I am building a couple of Solar Fence Chargers and I think I have everything I need except the panels. My question is, how many watts are sufficient to keep the battery well charged? Is a 50-watt panel large enough or do I need a larger panel?
DYI Solar Fence Charger
- Thread starter sstterry
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wbvs58
Well-known member
Most solar chargers only have a 10 watt panel, go higher and you need a charge controller so you don't boil the battery away.
Ken
Ken
OP
OP
I already have the charge controller. They are really dirt cheap comparatively speaking. It is amazing how far all of this technology has come.
I have built several of these. I was told 10 watts of solar panel per fencer joule. That being said, my 12 joule chargers all have 100 watt panels and it keeps the battery charged.
Don't skimp on the charge controller. This is what I use.
Also don't forget lighting protection.
Don't skimp on the charge controller. This is what I use.
Also don't forget lighting protection.
greybeard
Well-known member
If you want to go to the trouble of doing it 'scientifically', you would have to know the normal load on the battery, the discharge rate of the battery, the voltage/current loss from the controller and use a calculator to determine how big the panel needs to be without going over what you need. But, a bigger panel won't really hurt, as the controller will take care of the charge rate and shut down when it senses the battery is at or near full charge. The controller works much the same way an automatic 120V powered car battery charger or even a vehicle alternator's regulator does.
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