Dc to dc Stepdown Converter for Solar Power System - Live Test!

Dc to dc Stepdown Converter for Solar Power System - Live Test! | Is it Worth it?

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3 жыл бұрын

The dc to dc step down converter also known as a buck converter can efficiently bring down voltage. But in the case of solar panels there is a big difference which it cannot control. That is the panels output voltage. MPPT charge controllers can keep the panel voltage at its maximum power point and extract the maximum amps. But unfortunately buck converters can't hold the panel voltage at its maximum power point. This causes the panel voltage to drop. Once the panel voltage drops the buck converter cannot increase the amps. Even if it rises it is only slightly better than a pwm controller. But again it depends on your solar panel combination. If you have a higher power and voltage panel then you can get visibly better amps from the system.
Ths video explains this with a live practical test with a 150w 18.5v solar panel ss the power source.
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Пікірлер: 161

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Check out this video on How to make a solar generator for your house! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/g8ekd6-Ur5epmaM.html

@rajupavhane8304 2 жыл бұрын

Nice information solar energy

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@LostSoulsMed. 7 ай бұрын

I think that this set up well work for higher voltage application to get that extra juice of power from the system, the problem with most PWM controller is that they only step down the voltage to the battery voltage for safe charging and the current remains the same(I mean that is how they work) but with mppt, you get that extra juice by converting that higher voltage to the charging voltage but also increasing the available current, this is why it is more efficient than pwms, in this set up the problem is that the panel produces different voltage as the sun shades changes as to the weather, so you have to constantly change the output voltage of the controller to the working voltage, my suggestion is to choose a step down converter with a constant 12v output, like those from the market with 6v-70v in to stable 12v out, with this the voltage is constant to 12v, and in series with the pwm, the pwm will do the rest providing, LVD and HVD for the battery and load control. This set up also poses an amount of loses, but most converter have 96%+ efficiency so for bigger system, I think its worth try .

@diysustainableliving2774 6 ай бұрын

Yep true.... the ones with higher voltage panels.

@hhn2002 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for doing this test

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Your welcome!

@tooyvivo5297 Жыл бұрын

The additional amps is for the buck converter consumption. It does not enhance the efficiency of the system, it just an additional load for the panel. Better to use two scc in parallel.

@diysustainableliving2774 Жыл бұрын

Better to use an MPPT scc as it will keep the panel side voltage at its maximum pp when converting the power.

@dannycaparida6656 Жыл бұрын

not working for pwm scc, working only for MPPT

@tech4green 6 ай бұрын

Nice video😍😍🤨👍

@diysustainableliving2774 6 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@Middle-Eastt 2 жыл бұрын

If you are charging lithium batteries and conscious of over charging, go for buck converter. Your BMS won't be able to charge the battery above buck converter set output voltage. I've not use my 18650 lithium 4S setup for 3 days, just to be sure it won't charge above 16.3V. that is 4V each cells. With the buck converter, all you need is a BMS to support the batteries.

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Yes thats exactly what the buck converter is best for.

@emenikeifeanyi3388 2 жыл бұрын

At what amp ... Did you set the buck converter please?

@rohanabintiabduljalil9299 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks your comment save my time

@HBrsz 2 жыл бұрын

With this setup, I presume you have a diode on the output side of the buck converter to prevent current going back into the buck converter when the panels voltage is lower then the batteries?

@HBrsz 2 жыл бұрын

Also, wouldn't it be a good idea to add a voltage regulator in between the buck and the battery, to prevent the bms working hard/continuously unnecessarily after reaching 16.8V?

@robertovalinhos27 2 жыл бұрын

👍👍👍👍👍👍

@HenrikHvalpen 2 жыл бұрын

I played with a thought, if my solar panel is very far away, I could use a buck converter to boost the voltage to 100v then use another buck converter to lower the voltage back down. But if my charge controller already use a MPPT the MPPT function wouldn't work?

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Dont do long distance wiring. Remember... every time the power goes through a device (other than an MPPT) there is a loss of around 10%... So keep it simple.

