Ask a Scientist - Dr. Sarah Kurtz
Ask a Scientist - Dr. Sarah Kurtz
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In this new blog series, we ask Energy Department researchers about their life as scientists working with energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Any experience with cheap low power solar load controllers?
Any experience with cheap low power solar load controllers? Looking to solar power a small pond pump that's far too far away from mains to get conventional power to. Nothing fancy, just enough power to circulate the water a bit to prevent mosquitoes from forming. I'm thinking that a small 10W 12V pump should be sufficient. So I was thinking about getting a small 20W 12V panel, but I'm a bit concerned that the 12V panels are actually Voc 21V and Vmpp of 17V, so I might be burning up the pump if I direct drive it. I'm also concerned that the large inrush current to get a motor running means you can't actually start the pump without a battery. So enter the charge controller with a small sealed lead-acid battery. There seem to be zillions of these on the market, but it's really hard to tell the difference or what I should be looking for. I'm likely to just run the pump all day during the sun (no need to run it all night). I just need the battery to start the ...
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