Epever Tracer Charge Controller Question

[mattonthesea]

I have the 1210 AN model at present wired up 12V with PV panels adding up to 110 W . No problem except that I want to add in a 60W panel. According to the manual:

Condition 4: Actual charging current of PV array＞Rated charging current of controller
When the controller operates under “Condition 3”or“Condition 4”，it will carry out the
charging as per the rated current or power.


WARNING: When the power of PV module is greater than the rated
charging power, and the maximum open-circuit voltage of PV array is more
than 50(Tracer**06AN)/96V(Tracer**10AN)(at the lowest environmental
temperature), the controller may be damaged.


According to “Peak Sun Hours diagram”, if the power of PV array exceeds the rated
charging power of controller, then the charging time as per the rated power will be
prolonged, so that more energy can be obtained for charging the battery. However, in
the practical application, the maximum power of PV array shall be not greater than 1.5
x the rated charging power of controller. If the maximum power of PV array exceeds
the rated charging power of controller too much, it will not only cause the waste of PV
modules, but also increase the open-circuit voltage of PV array due to the influence of
environmental temperature, which may make the probability of damage to the
controller rise. Therefore, it is very important to configure the system reasonably. For
the recommended maximum power of PV array for this controller, please refer to the
table below:

Model	Rated Charge Current	Rated Charge Power	Max. PV Array Power	Max. PV open circuit voltage
Tracer1210AN	10A	130W/12V	195W/12V	92V① 100V②

As I understand it this will come to 170W and that is less than 195W so I should be OK. Is this right?

Thanks

Matt

 

[Richard10002]

My understanding of the EpEver Tracers, (I have a 40A Model with a B in front of it), is that they can accept a higher wattage than the rating, but will not give out more than the rating, such that you will never get more than 10A from your controller. There is obviously a limit and, in your case it seems to be 195W at 12 V, so you should be fine in that respect. Furthermore, it is unlikely that you will ever get full power from your panels in Bristol, so even less reason to worry

Having said that, I do recall that they will either suffer, or cut out, if the high voltage rating is exceeded. If your panels are in series, you add the voltages.

What I am not so sure about is how mixing a 110W panel with a 60W panel. Will you actually get 170W, or might the larger panel be restricted by the smaller? Hopefully someone who knows more than me will be along to advise on this side of things.

 

[Mistroma]

My understanding of the EpEver Tracers, (I have a 40A Model with a B in front of it), is that they can accept a higher wattage than the rating, but will not give out more than the rating, such that you will never get more than 10A from your controller. There is obviously a limit and, in your case it seems to be 195W at 12 V, so you should be fine in that respect. Furthermore, it is unlikely that you will ever get full power from your panels in Bristol, so even less reason to worry

Having said that, I do recall that they will either suffer, or cut out, if the high voltage rating is exceeded. If your panels are in series, you add the voltages.

What I am not so sure about is how mixing a 110W panel with a 60W panel. Will you actually get 170W, or might the larger panel be restricted by the smaller? Hopefully someone who knows more than me will be along to advise on this side of things.

I have the Tracer 2210A model and seem to remember seeing something somewhere about max. panel wattage allowed being higher than the figures given in the spec. but can't find anything about that at present.

The manual does say that the Tracer 10A, 20A etc. will limit output to the maximum output quoted in the specification. That means it will not always make full use of the total panel output as you say. I did see that other models simply disconnect the solar array if over current occurs.

The Tracer manual states:
1) Reliable automatic limit function of maximum PV input power, ensuring no overload under any circumstance.
2) The controller will limit battery charging current to the Maximum Battery Current rating. Therefore an over-sized solar array will not operate at peak power.

However, I also remember reading that they don't particularly like running at full output for extended periods. One review did say that they were surprised at the lack of a fan. Heat generation might be a problem in a very hot climate. I mounted my Tracer on 2 vertical pieces of timer which left it a couple of inches away from the bulkhead. This formed a vertical vent the back of the Tracer and I fitted a small computer fan at the bottom. My plan was to either connect a cheap temperature controller to the load output or simply program it to turn on during the sunniest part of the day. However, I still only have 77% of the max. panel capacity and have never noticed a problem with high temperature, even with ambient of 40℃.

The Tracer manual states:
Please operate controller at permitted ambient temperature. If over permissible range, please de-rate capacity in service.
Max. working temperature 25℃～+45℃

OP might consider a similar mounting solution and addition of a computer fan for his setup.

OPs mention of damage above 96V (my manual says OK at 92V) would indicate that 3 panels in series should be fine wrt voltage. However, I do remember that conversion efficiency is higher at lower voltages and less heat is produced. It might be worth checking that out as well when deciding on parallel or series connection of over-spec'd panels. I'm assuming you have something like 2x55W and 1x60W as you mentioned existing panels (plural).