h2>Solar System Charge Controller

To combat higher energy prices, and to lessen the damage to our environment, many people are opting for renewable energy in the form of solar or wind power. If you are thinking of going green with your energy, and choosing the solar panel route, you may need to know about charge controllers.
Solar panel systems can be split into two categories; with batteries, and without batteries. If you go on grid, feeding your power to the local grid, with no need for batteries, you don’t need to read the rest of this article. If you are going to use batteries and go off grid, supplying power from your system directly to your house circuit, then you need to read on.
A modern solar panel, (photo voltaic), system, supplies power so long as there is daylight, so you have free energy come rain or shine, ever day. The only problem with this is, if your batteries are fed power constantly, they will overcharge, overheat, and expire long before their normal useful life span. Batteries used for solar systems can be expensive, so to protect them, and to get the maximum life span from them, the amount of power fed to them must be controlled. To save your batteries, you need to have a charge controller, the sole function of which is to prevent your solar panels from overcharging the batteries. The importance of the charge controller cannot be overstated.
Charge controllers these days are much more sophisticated than their earlier mechanical cousins. They can analyze systems and even produce data logs, if you really want to go techie. You must be sure to buy a charge controller that matches the voltage of your solar system, though most controllers nowadays are multi voltage, but check before you buy.
Most people opt to go on grid with their solar systems, it’s much cheaper, (no batteries), and any excess power can be sold back to the utility supplier, which is a bonus when you are not home, and your system just keeps feeding the grid.
But don’t forget, if for whatever reason, usually location, you do need to go off grid, and use batteries for your renewable energy system, a charge controller is a must.