Blue Sky 2000E User Manual

SOLAR BOOST™ 2000E

25AMP 12VDC MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKING

PHOTOVOLTAIC CHARGE CONTROLLER

INSTALLATION AND OPERATION

MANUAL

THIS MANUAL INCLUDES IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS FOR MODEL SB2000E

SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

COVERED UNDER ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING US PATENTS

6,111,391

Blue Sky Energy - Solar Boost 2000E

TABLE OF CONTENTS

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS ................................................................................................................................ 2

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION...................................................................................................................................................... 3

Part Numbers and Options ..................................................................................................................................... 3

OPERATION ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Charge Control ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

Charge Status Indicator .......................................................................................................................................... 3

Battery Level Graphic ............................................................................................................................................. 4

Equalization ............................................................................................................................................................ 4

Current Limit ........................................................................................................................................................... 4

Optional Temperature Compensation .................................................................................................................... 5

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) ............................................................................................................... 5

INSTALLATION ....................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Electrostatic Handling Precautions ......................................................................................................................... 5

Selecting PV Modules ............................................................................................................................................ 6

Temperature Compensation ................................................................................................................................... 6

Battery and PV Wiring ............................................................................................................................................ 6

Setting Charge Voltage .......................................................................................................................................... 7

Maximum Power Voltage ....................................................................................................................................... 7

Optimizing MPPT ........................................................................................................................... 7

TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE ................................................................................................................................................ ..8

SPECIFICATIONS ................................................................................................................................................................... ..9

FIVE YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY......................................................................................................................................... ..9

TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1 Charge Status Indicator ................................................................................................................. 3

Table 2 Maximum Conductor Length - 3% Voltage Drop ............................................................................ 7

Figure 1 Front Panel and Remote Display Indicators................................................................................... 4

Figure 2 Factory Charge Voltage Setpoint -vs.- Battery Temperature ......................................................... 5

Figure 3 Setup and Wiring Diagram ............................................................................................................. 7

Figure 4 Mounting Template ........................................................................................................................ 10

Installation and Operation Manual

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

This manual contains important instructions for Model SB2000E

SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS

1. Refer installation and servicing to qualified service personnel. High voltage is present inside unit. Incorrect installation or use may result in risk of electric shock or fire. No user serviceable parts in this unit.

2. To reduce the risk of electric shock, fire or pers onal injury, the following symbols are placed throughout this manual to indicate dangerous conditions, or important safety or operational instructions.

WARNING CAUTION IMPORTANT

)

Indicates dangerous conditions or electric

shock potential. Use extreme caution.

Indicates items critical to safe installation or

operation of the unit.

3. PERSONAL PRECAUTIONS

a) Working in the vicinity of lead-acid batteries is dangerous. Batteries produce explosive gasses during normal operation. b) To reduce risk of battery explosion, follow thes e instruc tions and thos e published by battery manufacturer and manufac turer of any equipment you intend

to use in vicinity of battery. c) Someone should be within range of your voice or close enough to come to your aid when you work near a lead-acid battery. d) Have plenty of fresh water and soap nearby in case battery acid contacts skin, clothing or eyes. e) Wear complete eye protection and clothing protection. Avoid touching eyes while working near battery. f) If battery acid contacts skin or clothing, wash immediately with soap and water. If acid enters eye, immediately flood eye with running cold water for at

least 15 minutes and get medical attention immediately. g) NEVER SMOKE or allow a spark or flame in vicinity of battery. h) Be extra cautious to reduce risk of dropping metal tool onto battery. It might spark or short circuit battery or other electrical part that may cause explosion. i) Remove personal metal items such as rings, bracelets and watches when working with a lead-acid battery. A lead-acid battery can produce a short circuit

current high enough to weld a ring or the like to metal, causing a severe burn. j) Remove all sources of power, photovoltaic and battery before servicing or installing.

4. CHARGER LOCATION & INSTALLATION a) This unit is designed to charge 12V (6 cell) flooded or sealed type lead-acid chemistry batteries within the range of 10 to 10,000 amp-hours. Follow

battery manufacturers charging recommendations when considering this unit for use with other battery chemistry. b) This unit employs components that tend to produce arcs or sparks. NEVER install in battery compartment or in the presence of explosive gases. c) This unit must be installed and wired in accordance with National Electrical Code, ANSI/NFPA 70. d) Over current protection for the battery must be provided externally. To reduce the risk of fire, connect to a circuit provided with 30 amperes max imum

branch-circuit over current protection in accordance with National Electrical Code, ANSI/NFPA 70. e) Insure that unit is properly configured for the battery being charged. f) This unit is not water tight. Do not expose to rain, snow or excessive moisture. g) Insure all terminating connections are clean and tight. Battery, PV and battery temperature sensor terminals are to be tightened to 9 in-lb (1 nm). h) Do not connect to a PV array capable of producing greater than 20 amperes of short circuit current (I i) This unit is not provided with a GFDI (ground-fault detector/in terrupter) device and must be used with an external GFDI device as required by Article 690

of National Electrical Code for the installation location.