@yusifsuleiman5502 Жыл бұрын

Nice video, and thanks for the information. I have three 30watts panels, pls how can I connect the dc converter to improve their efficiency. Regards

@diysustainableliving2774 Жыл бұрын

It wont improve efficiency... As I showed in this video it dosnt provide a significant boost in power. For that you will need an MPPT charge controller. But for a 30w panel Ill suggest you buy a nother panel to increase the power as the cost of the panel is cheaper than an mppt scc.

@trywith-hesham2023 6 күн бұрын

I use this stepper to operate the inverter without a battery only

@diysustainableliving2774 5 күн бұрын

Yes you can use the buck converter in such a situation but keep in mind, the power output will vary through the day and if a cloud passes over it can lower the panel output as well. Thats why a battery or supercapacitor will help bridge these gaps.

@mariocarmariocar2044 Жыл бұрын

Hello, Thank for the tutorials you give us. Please can you work it out for me, what buck converter will I need to use with an PMPP 250Wp, UMPP 30.70v, UDC 37.80v, IMPP 8.18A, ISC 8.71A Solar panel? I want to use them to run a 125w freezer in case of emergency with inverter.

@diysustainableliving2774 Жыл бұрын

The buck converter I show in my video is 20A one. So if you are going for a 12v setup you will be maxing out this one. (Theorotical maximum power 250w÷12v= 20A. You wont get this amount of power in real life but you might get more than 15A since the voltage of your panel is 30V!) So make sure you use a cooling fan in this case. If you are using it to drop the voltage to 24v then there wont be an issue. You can use this buck converter without the fan.

@byondlight Жыл бұрын

Question for you...does it matter if you exceed the watts on a [cc] buck with solar panel? , of course not exceeding the v imput. If I parallel 3 200w panels than my current increases for my buck output... it is a 300W/20A Peak, 15A Sustained. Will use it for a 12v inverter. .or just 12v for small heating element ( to run while there's sunshine. These are extra panels outside of my existing system.. I could buy a cheap pwm but they have there limits and this way I don't have to invest in a battery.

@diysustainableliving2774 Жыл бұрын

If the output exceeds 20A. It has a high chance of burning out. I guess you can add one for each panel and parallel the output. But best will be to get a good MPPT SCC

@kevinbreaux6769 2 жыл бұрын

Hello, would the 12 v coming from converter still give the charge controller enough voltage to charge a battery? Does need around 14 volts to charge correctly?

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

To charge a 12v battery in bulk phase you need 14.4v. You cannot charge at 12v. My buck converter is set just above 14V. The point of this video is to show that the buck converter is not going to work as an MPPT controller in most cases.

@alipediasolutions7334 Ай бұрын

Agr pwm cntroler se buck convrter ko connection krle tw kya fridge chalega inverter fridge....without batter

@diysustainableliving2774 Ай бұрын

Please ask the questions in english. By using google translate I think the answer to this question is... the buck converter connects in series before the pwm scc. This is ideal if you have a lithium ion battery setup as it needs a particular voltage. As for the fridge either you need to use a fridge which runs on DC power or you have to have an inverter to run an AC fridge.

@whotu Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your vid. My Solar panel outputs 22 volts. I am using the same charger controller as you. But 17 volts breaks through the charge controller .. it may ruin the 12 volt battery .. Would this Buck Converter help bring the voltage down, to protect teh battery. Thank you for your help Namaste

@diysustainableliving2774 Жыл бұрын

These pwm solar charge controllers do a pretty good job of limiting the charge to 14.4v. But when you check it may go up to around 14.6v on the multimeter. Lead acid batteries can tolerate this for a short period. But in the long run it can lead to excess gassing and can cause reduced fluid levels that can, if not corrected early, damage your battery. So in such a situation if your battery frequently reaches full charge you can use this to limit the voltage to 14.4v or 14.3v to reduce fluid losses. I use this in my Lithium - Lead hybrid battery setup. Here I limit the voltage at 14.2v

@ryukhalfani2988 3 ай бұрын

Hello, i want to use this buck converter to my 60 aH spesification battery, is buck converter still compatible with that ampere?

