Owner'sManual
Please read this manual before operating the units
SunChargerPortable Solar Panel
Models: SC-05SC-10
2
INDEX
1. SafetyInstructions...................................................... .................................3
2. GeneralInformation....................................................................................4
3. PrinciplesofOperation................................................................................6
4. Installation&Operation..............................................................................8
5. Specifications............................................. ...............................................10
6. Warranty....................................................................................................11
3
1SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
Pleaseensurethefollowing:
• Donotreversethepolarityoftheconnections–ensurethattheRed
PositivewireisconnectedtothePositiveterminalofthebatteryandtheBlackNegativewireisconnectedtotheNegativeterminalofthebattery
• DonotflexorbendthepanelasthiscouldcausedamagetothePVcellsandtheencapsulationlayers
• Donotattempttochargenon-rechargeablebatteries.Thischargerismeantonlyfor12V,re-chargeablebatteries
• Contactthebatterymanufacturerforquestionsonthebatteryspecifications
• Alwayschargelead-acidbatteriesinawell-ventilatedarea.
4
2GENERAl INFORmATION
DescriptionTheSunChargersSC-05andSC-10areportablesolarpanelsdesignedfortricklecharging
of12VnominalrechargeableLeadAcidbatterieslikethoseusedincars,boats,RV’s,motorcycles,AllTerrainVehicles(ATV)andPoweredWaterCrafts(PWC).ThesecanalsobeusedasDCpowersourcestochargesmallelectronicdeviceslikecellphones,iPods,iPhones,PDAsetc.Therechargeablebatteriesinsidethesesmallelectronicdevicesarechargedthroughtheirchargingadapters.
Self Discharge and Trickle charging of Lead Acid BatteriesSelf-dischargeofabatteryistheelectricalAmpereHour(AH)capacitythatislostwhenthe
batterysimplysitsidleorinstoragewithoutanyexternalloadconnectedtoit.Self-dischargeiscausedbyelectrochemicalprocesseswithinthebatteryandisequivalenttotheapplicationofasmallexternalload.Forexample,alead-acidbatterystoredat30oC/86oFwouldselfdischargeataround1%perday.Theselfdischargeincreaseswithriseintemperature.
In order to compensate for the above self-discharge, a fully charged battery that is idle or is in storage will require trickle charging at a very low Trickle Charge Current of around C/100 Amps (where C is the Ampere Hour Capacity of the battery) to maintain the fully charged state.
Forexample,an80to100AhautomotiveSLIbattery(Starting,LightingandIgnition)willrequiretricklechargingcurrentofaround0.8to1A
NOTE:Asexplainedabove,thetricklechargingcurrentprovidedbyaTrickleChargerisaverylowcurrentwithavalueofaroundC/100Aandthisverylowvaluecurrentwilljustbesufficienttocompensatefortheselfdischargecurrent.Thiscurrentwillnotbeabletochargeadischargedbattery.Forfullscalechargingofabattery,astandardchargerwillberequired.
Features• EfficientDesignandSuperiorQuality
◦ Efficientpoly-crystallinePVcells–34cellsinseriesforthe4.8W,SC-05Paneland36cellsinseriesforthe9.6W,SC-10Panel
◦ SolarcellsareencapsulatedbylayersofEVAandfiberglassthatprovideexcellentmoistureresistanceandelectricalisolation.
◦ ABlockingDiodeisbuilt-inthuspreventingcurrentfromflowingbackfromthebatterytothesolarpanelindarkness.Hence,thepanelscanbeconnecteddirectlytothebatterywithoutusinganexternalBlockingDiode
◦ Toplayerofclear,UVresistant,PVF(PolyVinylFluoride–TradeName–Tedlar)providesgoodlighttransmissionandprotectionfromcutsandscratches
5
2GENERAl INFORmATION
◦ Sealedjunctionbox(housestheblockingdiodes)has3MofULlisted,sunlightresistantoutputcableterminatedwithaCigaretteLighterPlug(with10Afuse)forconvenientconnectiontoanybatterythroughtheon-board12VDCCigaretteLighterReceptacle
◦ 12VbatteriescanbechargeddirectlywithoutuseofaChargeControllerprovidedthatthecapacityofthebatteryis>33Ahforthe4.8W,SC-05paneland>60Ahforthe9.6W,SC-10panel
◦ Everymoduleisfullyinspectedandtestedtoensurecompliancewithelectrical,mechanicalandvisualrequirement
◦ Weatherproof-includesUVprotectionandprotectionfromweathereffectsof-35°Fto175°F(-37°Cto79°C).
