Voodoo Solar- Blue Sky Charge Controllers
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Blue
Sky charge controllers were among the first to employ MPPT (maximum
power point tracking) technology, an idea that has spread throughout
the charge controller market and even into grid-tie inverters.
Why? Because it works, and it works well. Delivering up to
30% more energy from your solar array, it is like having a larger array
for the same price. Except in very small systems, you can't
afford to be without it. Blue Sky controllers are very high
quality units, their only drawback being that they are a bit less handy
to adjust. That means you will need a typical hand-held voltmeter
and a screwdriver, instead of pushing buttons to scroll through menus
on a display. They also lack some of the features that are
standard for Outback and Apollo controllers. That said, I use a
Solar Boost 50 on one of my arrays that has been reliably in service
for 9 years.
Following is an excerpt from Home Power Magazine. Follow the link back to Voodoo Solar for pricing information.
"Solar Boost 50 Performance
We have been testing the Solar Boost 50 since
September of 1999. During this time, we’ve seen
current and power boosts in the range of 5 to 29.5
percent. We measured outside ambient temperature,
solar insolation (with a Li-Cor SB200 pyranometer), PV
array voltage, battery voltage, input current to the Solar
Boost 50, and output current from the Solar Boost 50.
The high operating voltage of the BP-590 modules
provide optimal conditions for the SB50 MPPT. Typical
boost may be slightly lower. The table shows the
measured and derived data.
The Solar Boost 50 works best when the battery
voltage is low and/or the PV modules are cold. Both of
these conditions are more prevalent during the winter,
when we need the solar energy the most. At high
battery voltage, 29.60 VDC, we measured 16.8 percent
current boost. At low battery voltage, 25.45 VDC, we
measured 23.7 percent boost. Power boost during the
entire test varied from a low of 48.9 watts to a high of
239.2 watts. Average power boost was 112.3 watts
during the entire test."
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