Notices > Polls

Source for Equalization

<< < (2/2)

Ungrounded Lightning Rod:

--- Quote from: Madscientist267 on May 02, 2011, 09:00:29 PM ---Equalization is very 'wasteful' in the sense that a lot of energy goes into the battery that doesn't get stored for later use.

--- End quote ---

With RE sources rather than fuel-driven generators you either have too little generation - and your batteries drain and die - or you have too much generation - and you must dump.  There is no middle ground where things match.

If you have too much generation you can use the surplus to equalize occasionally by moving the dump load setpoint up to the equalization voltage.

Madscientist267:
That's the idea behind this poll; I can regularly charge the 8D, but the inefficiencies at equalization are more than 60W (45) of panel can overcome.

I'm not surprised at the results so far, although I would like to see some more cross section. I fall under the "grid with RE assist" category, since I have to sustain 4A to hold 15V. On the best of days, I may peak the occasional 4A, but can't hold it long enough for it to be useful for that purpose.

This whole 'dump to another battery' thing appears to work very well in my situation... I get a good full charge, just about regardless of weather (to a point), and yet the excess isn't 'wasted' nearly as much. As long as I am cautious with my usage from the 8D, I can maintain a good charge in it and not explicitly dump the surplus as heat. I'll go into better detail with my findings in my main diary entry after I've run it this way for a while. Might be of use for those with smaller systems. ;)

Steve

madlabs:
I use my lawnmower/alternator for EQ, simply because it is the only charging source I have complete control of the charge and can hit 15.5 and taper down the amps. My solar only has a relay for control, so I set it to turn off at 15.6 and then run the lawnmower. This way I get as much as I can from solar and taper the chrage nicely.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[*] Previous page