• EasyInstallation◦ Slim-lineandlightweight–Nometalframe
◦ 4grommetfinishedholesinthe4cornersforfixingthepanel
◦ 12VDCCigaretteLighterPlugforconvenientconnectiontothevehiclebatterythroughtheon-board12VDCCigaretteLighterReceptacle
◦ Colorcodedwiresforeasyfieldwiring–Positive(Red),Negative(Black)
ApplicationsThesechargerscanbeusedforthefollowing:
◦ Totricklecharge12VDCLeadAcidbatteries.
◦ Tocompensateforbatterydrainduetolowcurrentsdrawnbysmallinstrumentationinvehicles.Electronicssuchasclocks,vehiclealarmsetcaddtothedrainofthebattery,evenwhentheignitionisoff.
◦ Tochargesmallelectronicdeviceslikecellphones,iPods,iPhones,PDAsetc.Thesedevicescomewithassociatedchargingadaptersthatallowchargingoftheirbatteriesthrougha12VDCpowersource.ThesechargingadapterscomewithaCigaretteLighterPlugforconnectingtoaDCpowersourcethroughaCigaretteLighterReceptacle.AstheSunChargercomeswithaCigaretteLighterPlug,asuitableadapterwillberequiredtoconverttheCigaretteLighterPlugoftheSunChargertoaCigaretteLighterReceptacle(thisadapterisnotprovidedwiththeSunCharger).
NOTE:The4.8W,SC-05and9.6WSC-10panelsarenotlargeenoughtopowerlaptopcomputers
6
3PRINCIPlES OF OPERATION
Electrical operating parameters of a solar panelAsolarpanelcanbeconsideredasacurrentlimitedsourceofelectricalpowerwitha
voltageversuscurrentrelationshipasshowninFig.1.
Voltage - Current Characteristics
Voltage (V), Volts
Curr
ent
(I), A
mp
s
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
0 5 10 15
VMP = 16 V
VOC = 20.2 VVOC = 21.5 V
VMP = 17 V
ISC = 0.6 A
ISC = 0.33 A
20 25
SC-05
SC-10
Fig. 1. Voltage versus Current characteristics.
Whenexposedtothesunandwithoutanyloadconnected,thesolarpanelswillgenerateanOpenCircuitVoltage(Voc).Assoonasaloadisconnectedtothepanel,thevoltageattheloadwilldropandthevalueofthevoltageattheloadwillbedeterminedbythecurrent(I)drawnbytheload.PleasenotethatattheOpenCircuitVoltageVoc,theoutputcurrent(I)iszero.
Theelectricalpower(P)inWattsfedtotheload=Voltage(V)XCurrent(I).
Iftheoutputofthepanelisshortcircuited,theoutputcurrentwillbelimitedtothemaximumcurrentthatthepanelcanprovide.ThisShortCircuitCurrentisdesignatedas Isc.
ThemaximumpowerPmpisfedtotheloadwhentheoperatingpointisnearthekneeofthecurveasshown.Atthisoperatingpointformaximumpoweroutput,thevoltageisdesignatedasVmpandthecurrentisdesignatedasImp.
PleasenotethatfortheportionofthecurvebetweenVoctoVmp,thecurrentdropsatafasterrate.Afterthat,thecurrentisalmostconstantandequaltotheShortCircuitCurrentIsc.
