Your guide to smart, optimal, self-sufficient energy.
Your guide to smart, optimal, self-sufficient energy.
A solar charge controller also called a regulator, is an electronic device used in solar energy systems to protect the battery. Solar charge controllers are mainly used to keep batteries from overcharging and over-discharging. However, newer MPPT charge controllers can also decrease power production losses. In this article,…
PWM charge controllers are probably the most used type of solar charge controller in small off-grid systems. Compared to MPPT charge controllers – another type of solar charge controller- they are very cheap and accessible. In this article, I’ll explain what a PWM charge controller is, how it…
The PWM calculator below will tell you which PWM is best for your system based on the maximum current your solar panels can put out. All you have to do is enter a few details that describe your solar system and the calculator will display a link to…
MPPT charge controllers are expensive, but they are the best charge controller technology on the market. In this article, I’ll answer some of the FAQs about these devices. If there are any questions I haven’t answered, please feel free to ask in the comment section. What are MPPT…
MPPT solar charge controllers are rated in amps (Output Current). To select a charge controller, you’ll need to calculate the maximum amount of current (in Amps) that the MPPT should be able to output. This max output current value is calculated by dividing the maximum system wattage (in…
Solar charge controllers are rated in amps but are also limited by their maximum input voltage. To select the right MPPT charge controller for your system, you need to answer 2 questions: To make this guide more digestible, I will use the following system as an example: Solar…
Nobody wants to buy a 200W solar panel and only get half the output power they were promised. But without a little bit of optimization, that’s probably what you’re going to get. Losing a couple of dozen percentage points of your power output is no big deal, as…
While residential solar panels are – on average – 20 square feet each, the average home in the U.S. has a roof area of at least 1500 square feet, which intuitively seems like more than enough space to install all the solar panels that you need. However, the…
You’re considering solar for your home, and you’re wondering “how many solar panels do I need?“. However, since residential solar panels have power outputs ranging from 250 to 400 watts, you could have different numbers of solar panels for the same amount of solar power. So, the first…
Off-grid solar systems are the go-to if you’re looking to become energy-sufficient, and whether it’s a DIY project or not, you’ll need to know a few basics. This is why we’ve put together a guide for you based on science and real-life data. In this article, we give…
