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Shrink Solar Panel Size by Increasing Performance

Design Note 1012 John Shannon
Introduction Solar panels are gaining acceptance as a practical means of electricity generation in remote locations, but despite improvements in the technology, solar panels remain expensive. Much of the expense is the panel itself, where the size, and thus cost, of the panel rises with required power output. Maximizing panel performance is important in order to realize the smallest, most cost effective solution. This Design Note presents two simple circuits that increase the energy harvested by a solar panel. In both of these cases, the panel charges a battery, which in turn, supports operation of the application circuit when the sun isnt shining. Design Requirements Optimum design of a solar battery charger requires some understanding of the characteristics of the panel. First, solar panels are leaky due to the large junction area, so the battery can discharge through the panel during dark periods. Also, every solar panel has a characteristic VI curve with a maximum power point, so to the extent that the load characteristics and the panel characteristics dont match, energy extraction is reduced. Ideally the panel would be constantly loaded at the maximum power
Solar Panel with Diode
D1 UPS840 P1 SOLAR PANEL 12V LEAD ACID

point in order to fully utilize the available solar energy and thereby minimize the panel cost. Solar Diode and the LTC4412 The panel leakage problem is typically solved with a diode in series with the panel. Reverse leakage is reduced to a low value, but some energy is still lost in the diode forward drop. A better solution uses the LTC4412 ideal diode controller. This device, when combined in a simple circuit with a small external PFET, functions as an ideal diode it has only 20mV of forward drop and low reverse leakage. This means the LTC4412 combines better charge performance and better discharge performance than a simple diodeyou get more charging energy and you get to keep more of it. The low voltage drop of the LTC4412 ideal diode also allows the solution to scale to several amps of panel current without the heat generation problems of a conventional diode. Two problems remain, namely the control of the float voltage into a fully charged battery and the loading of the panel at the optimal point for power generation. These problems can be solved by a switch mode charger using an efficient buck regulator.
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Solar Panel with LTC4412-Based Ideal

Q3 FDC602P

P1 SOLAR PANEL

LTC4412 1 2 3 VIN GND CTL SENSE GATE STAT 6 5 4 12V LEAD ACID

DN1012 F01a

DN1012 F01b

DISCHARGE (NIGHT CURRENT) = 162A CHARGE CURRENT TO BATTERY = 266mA

DISCHARGE (NIGHT CURRENT) = 17.6A CHARGE CURRENT TO BATTERY = 274mA

Figure 1. A Solar Panel Leaks Current When Not in Use (Dark or Night Discharge Current), a Potential Drain on the Battery. A Simple Diode Solution Lowers the Discharge Current, But it Also Introduces a Voltage Drop That Cuts Into the Battery Charge Current. A Better Solution is to Use an LTC4412-Based Ideal Diode That Reduces Reverse Leakage Currents by an Order of Magnitude over a Diode and Has Minimal Forward Voltage Drop, Thus Increasing the Charge Current
03/06/1012

Using a Buck Regulator as the Battery Charger Controller Conventional wisdom holds that the circuit shown in Figure 2 would not offer much benefit, but conventional wisdom is based on conventional parts. This circuit is a switch mode charger based on the unconventionally efficient LTC1625 No RSENSETM synchronous buck controller. The circuit is placed between the solar panel and the battery and serves to regulate battery float voltage. The additional, LTC1541-based control loop forces the charger to operate at the point of maximum panel power. This increase in efficiency shrinks the required panel size and thus reduces the cost of the overall solution. Figure 3 shows charge performance of a conventional solar panel charger vs the LTC1625-based peak power tracking charger as a function of battery voltage. The data shows that higher charge current is available to the battery than with the simple diode or ideal diode based solution. The amount of extra current available vs the diode solutions depends on the battery voltage and is as high as 22% extra into a deeply discharged (10V) battery. The results were based on a 5W panel, at about 2:00 pm on a sunny September day and fails to show the LTC1625 in its best light. The LTC1625 is equally capable of higher power and can be used for a 10A solar-based charger with similarly high efficiency.

0.34 0.32 LTC1625 BUCK

CHARGE CURRENT (A)

0.30 0.28 LTC4412 DIODE 0.26 UPS840 DIODE 0.24 0.22 0.20 10 11 12 13 14 15 BATTERY VOLTAGE (V)
DN1012 F03

Figure 3. A Peak Power Tracking Circuit Provides More Current to the Battery Than Solutions Without a Tracking Circuit

Conclusion The two circuits shown here improve solar energy extraction from a solar panel over a conventional diode-based reference circuit. The LTC4412-based circuit provides a simple upgrade from the traditional solar diode, gives higher charge current and lower discharge current and reduces heating problems. Adding an LTC1625-based buck regulator creates a complete charger with float voltage regulation and panel peak power regulation to maximize solar energy extraction. The benefit to this circuit is particularly noticeable in the event of a mismatch between the panel peak power voltage and the battery voltage.

LTC1625 1 P1 SOLAR PANEL R5 1M C4 10F 2 C2 100nF 3 4 5 6 C5 2.2nF D4 BAT54 R7 93.1k R6 10k C9 220pF 7 8 EXTVCC SYNC RUN/SS FCB ITH SGND VOSENSE VPROG VIN TK SW TG BOOST INTVCC BG PGND 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9

C1 R4 100nF 4.7

D2 BAT54

Q4 Si2304 L1 47H Q6 Si2304 Q5 FDC602P

C3 220pF

C7 33F

LTC4412

C6 4.7F TANT

+
D3 MBRO530

1 C8 100F 2 3

VIN GND CTL

SENSE GATE STAT

6 5 4 BATTERY

C10 100nF

LTC1541 1 2 3 4 AMPOUT AIN+ VSS VCC REF COMPIN+ 8 7 6 5 AIN COMPOUT

R8 93.1k

DN1012 F02

R9 1M

R10 100k

Figure 2. Peak Power Tracking Buck Charger Maximizes Efficiency

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