Campbell Scientific SP90-L User Manual

SP50-L/SP90-L Solar Panel

Revisions: 12/13

Copyright © 1987-2013

Campbell Scientific, Inc.

Warranty

“PRODUCTS MANUFACTURED BY CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC, INC. are
warranted by Campbell Scientific, Inc. (“Campbell”) to be free from defects in
materials and workmanship under normal use and service for twelve (12)
months from date of shipment unless otherwise specified in the corresponding
Campbell pricelist or product manual. Products not manufactured, but that are
re-sold by Campbell, are warranted only to the limits extended by the original
manufacturer. Batteries, fine-wire thermocouples, desiccant, and other
consumables have no warranty. Campbell’s obligation under this warranty is
limited to repairing or replacing (at Campbell’s option) defective products,
which shall be the sole and exclusive remedy under this warranty. The
customer shall assume all costs of removing, reinstalling, and shipping
defective products to Campbell. Campbell will return such products by surface
carrier prepaid within the continental United States of America. To all other
locations, Campbell will return such products best way CIP (Port of Entry)
INCOTERM® 2010, prepaid. This warranty shall not apply to any products
which have been subjected to modification, misuse, neglect, improper service,
accidents of nature, or shipping damage. This warranty is in lieu of all other
warranties, expressed or implied. The warranty for installation services
performed by Campbell such as programming to customer specifications,
electrical connections to products manufactured by Campbell, and product
specific training, is part of Campbell’s product warranty. CAMPBELL
EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS AND EXCLUDES ANY IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Campbell is not liable for any special, indirect,
incidental, and/or consequential damages.”

Assistance

Products may not be returned without prior authorization. The following
contact information is for US and international customers residing in countries
served by Campbell Scientific, Inc. directly. Affiliate companies handle
repairs for customers within their territories. Please visit

www.campbellsci.com to determine which Campbell Scientific company serves

your country.

To obtain a Returned Materials Authorization (RMA), contact CAMPBELL
SCIENTIFIC, INC., phone [phone]. After an application engineer
determines the nature of the problem, an RMA number will be issued. Please
write this number clearly on the outside of the shipping container. Campbell
Scientific’s shipping address is:

CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC, INC.
RMA#_____
815 West 1800 North
Logan, Utah 84321-1784

For all returns, the customer must fill out a “Statement of Product Cleanliness
and Decontamination” form and comply with the requirements specified in it.
The form is available from our web site at www.campbellsci.com/repair. A
completed form must be either emailed to [e-mail] or faxed to
[phone]. Campbell Scientific is unable to process any returns until we
receive this form. If the form is not received within three days of product
receipt or is incomplete, the product will be returned to the customer at the
customer’s expense. Campbell Scientific reserves the right to refuse service on
products that were exposed to contaminants that may cause health or safety
concerns for our employees.

Table of Contents

PDF viewers: These page numbers refer to the printed version of this document. Use the
PDF reader bookmarks tab for links to specific sections.

1. Introduction.................................................................1

2. Specifications .............................................................1

3. Installation...................................................................3

3.1 Parts List ..............................................................................................3

3.2 Mounting..............................................................................................5

3.3 Orientation .........................................................................................12

3.4 Installation of CH200 Regulator ........................................................14

3.5 Installation of Morningstar SunSaver™ SS-10-12V Regulator.........15

4. Maintenance ..............................................................17

5. Power Considerations..............................................18

5.1 Proper Solar Power and Lead Acid Battery Sizes..............................18

5.2 Voltage Regulator ..............................................................................18

Figures

2-1. Wiring two solar panels to one controller ............................................3

3-1. Solar panel with 16 AWG cable...........................................................4

3-2. Mounting brackets included with the solar panel.................................4

3-3. Mounting hardware included with the solar panel ...............................4

3-4. Attach the arm brackets to the back of the solar panel.........................6

3-5. Use 1/4-20 x 0.75 hex bolts, nuts, lock washers, and flat washers

to mount the arm brackets to the solar panel ....................................6

3-6. Right and left arm brackets are attached to the back of the solar

panel .................................................................................................7

3-7. Attach the mount to the back of the solar panel between right and

left arm brackets ...............................................................................7

3-8. Use the 5/16 hardware as shown to secure each end of the mount

to the arm brackets............................................................................7

3-9. Two 5/16-18 x 2.0 u-bolts are used for pole or tripod mounting .........8

3-10. Lock washers and flat washers are used to secure the two 5/16-18

x 2.0 u-bolts to the solar panel mount...............................................8

3-11. The solar panel is ready for pole or tripod mounting ...........................9

3-12. The solar panel is mounted to a pole using two 5/16-18 x 2.0

u-bolts...............................................................................................9