7
3PRINCIPlES OF OPERATION
Factors affecting voltage and current output of a solar panelThefollowingfactorsaffectthevoltageandcurrentofasolarpanel:
• Theoutputvoltageisnotaffectedverymuchbythelightconditions-undershaded/cloudycondition,theoutputvoltagewillnotvaryverymuchascomparedtobrightsunshine
• Theoutputcurrentisverysensitivetotheintensityoflightandwilldropconsiderablyundershadedorcloudyconditions
• Variationintemperaturehasasizableeffectontheoutputvoltage–aNegativeTemperatureCoefficientof-2.3mV/°C/Cellresultinginincreaseinthevoltageatlowertemperatureanddecreaseinthevoltageathighertemperature
• Variationintemperaturehasnegligibleeffectonthecurrentoutput• Theoutputcurrentcanincreaseby25%duetowhatisknownasthe“Edgeofthe
CloudEffect”.Asthesunmovesbetweenaholeintheclouds,thesolarpanelwillseethefulldirectsunlightcombinedwiththereflectedsunlightfromtheclouds
Battery charging operation using a solar panel (See Fig 1).Whenabatteryisdirectlyconnectedtothesolarpanel,thevoltageoftheloadedpanelwill
beequaltotheinitialbatteryvoltage.Atthispoint,thechargingcurrent(I)willbeequaltothecorrespondingvalueoftheinitialbatteryvoltageontheV-ICurve
Thecurrent(I)fedfromthepanelwillstartchargingthebatteryandthebatteryvoltagewillstartrising.Asthebatteryisalwaysconnectedtothepanel,thepanelvoltagewillbethesameasthebatteryvoltage.ItwillbeseenfromtheV-Icurvethatasthebatteryvoltagerises,thechargingcurrentwillstartreducing.
Whenabatteryisfullycharged,itwillnotrequireanyfurthercurrentforchargingexcepttheverylowselfdischargecurrent.Ifachargingcurrenthigherthantheselfdischargecurrentiscontinuedtobefedtoafullychargedbattery,itwillleadtodamagetothebatteryduetooverchargingresultinginoverheatingandlossofwaterduetoexcessiveelectrolysis(conversionofwatertooxygenandhydrogen).
Charging a battery by a solar panel using a Charge ControllerForfullscalechargingofabatteryfromasolarpanel,theoutputofthesolarpanelis
requiredtobefedtothebatterythroughaChargeController.TheChargeControllertransformstheinputpowerfromthesolarpaneltoregulatedvoltageandcurrentnecessarytosafelychargethebatteryaspertherequiredchargingalgorithme.g.2/3/4StageChargingAlgorithm.
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4INSTAllATION & OPERATION
Charging a battery from a solar panel directly (without using a Charge Controller)Fortricklechargingabattery,aChargeControllerisnotnecessaryaslongasitisensured
thattheShortCircuitCurrentIscofthesolarpanelislessthantheTrickleChargeCurrentspecifiedforthebatterythatisbeingcharged.Asstatedearlier,theTrickleChargeCurrentofaLeadAcidBatteryisaroundC/100(whereCistheAmpereHourCapacityofthebattery).
CAUTION!Inviewoftheabove,directtricklechargingofbatteriesusingtheSC-05andSC-10SunChargerpanelsshouldbeselectedasfollows:
SC-05: TheShortCircuitCurrentis0.33A.Hence,thecapacityofthebatterytobetricklechargedshouldbemorethan33Ah.
SC-10: TheShortCircuitCurrentis0.6A.Hence,thecapacityofthebatterytobetricklechargedshouldbemorethan60Ah.
AsthestandardautomotiveSLIbatteries(Starting,LightingandIgnition)arearound80to110Ah,thesecanbetricklechargeddirectlyfromtheabove2solarpanels.
NOTE1:TheoverallperformanceoftheSolarPanelisdependentonavarietyofconditionsincludingseason,orientationwithdirectsunlight,cloudyconditions,temperature,andshadowing.Asaresult,specifiedperformanceparameterswillbedependentoftheplacementoftheSolarPanel.
