Construction of 12V 10A Solar Charge Controller for Solar Energy Utilization

Abstract

This project work centered on construction of 12V/10A solar charge controller that is needed in photovoltaic system to safely charge regulate and discharge of sealed lead acid battery through DC load. Solar charge controller is devices that regulate solar photovoltaic power and prevent overcharging, over discharging or overflow of current that reduces the lifespan, durability and performance of the battery. The12v/10A solar charge controller was constructed using variable resistor, resistor, transistor, relay and light dependent resistor which were connected and soldered at science laboratory technology department, federal polytechnic Offa Nigeria. Experimentation was carried out using solar photovoltaic panel, ammeter, voltmeter, stopwatch, 12V DC battery and MPPT (constructed solar charge controller). The result show that the power obtained is at every 10minutes intervals. However the power obtained and observed shows that the MPPT solar charge controller has higher charging, regulating and discharging of battery under the influence of atmospheric temperature of Offa location.