New Solar Panel pictures - Goal Zero

[Yorkshire Andy]

MPPT Charge Controllers

These charge controllers give approx 30% more power than a PWM charger and you can connect high voltage panels to lower voltage battery banks.

In a normal charger the battery acts as a resistor reducing the amount of power you can get out of the panels, these chargers use Multi Power Point Tracking (MPPT) which keeps 2 separate circuits for the panels and batteries allowing upto 30% more power to be collected from the panels.

They are more expensive than PWM contollers a 10amp PWM charge controller can be bought for about 10 pounds on line where as a MPPT 10amp controller will cost around 55 pounds

A short beginners guide can be found here http://www.bimblesolar.com/beginnersguide

That's the other type of charger but couldn't remember the name

[dangerman]

So how does it work when you're charging up your phone from the car? Those cig lighter 12v outlets don't have much technology put into them, do they? Surely they will deliver fluctuating power from the alternator and potentially over charge your gadget too?

I would have thought this panel does the same kind of job as your car.

[Hamradioop]

So how does it work when you're charging up your phone from the car? Those cig lighter 12v outlets don't have much technology put into them, do they? Surely they will deliver fluctuating power from the alternator and potentially over charge your gadget too?

I would have thought this panel does the same kind of job as your car

So how does it work when you're charging up your phone from the car? Those cig lighter 12v outlets don't have much technology put into them, do they? Surely they will deliver fluctuating power from the alternator and potentially over charge your gadget too?

I would have thought this panel does the same kind of job as your car.

If you take the cigarette lighter apart you will find some electrical components which drop the voltage to about 5 volts, which is the same as the usb port on your computer.

[Yorkshire Andy]

So how does it work when you're charging up your phone from the car? Those cig lighter 12v outlets don't have much technology put into them, do they? Surely they will deliver fluctuating power from the alternator and potentially over charge your gadget too?

I would have thought this panel does the same kind of job as your car

So how does it work when you're charging up your phone from the car? Those cig lighter 12v outlets don't have much technology put into them, do they? Surely they will deliver fluctuating power from the alternator and potentially over charge your gadget too?

I would have thought this panel does the same kind of job as your car.

If you take the cigarette lighter apart you will find some electrical components which drop the voltage to about 5 volts, which is the same as the usb port on your computer.

beat me to it...

the quality ones contain a microprocessor controled voltage and current regulator..








cheap chargers and or battery packs dont

and its worth noting that just because it has a usb plug doesnt always mean you can use any charger as some companies install the charge controller in the charger and others in the battery/ appliance

and some older appliances cant control the ampage so a modern kindle charger or I pad plug in charger can lead to over charging / too fast charge = excessive heat build up.......


http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/1113350 ... acked_pub/


and things can go bang or catch fire


so never assume any charger with a usb or the like that fits will work refer to the instructions of the appliance and use the appropriate charger