The primary function of a charge controller is to regulate the charging and discharging of batteries to optimise energy utilisation. The charge controller monitors the state of the batteries, the available energy input from the solar panel and the energy demand in real-time. By doing so, it can adjust the charging parameters dynamically, such as voltage and current levels, to ensure that the batteries are charged optimally while preventing overcharging or over-discharging, which can damage the batteries.
Charge controllers used in solar installations range from basic models with limited capability to more expensive types which have full remote connectivity. The lower end range can store a limited amount of data and the data is not accessible remotely – either a laptop needs to be plugged in or data can be downloaded to a secondary device via Bluetooth. At the higher end, the charge controller is permanently connected to the wireless LTE network and so can push real-time data remotely to an online monitoring platform.
At Genie Insights we can and do supply a range of charge controllers dependent on customer needs, up to and including fully live, remote systems, but in many cases the basic model is perfectly adequate. Our solar panels are typically supplied with an IP67 rated bluetooth controller as standard which stores battery level data to allow for monitoring of solar panel performance.