12 June 2009
How to charge batteries for solar energy systems
Posted by Cecilia under: Energy .
Battery charging consists of the following 3 basic steps or stages.
- Bulk Charge: in this first stage current is sent to batteries at the maximum rate which is accepted by the battery as safe until battery is near to full charge level (80-90%).
- Absorption Charge: in this second stage the voltage remains constant while the current decreases gradually because of the internal resistance during charging. This stage provides the maximum voltage output of the batteries.
- Float Charge: the third stage is also called maintenance or trickle charge. The charging voltage gets reduced after the batteries are fully charged to reduce gassing and to prolong battery life. This charging stage should keep the already charged battery from discharging.
Simple batteries such as garage and car type batteries normally have the bulk charge stage only.
Batteries used for solar energy systems go through all three charging stages although they are seldom discharged.
Charge controllers act as regulators between the solar panels and the batteries. They keep the batteries charged at peak without overcharging.
2 Comments so far...
Today in Sikantis – June 12, 2009 « Sikantis Says:
12 June 2009 at 1:31 am.
[...] Innovative News – How to charge batteries for solar energy system [...]
acnerdy Says:
3 November 2009 at 11:13 pm.
the cost of Solar Cells for Solar Energy utilization has been decreasing over the past years. pretty soon, solar energy would be a more viable alternative than fossil fuels.
