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Battery Charging Calculation

The document discusses how to calculate the charging time for batteries in solar energy systems. It explains that charging time is influenced by several factors, including the solar panel wattage, battery voltage and capacity, depth of discharge, charge controller efficiency, system losses, and environmental conditions. The document then provides an example calculation for different solar panel and battery configurations, showing that charging time can range from around 5 to 13 hours depending on the specific components and their performance.

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MARTIN TIRKEY
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
303 views9 pages

Battery Charging Calculation

The document discusses how to calculate the charging time for batteries in solar energy systems. It explains that charging time is influenced by several factors, including the solar panel wattage, battery voltage and capacity, depth of discharge, charge controller efficiency, system losses, and environmental conditions. The document then provides an example calculation for different solar panel and battery configurations, showing that charging time can range from around 5 to 13 hours depending on the specific components and their performance.

Uploaded by

MARTIN TIRKEY
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How to Calculate Battery Charging Time - Lithium ion... https://www.dnkpower.com/how-to-calculate-battery-c...

Home / Battery Knowledge / How to Calculate Battery Charging Time

In order to save electricity, solar energy system aims to go into every family.

Look, here are some positive views on solar system:

“I have 8.1kW solar panels installed with a battery pack and, as long as there are bright
sunshine, this �lls up the battery and power my whole house with ample surplus power
available. “—from a net friend

“ Every hour of sun rays will bring you a full charge.”

The function of solar battery is to  produced by solar energy and


then work as a power source when there is no sunlight. Some people want to be mostly
possibl e independent of grid power. Thus they are concerned about whether solar energy
system can generate enough electricity for daily use and how long does the battery fully
charge. Today, we are going to talk about charging time.

Here are some �gures, let me explain something here:

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Solar charge controller is a part of a solar installation and play a core role. Basically, it
regulates the current and voltage coming from the solar panels going to the battery to keep
batteries from overcharging. To put it in another way, it is a voltage and current regulator.

It works like a water faucet switch. If we turn this water faucet on to maximum, we can �ll
our water cup quickly. So charge controller will e�ect charging time in the same way.

Rechargeable batteries, including lithium-ion batteries, will age with time goes by. It will
gradually lose capability, although the pace of deterioration will be slow. Battery capacity
will decrease and battery internal resistance will increase with the process of battery aging.
Charging speed also changes.

Battery power can change the charging time because of its di�erent storage capacities. If
you have a small battery and enough sunlight, you will get the expected power shortly. On
the contrary, a large battery requires a longer charge than a smaller one. Smaller batteries
store less power and take a short time to be charged.

The e�ciency of the solar panel can a�ect the duration of charging. If you have solar panels
with lower e�ciency, it will take longer than the normal charging period. Photo-voltaic cells
convert heat into electricity in a solar system.

So, the better cells you use, the better your result. It is suggested to use the standard cells
with enough power production capacity.

Environment plays a vital part in solar energy production. It is strongly related to the
weather and the sun. A place with bright sunlight will enhance productivity. But, winter and
rainy seasons can a�ect the charging time. You can get the perfect calculation by analyzing
where the panels are installed.
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Solar panel size also very important in solar energy production. The larger the area of the
solar panel, the more solar light the solar panel absorbs, and the more energy it converts
into electricity, so the larger the area of the solar panel, the faster it charges under the
same amount of light.

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In fact, the actual charging time is in�uenced by many factors. We can calculate it with
some certain parameters.

Divide solar panel wattage by battery voltage to estimate maximum charge current
output by solar charge controller

Input current:

Multiply current by rule-of-thumb system losses (20%) and charge controller


e�ciency(PWM: 75%; MPPT: 95%)

Actual current:   

Multiply battery capacity by 1 divided by rule-of-thumb battery charge e�ciency


(lead acid: 85%; lithium: 95%)

Divide battery capacity by current to estimate how long it’d take to charge the
entire battery

Chatofwith
Multiply the charge time by the battery’s depth us, we are
discharge online! how long
to estimate

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it’d take to charge the battery at its current level

Add 2 hours to account for the absorption charging stage of most charge
controllers

Note: Our solar charging calculator, which takes into account more factors. estimates it’d
take 6.6 hours for this setup.

here are some solar power systems, let’s calculate their charging time.

