Bogart Engineering SC-2030 Technical Manual

Bogart Engineering
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2. Technical Specifications:
Regulation type...........................................PWM
Solar panel open-circuit voltage..................55V maximum
Solar panel nominal voltage.......................12V - 24V, matched to the battery voltage: Vpp about 16-18+Volts for
12-24V systems, Vpp about 32-36+ for 24V systems
Nominal Battery voltage............................12V - 24V
Required operational current.....................While sun shining: 25mA. Solar dark: 1mA max
Maximum Battery voltage............. ...........35V
Battery type...............................................AGM, Gel, or flooded lead-acid
Solar-panel peak current...........................Max 31A for full efficiency. May be safely used with panels up to 45A,
however charging current will be reduced to protect charger.
MINIMUM in/out power efficiency at 30A: ...97.5% (12V systems) 98.5% (24 V systems)
MINIMUM in/out power efficiency at 15A: ...99%
Battery capacity.........................................10 to 10,000 amp hours
Terminal block wire gauge.....................Up to 6 AWG. (Larger stranded cables you can remove some strands to fit)
Charging profiles.....................................Three stages and optional fourth stage
Ambient temperature................................0 ºF to +140 ºF (−18 ºC to +60 ºC)
Dimensions.............................................. in.: 3 width X 4 1/4 length X 2 3/4 depth; cm: 7.6 width X 10.8 length
X 7 depth
3. General Solar Charging system suggestions and considerations
Balancing batteries with solar: If you intend to charge your batteries mainly or only by solar panels, it's
recommended by many battery companies to properly balance the battery storage capacity with adequate solar.
Too much battery for solar energy provided can result in undercharging that can reduce battery performance and
life. Peak solar panel currents of from 1/10 to 1/4 of the battery "C/20" ampere hour value are often recommended.
For example, solar panels that deliver up to 24 Amps could be optimally paired with a battery of 100 to 240 amp-
hour capacity system. Otherwise you might want to provide an additional source such as generator or grid tied
charger to insure that your batteries frequently get a full charge.
Solar as excellent adjunct to generator charging: A generator can put a lot of energy into the batteries in a
relatively short time when they are not too close to being fully charged. As they become more fully charged,
batteries gradually accept energy at a lower rate—So charging them to full requires more hours than is usually
desirable to run a generator. Even if you don’t plan to use only solar for charging, solar panels are well suited to
deliver the last 20% of charge—which would otherwise require long generator times running inefficiently at a low
charging rate. This will enhance your battery life and reduce generator wear.
You can use other chargers along with this one: If other chargers are also used with your system, they can be
compatible with this system. It is important that the charging current from these shows on the TM-2030 amps
display— (see section 4.1.5 below) then the system will properly account for the charging of these others. If you
have another solar controller it should have a separate set of panels from which it is charging—you should not
attempt to have the same set of panels go to two different controllers.
4. Installation of the SC-2030: Explained in five sections:
4.1 Planning the installation
4.2 Verifying that TM-2030 reads volts and amps correctly
4.3 Tools and hardware required
4.4 Installing SC-2030 and connecting solar panels, Batteries, Temperature sensor
4.5 Verifying operation and installing correct charging profiles
4.1. Planning the installation
Installation must be performed by a person knowledgeable of proper electrical wiring, best
practices, safety and applicable electrical codes. If you do not meet these qualifications, please
ask someone qualified to perform, supervise, or inspect the installation.