5. PREPARING TO CHARGE a) Never charge a frozen battery. b) Be sure battery is mounted in a well ventilated compartment. c) Add distilled water in each cell of a lead-acid battery until battery acid reaches level specified by battery manufacturer.

Follow these instructions closely for proper

operation of the unit

) or 24V of open circuit voltage (VOC) @ STC.

Blue Sky Energy - Solar Boost 2000E

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Solar Boost™ 2000E is a 25 amp 12 volt Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) photovoltaic (PV) battery charge controller with built in digital display. Through the use of patented MPPT technology the 2000E can increase charge current up to 30% or more compared to conventional controllers. The 2000E’s sophisticated charge control system improves battery performance and life while minimizing battery maintenance. The unit is fully protected against voltage transients, over temperature, over current, reverse battery and reverse PV connections. An automatic current limit feature allows use of the full 25 amp capability without worrying about overload or nuisance fuse blow from excessive current. An environmentally sealed high current high reliability relay is used to disconnect the PV array at night to prevent unwanted current drain.

PART NUMBERS AND OPTIONS

• SB2000E ............ Solar Boost 2000E charge controller

• 930-0022-20 ....... Optional battery temperature sensor

• 720-0011-01 ....... Optional wall mount box, black powder coated steel

OPERATION

Charge control and MPPT current boost operations are fully automatic. Charge turns on whenever the PV array is capable of producing approximately

0.15 amps at @ 14 volts. Note that there must be a battery in the system with a minimum voltage of 9 volts or greater for the 2000E to operate. Electronic

current limit prevents the possibility of overload by limiting output current to 25 amps regardless of available PV input current or input power. The highly accurate digital display consumes very little power and is always on and available for us e. As shown in Figure 1, the display can be

selected to show Solar Panel Current, Output Charge Current or Battery Voltage. Solar Panel Current displays current in amps flowing from the PV array to the 2000E, whereas Output Charge Current displays current in amps flowing from the 2000E to the battery. When MPPT current boos t is func tioning, Output Charge Current will be greater than Solar Panel Current. If operating conditions are such extra power is not available from the PV array and MPPT current boost is unable to operate, Output Charge Current may show 0.1 amps less than Solar Panel Current. This is normal as the 2000E consumes approximately

0.090 amps to operate when PV charge is on. When PV charge is off, standby current consumption is quite low at approximately 0.017 amps.

Battery Voltage is measured at the 2000E’s battery terminals. Although the measurement system is highly accurate, displayed voltage may be somewhat higher than actual battery terminal voltage when high charge current is being delivered to the battery. This is due to v oltage drop in the wires between the 2000E and battery. Error during charge can be minimized by using large low resistance wiring.

¾ The 2000E operates on battery power, not PV power. A battery must be connected with a minimum v oltage of 9 volts for the unit

)

CHARGE CONTROL

will be in Bulk charge when battery voltage is below the charge voltage setpoint (factory set to 14.0 volts). During Bulk the 2000E delivers as much charge current as possible to rapidly recharge the battery and drive battery voltage up to the charge voltage setpoint. Once the battery recovers sufficient c harge for battery voltage to rise to the charge voltage setpoint, both PV current and output charge current are reduced as necessary to control battery voltage at the charge voltage setpoint.

CHARGE STATUS INDICATOR

A Charge Status indicator LED is provided on the 2000E panel. For small scale solar electric systems an excellent indication of a highly charged battery is when the 2000E is able to hold the battery at the desired charge voltage setpoint. These systems usually consist of 75 – 400 watts of PV power, and charge a battery bank in the range of perhaps 100 – 600 amp-hours. With sufficient PV power and the battery under light load so that there is at leas t 2 amps of net c harge current per 100 amp-hours of battery capacity, the system will show the battery to be charged when the battery is greater than approximately 90 – 95% full. When the Charge Status LED blinks showing the 2000E to be in the constant voltage mode, the battery is considered charged.

If PV power generation is too low and/or load current is too high for there to be at least 2 amps of net charge current available per 100 amp-hours of battery capacity the Solar Boost 2000E may be unable to hold battery voltage at the des ired charge voltage setpoint. This will cause a discharged condition to be displayed even though the battery may be highly charged. A charged condition will again be displayed if sufficient net c harge current becomes av ailable and the battery is indeed charged. A smaller battery and/or larger PV array will tend to show a charged condition sooner.

to operate.

The 2000E provides a two stage charging process, Bulk and Constant Voltage. A third manually actuated Equalize mode is also avai l ab l e. The 2000E

CHARGE STATUS INDICATOR

CHARGE STATUS INDICATOR CHARGE MODE APPROXIMATE CHARGE LEVEL

OFF CHARGE OFF

CONTINUOUSLY ON BULK LESS THAN 90% FULL

BLINKING • 2 SEC ON / 2 SEC OFF

RAPID BLINKING • 0.2 SEC ON / 0.2 SEC OFF

CONSTANT VOLTAGE GREATER THAN 90% FULL

EQUALIZE

TABLE 1

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