Publications Details
Battery compatibility with photovoltaic charge controllers
Photovoltaic (PV) systems offer a cost-effective solution to provide electrical power for a wide variety of applications, with battery performance playing a major role in their success. This paper presents some of the results of an industry meeting regarding battery specifications and ratings that photovoltaic system designers require, but do not typically have available to them. Communications between the PV industry and the battery industry regarding appropriate specifications have been uncoordinated and poor in the past. This paper also discusses the effort under way involving the PV industry and battery manufacturers, and provides a working draft of specifications to develop and outline the information sorely needed on batteries. The development of this information is referred to as ``Application Notes for Batteries in Photovoltaic Systems.`` The content of these ``notes`` has been compiled from various sources, including the input from the results of a survey on battery use in the photovoltaic industry. Only lead-acid batteries are discussed