12v Solar Battery Chargers

A solar battery charger takes energy generated from solar panels and feeds it into a leisure battery or battery bank. The charger will control how much and how fast the batteries are charged. It will also ensure batteries are not overcharged.

Yes, our solar panels kits usually include a solar battery charger. The kits are designed to provide the right amount of power with the right hardware in the right situation. You can upgrade parts of the kit if you like and we’ll be happy to advise on upgrades if you want to expand your current solar panel kit.

An MPPT solar battery charger is the most efficient charger around. The MPPT stands for ‘Maximum Power Point Tracking’ and is an electronic charger that uses intelligence to provide exactly the right amount of charge to the battery in every situation. They can be much more efficient than standard chargers but are more expensive due to their complexity.

Most of our solar panel kits come with the correct size charger but if you’re building your own solar panel setup, you can use this basic calculation. Add the total watts of solar panels and divide by either 14.4 for 12v systems, 28.8 for 24v or 58.8 for 48v systems. Alternatively, talk to one of our team who would be happy to help.

There are three main terms you need to be familiar with when buying a solar battery charger. Watts (W) is a power rating made up of current in amps (A) x voltage in volts (V).

Kilowatt hours (kWh) is power in watts (W) x time in hours (h) and Battery capacity is measured in amp hours (Ah) which is energy in watt hours (Wh) / voltage in volts (V).

You could charge a battery directly from a solar panel but it wouldn’t end well! Solar panels would provide constant power during daylight hours, potentially overcharging and cause the battery to gas. A solar battery charger ensures the battery is charged steadily and not overcharged to help maintain longevity and safety.

All solar panel kits come with full installation instructions and we provide professional installation if required, but to answer the question, you connect your solar battery charger to your batteries and then the solar panels to the charger. That way you’re ensuring everything is ready to accept the energy before you begin feeding that energy into the system.

Our solar battery chargers are some of the best that money can buy and are designed to last many thousands of charges. Much will depend on how it was installed, its operating conditions and how often it is used but you can reasonably expect many years of faithful service from your solar battery charger.