Step 1:100W / 12V = 8.33A

Step 2:8.33A * (1-20%)*75% = 5A

12V, 30Ah lead-acid battery DOD: 50%


Step 3:30Ah*(1/85%)= 35.29Ah

100 W solar panel


Step 4:35.29Ah / 5A = 7.06 hrs

 charge controller
Step 5:7.06hrs*50% DOD = 3.53 hrs

Step 6:3.53 hrs + 2 hrs = 

It’d take 5.53 hours for this setup with continuous direct solar radiation.

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Step 1:100W / 12V = 8.33A

Step 2:8.33A * (1 -20%)*95% = 6.33A

12V, 30Ah lead-acid battery DOD: 50%


Step3:30Ah*(1/85%)= 35.29Ah

100 W solar panel


Step4:35.29Ah/6.33A= 5.57 hrs

 charge controller
Step 5:5.57hrs*50%DOD=2.79hrs

Step 6:2.79 hrs + 2 hrs =

It’d take 4.79 hours for this setup with continuous direct solar radiation

Step 1:150W / 24V = 6.25A

Step 2: 6.25A *(1-20%) * 95% = 4.75A


24V, 50Ah lithium battery DOD: 80%

Step 3:50Ah * (1 / 95%) = 52.63Ah


150 W solar panel

Step 4:52.63Ah / 4.75A = 11.08hrs


 charge controller

Step 5:11.08hrs*80% DOD = 8.86 hrs

Step 6:8.86 hrs + 2 hrs =

It’d take 10.86 hours for this setup with continuous direct solar radiation

Step 1:150W / 24V = 6.25A

Step 2: 6.25A *(1-20%) * 75% =3.75A

24V, 50Ah lithium battery DOD: 80% Step 3:50Ah * (1 / 95%) = 52.63Ah

150 W solar panel Step 4:52.63Ah / 3.75A = 14.034hrs

 charge controller Step 5:14.034hrs*80% DOD = 11.28 hrs

Step 6:11.28 hrs + 2 hrs =

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It’d take 13.28 hours for this setup with continuous direct solar radiation

Q1: How Long Will It Take For a 24V 120Ah Battery to be Charged with 300W Panel?

In ideal condition, it takes 9.6 hours to fully charge this setup with continuous direct solar
radiation

Q2: How Long Will It Take For” pair of 230 amp hr 6v batteries in series for 12v “to be
Charged with 250W Panel?

According to above formula and  knowned parameters, we can calculate

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1.Overcharge protection
2.Over-discharge protection
3,Load over-current and short circuit protection
4, Over-voltage protection
5,Anti-reverse charging function
6, Lightning protection function
7, Solar cell reverse connection protection
8, Battery reverse connection protection
9, Battery open circuit protection
10,Temperature compensation function

3 types

First generation technology:   Solar Charge Controller ( being phased out because of


ine�ciency)

Second generation technology: PWM Charge Controller

Third generation technology:  MPPT Charge Controller

Both of them have the same function to control battery charging. However, di�erences
exist:

Following is a chart to illustrate their di�erences clearly

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PWM Charge Controller

Structure simpler module structure just like a high-speed switch

Cost cheaper

strong charge →balanced charge →floating charge


Charging Method

Temperature influence Yes, it will show best work efficiency with temperature rang from 45

Matched voltage
Use space ( E.g: 12V system panel can only support the use of 12V controller
can't be over-paneled

Applicability small off-grid solar system less than 2 KW

User operation very easy

others 1. solve the problem of unsatisfactory battery charge and ensure th


2. work best when the nominal voltage of the solar array matches t

Compared with PWM controller,


MPPT controller has the maximum power tracking function.That is, before the battery has not reached the saturation
PWM controllers have less own consumption than MPPT controllers, on designing low-power solar powered system

As for what kind of charge controller you need to choose should be based on the actual
situation.

To obtain amps, we divide power in watts by voltage in volts using the same formula. A 100
amp hour battery will take �ve hours to charge when charged at 12 volts and 20 amps.

You’ll need 240 watts of solar power if you multiply 20 amps by 12 volts, thus we propose a
300-watt solar panel or three 100 watt solar panels.

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Nope. The charging process will stop if the battery is dead because charge controller will
automatically detect battery voltage. We propose using an Individual Battery Charge to �x
and restore the dead battery before reconnecting it to the solar system.

Wide rang of use. Vehicle mounted system, cabin or tiny home, shed or shipping container
mounted systems, solar water heating….

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