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Charging Portable Power Station from PV Panel

  • 02-05-2024 9:15am
    #1
    the-island-man
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 497 ✭✭


    Hi,

    I picked up a 175 Watt PV panel (mc4 connector) from Renogy over a year ago. I have it mounted and I'm looking to get it to charge a portable power station (jackery, Anker, energiser are examples of some manufacturers of these) which I can use to power some electronic devices in the home. Just wondering if anybody has any suggestions on how to go about this?

    The standard way seems to use either an mppt or pwm charge controller to charge a lithium, gel or Lead Acid battery but just wondering how a portable power station differs as they obviously don't positive and negative terminals, they have a DC input jack. I have seen an mc4 to DC jack connectors on Amazon but I'm worried it might overcharge the battery.

    Thanks in advance.

    Tagged:


Comments

  • #2
    10-10-20
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,066 ✭✭✭10-10-20


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058349975/charging-portable-power-station-from-pv-panel

    Hi, the way it works is that all of these devices with a DC input should have a specified voltage range and max power in amps and also have a BMS (battery management system) so that the battery is only charged up to the point of max voltage, preventing overcharging. If it doesn't have a BMS then it's not worth it's weight in feathers.

    What you then have to do is size the battery capacity to the expected load run-time and then get an inverter to suit.

    @unkle might have names of chargers and inverters as I know he plays around with them frequently.



  • #3
    unkel
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 66,119 ✭✭✭✭unkel
    Chauffe, Marcel, chauffe!


    You should be able to find a MC4 → DC input cable on Amazon / AliExpress. I know I bought a cheap portable power station through the bargain alerts thread here on boards and it came with one

    Have a look at the spec for your panel though. It likely is a nominal 12V panel, which you should be able to hook up directly to your power station. If it is a nominal 36V panel (like any full size panels), then be careful and read the specs of your power station first

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  • #4
    DC999
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,542 ✭✭✭DC999


    Or get a microinverter and it can feed into the house



  • #5
    the-island-man
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 497 ✭✭the-island-man


    Hi,

    Thanks for your suggestions.

    I am focused on getting the Anker 535. It's within the specs for my solar panel voltage wise but it has a maximum input of 120 watts. I'm out west so I reckon my 175 watt panel won't breach that most of the time. I'm just wondering what happens when it does?



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