Testing and performance analysis of charge controllers for Solar Home System

Abstract

Charge controller is the heart of a Solar Home System (SHS) which controls the charging and discharging of battery from photovoltaic (PV) module. This paper analyzes test results of fifteen charge controllers available in Bangladesh according to the specification of Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL). The different parameters are battery high voltage disconnect (HVD), low voltage disconnect (LVD)/ reconnect, short circuit protection etc. It is found that eight charge controllers meet the technical specifications of IDCOL. There is also a study of different features of the charge controllers. Finally a brief discussion on further improvement of charge controller is presented.