KID Manual Firmware Rev 1761

The Kid Solar Charge Controller Instructions
46 | Page
1 0-268-1 REV B
HyperVOC
The Kid includes HyperVOC
a non-operative VOC safety zone over and
above the maximum input voltage
Why do you need HyperVOC?
On cold mornings PV panels will put out full voltage even before you can see the
sun. Ambient light may not have much current behind it but it does have voltage
that may exceed the operating voltage limit of the controller, resulting in damage to the controller.
The fact that there is no power behind the output voltage means that the controller will not be able to
turn on and drag the panels down from VOC to max power voltage.
The controller requires a few watts of power coming in from the PV panels to overcome
its internal power requirements. While the controller is waiting for enough power to
wake up, the PV array is at its highest output voltage. This is very dangerous if the
maximum operating voltage of the controller is exceeded.
The Kid Solar controller gives you bonus headroom for those cold mornings that
would potentially destroy any other controller. We have advised thousands of customers
to play it safe in conditions like our example above. MidNite has a unique characteristic
of the circuitry that allows it to go beyond the maximum operating voltage for
these conditions, it’s called HyperVOC.
Do not abuse the HyperVOC zone though. For example, let’s take a Kid configured
with 4 modules in series that have 36.9 VOC, 4 x 36.9 = 1 47.6. In Alberta with a
-32°C temperature, the max VOC will reach 1 81 .54. This is well within the HyperVOC
zone on a 48V battery bank.
Above: HyperVOC voltage limits above normal
operating voltage.
Right: Solar Panel VOC adjustments by
temperature.