NOTE 2:Forsafetyagainstexcessivelyhighshortcircuitcurrentflowfromthebatterytoashortinthepanelcircuit,a10AfuseisprovidedinsidetheCigaretteLighterPlug.
Placement of the panel• Securelyplacethesolarpanelfacingthesun.Maximumpowerisgeneratedwhenthetopsurface
ofthepanelisorientedperpendiculartothesun.Hence,tiltthepanelinsuchawaythatitwillbeperpendiculartothestrongmiddaysun,between10a.m.and2p.m.Thiswillchangewiththeseasons.Inspringandthefall,atiltbetween40and45degreesfromthegroundwillsufficeformostNorthAmericanresidents.Alittlelessinthesummer(about20-30degrees)andalittlemoreinthewinter(about60-70degreesfromtheground).
• Usethe4grommetfinishedholesinthecornersforfixingthepanelintheappropriateorientation
• Makesurethatthepanelisnotshadedbyshadows• Whenusingthepanelinavehicle,thepanelmaybeplacedonthedashboardandfacingthe
sunasexplainedabove
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4INSTAllATION & OPERATION
Trickle charging the vehicle battery through vehicle’s on-board Cigarette Lighter ReceptacleWhenusingthesolarpanelinsideavehicle,connecttheCigaretteLighterPlugprovided
withthesolarpaneltotheCigaretteLighterReceptacleinthevehicle.Makesurethattheplugispushedincompletely.
CAUTION 1!Insomevehicles,theCigaretteLighterReceptaclegetsconnectedtothevehicle’sstarterbatteryonlywhentheIgnitionSwitchisturnedtotheAccessories(ACC)Position.Inthiscase,theIgnitionSwitchwillhavetobeturnedtotheAccessories(ACC)Positiontoenabletricklechargingofthebattery.
CAUTION 2!PleasenotethatwhentheIgnitionSwitchisturnedtotheAccessories(ACC)Position,powerisavailabletothebuilt-inaccessorieslikeradio,CD/DVDPlayeretc.Hence,pleaseensurethatalltheseaccessoriesareswitchedofftopreventdrainageofthebattery.
Trickle charging an external batteryWhenNOTusedinsideavehicle,connectiontothebatterycanbemadeusingoneofthe
followingmethods:• UseseparateAdapterCable(notprovided)thathasaCigaretteLighterReceptacleon
oneendandBatteryAlligatorClampsontheotherend.PlugtheCigaretteLighterPlugofthepaneltotheCigaretteLighterReceptacleoftheAdapterCable.ThenconnecttheBatteryAlligatorClampstothebatteryensuringcorrectpolaritybymatchingtheredclampwhichisPositive(+)tothePositive(+)terminalonthebattery.ConnecttheblackClampwhichisNegative(-)totheNegative(-)Terminalonthebattery.
Directly powering small electronics devices like cell phones, iPods, iPhones, PDAs, etcPleaseusethefollowingmethodfordirectlypoweringsmallelectronicsdeviceslikecellphones,iPods,iPhones,PDAsetc.(Asmentionedearlier,laptopcomputersarenotincludedasthe4.8W,SC-05and9.6W,SC-10solarpanelsarenotlargeenoughtopowerlaptopcomputers):
• UseseparateAdapterCable(notprovided)thathasCigaretteLighterReceptaclesonboththeends.PlugtheCigaretteLighterPlugofthesolarpaneltotheCigaretteLighterReceptacleoftheAdapterCable.ThenconnecttheelectronicdevicetotheotherCigaretteLighterReceptacleoftheAdapterCable.
