Home brew Arduino MPPT controller
Pretty cool project. Highly programmable. He does not list the amps it is capable of but I'm thinking 4-8 only based on the diode sizing. There are some very sophisticated MPPT algorithms out there...
Forum Discussion
I like the supercap because it can suck in large amounts of electricity. No worries about pulsing or the right tenths of a volt, just shove the juice in the cap at or below its ratings. Then, on the other side of the cap, a smart charger can take its own sweet time charging, desulfating, balancing, and other battery tasks, even when the sun is down, as the cap would still have plenty of juice left.
I also wouldn't mind seeing a smart meta-controller. That way, you can have an EFOY fuel cell, solar, wind, shore power, generator, and engine alternator, and the controller can deal with all those power sources at once to ensure the batteries are charged as optimally as possible.
Maybe even have an RFID chip on the batteries with some sensors built in, so the controller would know the age, type, amount of acid (if flooded), plate status, etc. I know that modern BMWs do something like this, where if the car battery is pulled, the vehicle won't start until the dealer re-inputs these parameters into the car's computer, so the vehicle knows exactly what voltage the battery will make and its expected life.
Then, the last piece of the puzzle would be a smart EMS. If the batteries go below 50%, shed everything but vital circuits. If below 25%, shed everything but the e-brakes. Better the EMS cutting off current than having a dead fridge or furnace due to undervoltage burnouts.
Of course with all these controllers come cool tricks, such as turning on the fuel cell when the solar cells stop giving enough useful energy, turning the generator on if batteries are rapidly discharging, allowing the A/C or microwave to take its locked rotor amps from the batteries, then firing up the generator to handle the constant load, etc.
I also wouldn't mind seeing a smart meta-controller. That way, you can have an EFOY fuel cell, solar, wind, shore power, generator, and engine alternator, and the controller can deal with all those power sources at once to ensure the batteries are charged as optimally as possible.
Maybe even have an RFID chip on the batteries with some sensors built in, so the controller would know the age, type, amount of acid (if flooded), plate status, etc. I know that modern BMWs do something like this, where if the car battery is pulled, the vehicle won't start until the dealer re-inputs these parameters into the car's computer, so the vehicle knows exactly what voltage the battery will make and its expected life.
Then, the last piece of the puzzle would be a smart EMS. If the batteries go below 50%, shed everything but vital circuits. If below 25%, shed everything but the e-brakes. Better the EMS cutting off current than having a dead fridge or furnace due to undervoltage burnouts.
Of course with all these controllers come cool tricks, such as turning on the fuel cell when the solar cells stop giving enough useful energy, turning the generator on if batteries are rapidly discharging, allowing the A/C or microwave to take its locked rotor amps from the batteries, then firing up the generator to handle the constant load, etc.