3-13. Solar panel mounted on a tripod. Panel can be mounted to the

tripod leg.........................................................................................10

3-14. Two 5/16-18 x 1.5 u-bolts are attached to each side of the solar

panel mount for triangular tower mounting....................................11

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Table of Contents

Tables

3-15. Reverse angle view showing the 5/16 washers, lock washers,

and nuts securing the u-bolts.......................................................... 11

3-16. Angle settings on right and left arm brackets.................................... 13

3-17. CH200 wired to solar panel, CR1000, and battery............................ 15

3-18. Morningstar’s SunSaver™ SS-10-12V Regulator mounted on an

enclosure backplate........................................................................ 16

3-19. Battery terminal strip adapters for power connection to external

battery ............................................................................................ 17

2-1. Specifications ...................................................................................... 1

2-2. Regulator Specifications (purchased and shipped separately)............. 2

3-1. Parts List.............................................................................................. 5

3-2. Solar Panel Tilt Angle* ..................................................................... 12

3-3. Configurations for Desired Angles.................................................... 13

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SP50-L/SP90-L Solar Panel

1. Introduction

Solar panels convert light energy to electricity, or specifically to direct current.
The direct current produced is used to provide power to a system and to charge
lead acid batteries. Solar panels operate in both direct and diffuse light, but not
at night.

A user-specified 16 AWG cable comes with each solar panel. External voltage
regulators, rechargeable batteries, and rechargeable power supplies must be
purchased separately. Please contact a Campbell Scientific applications
engineer to determine what components will work best for your application.

Campbell Scientific’s CH200 12V Charger/Regulator is recommended for use
with 12V sealed rechargeable batteries (BP12, BP24, and BP84). The CH200
with software version 5.00 or higher can easily be used with the BP84/PS84
battery (Concorde Sun Xtender™ PVX-840T) when configured through
DevConfig version 2.01 or higher. EnerSys Cyclon™ batteries can also be
used with the CH200.

NOTE

CH200 OS version 4.0 can also be used with the BP84/PS84, but
requires each charging parameter to be set individually. See the
CH200 documentation for more information on setting charging
parameters.

The SunSaver™ SS-10-12V voltage regulator (CSI pn 18529) is another option
for these solar panels, and it can be purchased from Campbell Scientific, Inc.

2. Specifications

The SP50-L/SP90-L work with user-supplied deep cycle marine batteries, 12V
sealed rechargeable batteries (BP12, BP24, or BP84), 12V rechargeable power
supplies (PS84), and external voltage regulators (CH200 and Morningstar
SunSaver

SP50-L SP90-L

Typical peak power (Pp):

Voltage at peak power (Vpp):

(voltage from solar panel before
regulator)

TM

(SS-10-12V).

TABLE 2-1. Specifications

50 W 90 W

17.5 V 17.9 V

Current at peak power (Ipp):

Temperature coefficient of power:

Length:

Width:

2.9 A 5.03 A

–0.45% / ºC –(0.5 ± 0.05)% / K

83.9 cm (33.0 in) 120.9 cm (47.6 in)

53.7 cm (21.1in) 53.7 cm (21.1 in)

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SP50-L/SP90-L Solar Panel

Depth:

5.0 cm (2.0 in) 5.0 cm (2 in)

NOTE

Weight:

Max. wind speed @ angles greater
than 35°:

6 kg (13.2 lb) 7.7 kg (17.0 lb)

–1

29 m s

(65 mph) 24 m s–1 (55 mph)

The above solar panel characteristics assume a 1 kilowatt per
square meter illumination and a solar panel temperature of 25°C.
Individual panels may vary up to 5%. The output panel voltage
increases as the panel temperature decreases.

TABLE 2-2. Regulator Specifications (purchased and shipped separately)

Model

Temperature
compensation:

CH200

Variable, depending on
battery manufacturer.

Morningstar SunSaverTM
SS-10-12V

–28 mV / ºC

Selectable in DevConfig.

Self consumption:

Operating

300 µA to 2 mA 6 mA to 10 mA

–40º to +60ºC –40º to +85ºC

temperature:

Useable solar

2.8 A to 4.3 A 10 A

current:

NOTE

Pairing the CH200 with the SP90 allows the CH200 to operate at the maximum
Useable Solar Current of 4.3 A for longer periods of time than it would with a
smaller panel. As the SP90 output current increases above 4.3 A, the CH200
will continue to function at the maximum useable solar current of 4.3. It will
remain at this level until the SP90 output once again drops below 4.3 A.

A second solar panel can be connected to the Morningstar
regulator when additional power is required. One Morningstar
SunSaver™ SS-10-12V regulator can handle two SP50 or SP90
solar panels.

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