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Solar regulator selection

A large number of solar regulators are available on the market, which can be roughly divided into PWM or linear regulators and MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking). PWM controllers are usually very inexpensive and are mostly suitable for 12V solar panels up to about 150W which do not exceed an Upp (PowerPoint voltage) of 20V.

Newer solar cells with higher power from 200W upwards are available and have a cell voltage Upp of more than 25V. An MPPT solar controller must be used for these solar cells, whereby approx. 98% of the solar power is converted into battery charging power through this technology.

With PWM technology, the efficiency is 50% to around 90%.

With MPPT solar controllers, solar panels can be wired in series (as is common in building services), whereby the sum of the VOCs (idle voltage of the solar cell) must not exceed the maximum input voltage from the solar controller.

Caution is advised at negative temperatures, as the cell voltage VOC increases here if the maximum input voltage (including the temperature drift) is exceeded by the MPPT controller. The MPPT controller will be destroyed immediately. 

Victron solar controller MPPT

The Victron solar regulators 12V / 24V Autodetekt are equipped with a Bluetooth function (download via the Victron Control APP from the PlayStore). A large amount of information is collected and displayed; such as charging current, charging voltage, available charging power, daily history with total energy yield and the three available charging modes: bulk, absorption and float, as well as the maximum charging voltage reached daily. These controllers are compatible with lithium batteries.

Victron MPPT 75-10-1500x1500
Victron MPPT 75-15-1500x1500

Büttner solar controller MPPT or PWM

The Büttner solar regulators can be supplemented with an additional digital display, so that information about the charging current and charging voltage can be easily accessed. These solar regulators can be set to lithium batteries with DipSwitch.

Büttner MT12351 MT 350 PP
Büttner MT12360 MT 360 PP

EPEVER solar controller MPPT

The EPEVER solar regulators with 12V / 24V autodetect offer a lot of functionality and an integrated display, which provides information about the status of the solar cell, the battery and the connected consumers.

An additional external display can also be installed. 3 performance classes for 10/20 and 30A battery charging current are available.

EPEVER Tracer 3210AN
EPEVER Box
EPEVER MT50_LCD Display

Battery energy display iQ Pro from Büttner MT

The iQ Pro from Büttner is an easy-to-understand display with all important values ​​including the charge status in % and Ah. This display can be configured for lithium batteries. It is measured contactlessly with a Hall sensor (clamp meter). All consumers such as the charge from the IBS-DBS or IBS-DBM20A(S) double battery system, mains charger and solar system can be combined in the energy evaluation, this is easy to understand and precise.

MT71250 MT Solar display
Hall MT71250 MT solar remote display
MT71260 MT iQ BasicPro