Solar PV Design for Engineers

Prof. Dinesh Sharma

IOE, Nepal
FEB 2013
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 Charge Regulators (controllers)
1. To protect the battery from
Over charge
Over discharge
AND therefore extend the useful life of the
battery

2. And function as a junction point between

module/array, battery and the load

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As the PV cell costs continue to fall, the
battery in a stand-alone PV system becomes
an increasingly large part of the system
cost.
The life of the battery now has the greatest
impact on the economic viability of a small
PV system.
An improved regulator can potentially
reduce 20-year system costs by 20 to 40
percent because the battery needs to be
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replaced less often.
 Basic Principle of Operation

The state of the charge of a battery is

proportional to its open circuit terminal
voltage. Therefore the terminal voltage of the
battery can be taken as the reference to assess
its state of the charge.

The Shunt Regulator Series Regulators

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 Series R
Switch

Voltage sense and control

circuit

Module

Battery

Load

Fig. 5.2.2 Operation of a Series Regulator

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 Shunt R
+

Switch

Voltage sense and control

circuit

Module

Battery

Load

Active Load

Fig. 5.2.1 Operation of a Shunt Regulator

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 Relays : zero voltage drop across it,
Mechanical failure rate high

Bipolar transistors : high V drop

MOSFETs: Low drop, Easy control

SCRs: problem in switching off

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 Parameters of CR
Low Voltage Disconnect (LVD):
Higher the LVD higher the battery life
(If the load is critical (e.g. vaccine
refrigerator) then LVD is set to very low.
For non-critical loads like laps or TV the
LVD level can be set at relatively higher
side to ensure higher life cycle of the
battery.)
Normally set to a level when DOD I around 80%
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 Low Voltage Reconnect (LVR)
This is the voltage level of the battery at
which the load is reconnected after being
disconnected due to LVD.

The difference between LVR and LVD is

called hysteresis. Provision of LVR is
required to avoid toggling of the load
between on and off.

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 High Voltage Disconnect (HVD)

This is the voltage level of the battery at which the

module is disconnected from the battery to protect it
from over charging.

Over charging : Heat, fast chemical reaction,

increased concentration of electrolyte, thinning of
the plates and ultimately loss of capacity.

14.2 - 14.8 depending upon the battery type, temp.

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 High Voltage Reconnect (HVR)

This is the voltage level of the battery at which the

module is reconnected to the battery after being
disconnected at HVD.
The HVR is applicable to the CR based on simple
ON-OFF design. For PWM based CR, the HVR has
no significance.

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 Voltage drop across CR while charging

It is the permissible voltage drop in CR while

charging the battery.

For shunt CR, it is the drop in blocking diode only.

In case of series CR, it is the total drop in blocking

diode and the switch element.
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Which is better?

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Methods of Charging the Battery by CR
ON – OFF method

Status of charging switch

(series regulator)

Battery is being charged Module is disconnected from the

battery

ON

Hysteresis
Module is reconnected

OFF

HVR HVD Battery voltage,

Volts

Fig. 5.2.3 ON-OFF charging algorithm

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 PWM Method

Charging current Charge current ON time gradually decreases as the

SOC increased
Constant current charging Regulator enters into
upto HVD point PWM mode

Time

Charge current OFF time gradually increases as the SOC increased

Fig. 5.2.4 PWM charging algorithm 15

 Three Stage (or Trickle charge) Method
Charging current
Cell voltage

Constant maximum current

charging upto this point

Charging voltage is maintained

Imax constant

Maintenance charging by low level of

current

Time

Fig. 5.2.5 Three stage charging algorithm

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 Battery temperature consideration in CR

As the battery internal temperature decreases, the

chemical reactions all proceed slower. In order to
fully charge the battery, the voltage must be
allowed to rise more for a colder battery, so that
the chemical reaction can proceed to completion.
The nominal final charge voltage at 250 C is about
14.5 V for a 12 V lead –acid battery.
 As the battery heats up, the final charge voltage
must be reduced.

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 The temperature compensation coefficient
for a 12 V lead –acid battery can be taken
as 30 mV/0C
For example, if a 12 V battery were at 150C,
the final charge voltage should not be 14.5 V
(set for 250C) but should be almost 14.8 V.
conversely, if the battery is in hot climate, and
the battery temperature is 300C, the final
charge voltage should be reduced to about
14.35 V.
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 Boost charging option

All batteries require some overcharging now and

then to reverse sulfation and reach full charge.
Gassing in the battery, which is initiated by some
small overcharge, cleans the internal plates.
The process of overcharging the batteries beyond
their final end of charge voltage is called boost
charging. While boost charging the HVD set points
are temporarily increased to higher value. Some CR
incorporate the function of this "boost charging".
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Series PWM regulator

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Shunt PWM regulator

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