Charge Controllers

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Revision as of 02:09, 27 April 2021 by Chewie (talk | contribs) (add self-powering feature to Silentwind controller)
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List of Charge Controllers used and whether to recommend them or not. Feel free to add columns on functionality included that would be useful for the project.


Not Recommended

Make and Model Remote Control Logging Comments used By
Genasun GV-10 None None No interface except 1 LED, Poor functionality for the price, no user-replaceable fuse and died during hot weather User:Chewie
SilentWind Wind & Solar Hybrid Charge Controller Bluetooth None Physical buttons temperamental, no logging capability, app looks like it was written by a 10 year old, no external Bluetooth aerial, so completely useless when inside a metal container, and range is poor even when outside. Can power itself from panels (not tested from turbine) alone. Review with associated wind turbine here User:Chewie
Western Co WRM15 dualB Bluetooth & MODBUS Not Tested In theory, a good range of functions. App non-functional, and support have not been helpful - "Try another device", "Try the new version". Neither of which has been any use. Have not tried MODBUS connection User:Chewie
EPSolar Tracer 1215RN (discontinued) Remote Meter on RJ45 cable None Interface poor - 1 button does everything, can't power itself from solar input, so if your batteries are in poor condition, it won't power anything User:Chewie

Not Bad

Make and Model Remote Control Logging Comments used By
Morningstar TS-MPPT-60 RS-232, RS-485/Modbus, Remote Meter on RJ45 cable, Ethernet Web GUI, TCP/IP + Windows software, "SNMP support" No crappy app, remote meter is good and can be daisy-chained to a second one. The alleged "SNMP support" only actually means SNMP traps. If you want SNMP polling for stats, you have to buy another module at the cost of ~£100 :(. Luckily a clever chap has done a python module that will output current values into JSON. Web GUI shows current and 90-120 days of historical data, but uses javascript, so not sure how easily it could be scraped yet. Review here User:Chewie