Charge Controllers – A must for all off-grid apps

All off-grid solar applications are primarily dependent on solar energy stored in batteries, therefore harvesting and conversion of DC power from solar panels is of utmost importance whereas the protection of expensive batteries is also a major concern. The advanced charge controllers offer multi-stage charging and high conversion ratio in multi-voltage setups with auto voltage selection.

Charge controller is a device that regulates the supply of current and/or voltage to a battery or battery bank, also known as charge regulator because of its regulating function. It regulates the voltage and current from solar panels to store in the battery. MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) type of solar charge controllers are now industry standard which have made it possible to make large arrays of solar panels and get the maximum power extracted from them.

The other purpose of charge controllers is to protect the expensive asset (battery section) in a Solar system; though you can connect a Solar Panel output directly to the battery but that will cost in two ways – loss of energy harvesting & early replacement of battery part. Technically speaking, every kind of battery, because of its internal structure and characteristics, specifies some precise sum of voltage and current while being charged (or discharged) – there are design limits. A Solar Panel is a unidirectional source of energy which generates and supply DC electric power at its given voltage and current rating while battery is a bidirectional energy device which can accept and deliver energy. An intermediate device is required to manage the transfer of energy from one source (Solar Panel here) to the other source (the battery) in order to protect the design limits of battery (or battery bank) and ensure energy transfer efficiency.


Optimizing Energy from PV Arrays

Phocos MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) and PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) solar charge controllers are designed with an optimal feature-to-cost ratio to minimize total cost of ownership of the off-grid system. For homes, cabins and RVs, Phocos controllers are easy to use, reliable and include mobile device charging. Phocos controllers for industrial applications are designed to withstand the harshest conditions while offering industry-leading features like data monitoring to maximize reliability and prevent outage. For solar lighting systems, Phocos controllers include an array of advanced control options including automatic seasonal adjustments as well as time, voltage and motion controlled dimming.

Phocos models offer these advantages:

  • CML: Designed for rural electrification and mobile device charging
  • ECO: Compact size and economical choice for low-power industrial applications
  • CXN: Advanced features and intelligence for industry and lighting applications
  • CIS: Built for the harshest environments with advanced lighting control features
  • Multi-purpose: Engineered for reliability in low- to high-power applications

We are the authorized distributor for all Phocos products in Pakistan, for further information on Phocos Charge Controllers, you may visit the Phocos website here.