DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A SOLAR CHARGE CONTROLLER

ABSTRACT

The aim of this project is to design and construct a solar charge controller that can track the maximum power point (MPP) of a photovoltaic (PV) panel and charge a battery bank efficiently, while transmitting the charging parameters and circuit data to a remote interface. The objectives are to implement an MPPT algorithm, to design a buck converter circuit, and to develop a remote monitoring interface using a microcontroller with a SIM module. The methodology involves the following steps: 1) selecting the appropriate components for the PV panel, the battery bank, and the buck converter; 2) programming the microcontroller with the MPPT algorithm and the communication protocol; 3) assembling the circuit on a printed circuit board (PCB); and 4) testing and evaluating the performance of the system under different conditions. The results show that the system can track the maximum power point of the PV panel and regulate the output voltage and current to charge the battery bank. The system can also send data via HTTP. The system achieved a peak efficiency of 94%. The conclusion is that the system meets the design specifications and demonstrates the feasibility of using an MPPT solar charge controller with a remote monitoring interface.