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Published:
Sep 18, 2008Keywords:
Battery charge control Solar PV lighting Renewable energy technology Rural electrification
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The copyright of a submitted article is only transferred to the publishers if and when the article is accepted for publication. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publishers.
Main Article Content
Performance of Automotive SLI Battery under Constant Current Constant Voltage Charge Algorithm in Solar PV Application
Abstract
The high initial cost of deep-cycle PV battery and its high replacement cost constitute an important barrier to the deployment of solar PV technology, particularly in poor rural settings. Battery lifetime depends on effective charge control and load management. In this project, a cost-effective 12V battery charge controller was developed to implement constant current constant voltage charge algorithm in small-sized stand-alone solar PV systems. The algorithm was tested on automotive SLI battery instead of deep-cycle PV battery to further reduce overall system cost. The battery state of charge (indicated by specific gravity), which is an indicator of algorithm performance, was monitored
over 200 daily charge/discharge cycles. The value of the specific gravity ranged from 1.250 to 1.260, demonstrating the effectiveness of the control algorithm.
Keywords: Battery charge control, Solar PV lighting, Renewable energy technology, Rural electrification
Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 28 (2) 2008: pp. 85-93
