 V to a system voltage of 12 or 24 V.
• It follows different algorithms to achieve MPP of which Pertrub and
observe method are most familiar. At the output of the DC/DC
converter actual power is determined by measuring current and
voltage.
 Charge Controllers
• MPP controller
• The operating point can be varied by varying the duty factor 'a'. Most
MPP trackers start at open circuit point of the I/V curve. The actual
operating point varies slightly about the MPP.
 Charge Controllers
MPP controller

Perturb and observe method algorithm

 Charge Controller
Basic functions:
• Prevent battery over-charge
• Prevent battery over-discharge
• Protect from electrical overload
• Block reverse current (diode)
• Some charge controllers have a built-in MPPT
• Battery equalization charging
• Battery temperature sensing & compensation
• Battery type identification/ setting for charging
• Display battery status and the flow of power (optional)

• Generally small arrays do not need a charge controller

➢ a diode in series to prevent reverse flow is sufficient
• Low power losses while idle conditions (2–3 W)
 MPPT
MPPT circuit will monitor
the incoming power and
alter the resistance
(load) the array sees
until
it finds the array’s MPP
voltage.

While the MPPT circuit

keeps the array
operating at its
maximum power point, it
then uses a DC-to-DC
converter circuit to lower
the output voltage (and
increase the
output current) to the
battery bank.
What is MPP Tracking?
 MPPT charge controller

• A DC-DC converter
• Advantages:
➢Adjust the array voltage to get maximum power
➢Allow array to operate at higher voltage level than battery
➢Allows use of reduced wire size and reduces power loss
 Sample Specifications
Xantrex- XW-MPPT60-150
Electrical Specifications
Nominal battery voltage 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 Vdc
Maximum PV array voltage
140 Vdc
(operating)
Maximum PV array open circuit
150 Vdc
voltage
Array short-circuit current 60 Adc maximum
Maximum and minimum wire size in
#6 AWG to #14 AWG
conduit
Total power consumption while
2.5 W (tare)
operating
Charger regulation method: Three-stage (bulk, absorption, float)
Two-stage (bulk, absorption)
 MEE 1038 – Solar
Photovoltaic Systems
Design
INVERTER for PV
applications
 Inverter
• Converts DC input into AC output
• Select an inverter that allows higher input voltages
➢to reduce I2R losses (between battery bank & inverter)
• Inverter selection is based on:
➢Type of output waveform
• square, sine, modified sine, PWM
➢Rated power output (capacity)
➢Surge capacity
• 150% and higher for a shorter duration
➢Efficiency
• <83% (low), 83-91% (optimal, medium cost), >91% (costlier)
➢Harmonic distortion
• Should be low to avoid heating
Inverters
 Block diagram :

Low voltage High voltage

DC AC

• Types of Inverter output waveforms:

➢ square wave
➢ modified square/sine wave
➢ pure sine wave
➢ Pulsed width modulation (PMW)
• Accomplished in two steps:
➢ Low voltage DC to high voltage DC (using a chopper circuit)
➢ High Voltage DC to AC
 Type of inverter outputs

Modified sine wave – Cheaper , but output may damage laptop

and computer loads, digital clocks.
Pure sine wave - Costlier, can operate even for sensitive
loads. Fast, quiet and low harmonic distortion.
 PWM (Pulse Width Modulated)
Inverters
• Variation of duty cycle in PWM provide DC
voltage across load in a specific pattern as a
AC signal. (high efficiency of 96%)
 Type of inverters
• Stand alone inverter
• Grid/ Utility interactive inverters
• Bimodal inverter
Stand alone inverter (50W to 50kW)
 Bimodal type inverters
(700W to 500kW)

Acts as Stand-alone and also as Grid-tie inverter

 Grid/
Utility
inverter
 Grid inverters
Types:
➢ Central inverters
➢ String inverters
➢ Module integrated inverters
Central inverters
➢ Central inverter combines dozens
of strings into one input and one
MPP tracker
➢ Parallel strings connected to a
single inverter – limits MPPT’s
efficiency
➢ Lower (Rs.)/Watt cost
➢ Used in PV plants >100 kWp to
MW range
➢ Power losses in strings due to
module mismatch and common
MPPT
➢ Losses in string diodes
➢ Reliability of system depends on
one inverter
String Inverters

➢ DC from each string is

connected into an inverter
➢ Any problem with one
panel of a string affects
the output of a string
➢ Separate MPPT for each
string, so better yield
➢ Higher reliability than
central inverter
➢ Lower initial cost per peak
Watt price
 Module integrated inverters (AC Modules)
➢ Each module has its own inverter fixed on its back
➢ No module mismatch losses
➢ Maximum power production since each module has its own MPPT
➢ Low overall efficiency
➢ High installation, maintenance and performance monitoring cost (30%
more than central inverters)
➢ Eliminate DC wiring, high Voltage DC switch boxes & protection circuits,
housing facilities
➢ Used where the array sizes are small (residential markets)
➢ Different individual module orientations possible
Central (3.5 kW) & Micro Inverter (210 W)
Multi string inverters
➢ Each string has an
independent DC-DC
converter
➢ Common in use
➢ Relatively high efficient
➢ No string losses
= ➢ Single MPP tracking

=
Voltage Levels of Electrical Grid
What is grid synchronization?

Checks!!!!
Voltage ?
Frequency?
Phase?
 Requirements of Grid Inverter
1. Voltage disturbances:
Voltage at inverter output < 5% of the voltage at the
point of utility connection

Disconnection time
10 cycles if the utility voltage either drops below 50% of
its nominal value or increases above 110% of its nominal
value.

If the utility line voltage is between 50% and 92% of its

nominal value, the inverter should shut down within two
seconds.
2. Frequency disturbances:
If, at 50 Hz systems, the line frequency falls below
49.5 Hz or goes above 50.2 Hz, the inverter should
be disconnected, within 5 cycles.
3. Power factor :
The power factor should not be lower than 0.85
4. Other concerns :
➢ DC current injection < 0.5%
➢ Islanding protection
➢ Reconnecting and restoration after failure
➢ Grounding and surge protection

Ref: Chapter 3: Solar Electric power generation, Photovoltaic Energy

sytems; Stefan Krauter
• Since maximum efficiency may be achieved near rated output,
it is important to consider the efficiency vs. output power
curve for the inverter when selecting the inverter
• Certain loads have significant starting currents, so
it is important to provide adequate surge current
capacity in the inverter to meet the load surge
requirements
• Other loads will either overheat or introduce
unwanted noise if the harmonic distortion of their
power supply is not below a specific level
 Inverter Types

Cost Lowest Costlier Costlier Costliest

than than
square Modified
wave sine wave
• Square wave inverter is the least expensive and is
relatively efficient, but has limitations on its
applications. It has the best surge capacity but the
highest harmonic distortion
• The modified sine inverter is more complicated,
but still relatively efficient
• The pulse width modulated (PWM) inverter has
higher cost, high efficiency and minimal distortion
• The pure sine inverter has the least distortion, but
costlier
• PWM inverters are particularly useful when used
as AC motor controllers since the speed of an AC
motor can be controlled by adjustment of the
frequency of the motor excitation
• For a number of applications, a square wave is
inadequate for meeting the harmonic distortion
requirements of the load, resulting in overheat of
some motors or fluorescent ballasts.
• Square wave harmonics can also introduce noise
into a system. Thus, before selecting an inverter, it
is important to verify that the proposed load will
operate with square wave excitation
• If square wave excitation is not suitable for a load,
it is possible that a modified sine wave will work