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5SPECIFICATIONS
MODEL NO. SC-05 SC-10
TyPE OF CELLS Poly-crystalline Poly-crystalline
NO. OF CELLS IN SERIES IN ONE STRINg 34 36
NOMINAL RATED POwER 4.8W 9.5W
OUTPUT VOLTAgE (OPEN CIRCUIT), Voc 20.2VDC 21.5VDC
OUTPUT VOLTAgE (AT MAxIMUM POwER POINT), Vmp
16.0VDC 17.0VDC
OUTPUT CURRENT(SHORT CIRCUIT), Isc 0.33A 0.60A
OUTPUT CURRENT (AT MAxIMUM POwER POINT), Imp
0.30A 0.56A
CONNECTINg CABLE 3M,AWG#18,SunlightResistant
CIgARETTE PLUgStandardCigarettePlugwithreplaceable
10AfuseTypeAGC-10
OPERATINg TEMPERATURE -35°Fto+175°F(-37°Cto+79°C)
DIMENSIONS, MM (L x w x H) 304x254x13.5 304x381x13.5
DIMENSIONS, INCHES (L x w x H) 12x10x0.53 12x15x0.53
wEIgHT, Kg 0.55 0.9
wEIgHT, LB 1.2 2.0
NOTE: Specificationsaresubjecttochangewithoutnotice.
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6WARRANTY
2 yEAR Limited warrantyTheSC-05&SC-10SunChargerPortableSolarPanelsmanufacturedbySamlexAmerica,
Inc.(the“Warrantor“)arewarrantedtobefreefromdefectsinworkmanshipandmaterialsundernormaluseandservice.Thiswarrantyisineffectfor2yearsfromthedateofpurchasebytheuser(the“Purchaser“).Forawarrantyclaim,thePurchasershouldcontacttheplaceofpurchasetoobtainaReturnAuthorizationNumber.
ThedefectivepartorunitshouldbereturnedatthePurchaser’sexpensetotheauthorizedlocation.Awrittenstatementdescribingthenatureofthedefect,thedateofpurchase,theplaceofpurchase,andthePurchaser’sname,addressandtelephonenumbershouldalsobeincluded.
IfupontheWarrantor’sexamination,thedefectprovestobetheresultofdefectivematerialorworkmanship,theequipmentwillberepairedorreplacedattheWarrantor’soptionwithoutcharge,andreturnedtothePurchaserattheWarrantor’sexpense.
NorefundofthepurchasepricewillbegrantedtothePurchaser,unlesstheWarrantorisunabletoremedythedefectafterhavingareasonablenumberofopportunitiestodoso.
WarrantyserviceshallbeperformedonlybytheWarrantor.AnyattempttoremedythedefectbyanyoneotherthantheWarrantorshallrenderthiswarrantyvoid.
Thereshallbenowarrantyfordefectsordamagescausedbyfaultyinstallationorhook-up,abuseormisuseoftheequipmentincludingexposuretoexcessiveheat,saltorfreshwaterspray,orwaterimmersion.
Nootherexpresswarrantyisherebygivenandtherearenowarrantieswhichextendbeyondthosedescribedherein.Thiswarrantyisexpresslyinlieuofanyotherexpressedorimpliedwarranties,includinganyimpliedwarrantyofmerchantability,fitnessfortheordinarypurposesforwhichsuchgoodsareused,orfitnessforaparticularpurpose,oranyotherobligationsonthepartoftheWarrantororitsemployeesandrepresentatives.
ThereshallbenoresponsibilityorliabilitywhatsoeveronthepartoftheWarrantororitsemployeesandrepresentativesforinjurytoanypersons,ordamagetopersonorpersons,ordamagetoproperty,orlossofincomeorprofit,oranyotherconsequentialorresultingdamagewhichmaybeclaimedtohavebeenincurredthroughtheuseorsaleoftheequipment,includinganypossiblefailureofmalfunctionoftheequipment,orpartthereof.
TheWarrantorassumesnoliabilityforincidentalorconsequentialdamagesofanykind.
SamlexAmericaInc.(the“Warrantor”)
110-17FawcettRoad
CoquitlamBCV3K6V2Canada
(604)525-3836
110-17 Fawcett Rd
Coquitlam, B.C.
Canada V3K 6V2
T: 604 525 3836
F: 604 525 5221e-mail: [email protected]: www.samlexamerica.com
SC-05_SC-10_Manual_V2010-08-16
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