@diysustainableliving2774 3 ай бұрын

As long as your buck converters output voltage is set to more than the battery voltage you can make it charge the battery. But please note!!!... what Im showing in this video is that for solar applications it is not going to be helpful if your solar panel voltage is not significantly more than your charging voltage. In that situation an MPPT will be more beneficial.

@manayagabhartwenversonm.7811 2 жыл бұрын

i have a question. regarding the comparison, why is it that the comparison is between the output efficiency of using a step down converter and the direct output of the solar panel into the output side of the pwm? isn't it more comparable if both setup is wired on the input of the pwm, and not directly to the output of the pwm (first setup)? note: the wire on first setup is on the output or battery side of the pwm, direct from solar panel the wire on the second setup is on the input of the buck converter, then from buck converter into the input of the pwm

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

You have a good eye!.... The reason is that I need to compare immediate results to make the test more accurate. Even if a tiny cloud crossed the suns path the values tend to vary a lot. If I got a significant difference like an MPPT I could have easily taken my time. But it is not working like that. Because of this I had to keep the buck converter connected at all times. I only have one buck converter with me and I dont know what will happen if I connect the solar panel directly to the output side of the buck converter. I dont want to destroy it. And besides the pwm charge controller dose nothing but act like an on off switch. So connecting to the input or battery out side is the same!

@manayagabhartwenversonm.7811 2 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 thank you for the explanation sir. I'm currently building my powerbank as of the moment. Hopefully I can also conduct the same experiment next time, I have a theory that the efficiency of the buck converter and the pwm charger will vary more noticeable if both are done with pwm inputs.. I'll share my results also to you sir as this is very interesting topic for me. Thank you again

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Good luck with your experiments. The only place where I assume the buck converter will work by increasing the amps is when you use a higher voltage eg: 40V panel for a 12v system. Otherwise its not worth it. You would be better off with an MPPT charge controller.

@sabbirahmad838 2 ай бұрын

@@manayagabhartwenversonm.7811😂

@baneverything5580 3 жыл бұрын

I bought a 12 to 24 volt to 12 volt 100 watt buck converter for my 100 watt solar panels. I think I can use it to directly power a 12 volt 100 watt rice cooker. My rice cooker says it can be powered by 12 volts to 24 volts though so maybe it can be used directly with a 100 watt panel without the converter. It contains a fuse though so I`m not sure if that would overload it and blow the fuse.

@diysustainableliving2774 3 жыл бұрын

A 100w panel should have a voltage rating of 18.5v. So this should be well within the rice cookers voltage requirement. BTW what is the rice cookers power rating? 100W is a bit too small! And how many 100w panels do you have?

@baneverything5580 3 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 I have three 100 watt glass panels and seven of the folding portable panels between 20 and 60 watts for USB devices. I`ve been buying one 100 watt panel each month because in the future I`ll be living in a large camper trailer and if the Sun is good there I plan to buy LiFePo4 batteries and build a system to power a small air conditioner. Right now I`m using two 700 watt Bluetti EB70 power stations to run a small AC refrigerator and a small freezer during power outages. I also have a Rockpals and a Golabs that are both 300 watts and they all work as a team to keep lights, fans, and radios going too. We have bad hurricanes and other storms here. I was very skeptical about the rice cooker but they work incredibly well. Mine can cook rice in about 35 minutes with my portable power stations and can boil eggs too. The display on the power stations shows the devices use about 95 watts. I bought two of them. This is the name on Amazon: Electric Rice Cooker 12V 100W 1.3 L Electric Portable Multifunctional Rice Cooker Food Steamer Food Steamer for Car for Cooking Soup Rice Stews(green)

@diysustainableliving2774 3 жыл бұрын

Wow great!.... I think in your case you since you will be needing a lot of power it will be good if you could get a powerful MPPT charge controller. The buck converter can be useful in certain situations but I think in your case you will be better off with an MPPT controller. Im sure you can still find plenty of uses for the one you have already got!

@readmore7180 2 жыл бұрын

pretty sure the charge controllers already have this incorporated.. well the not super cheap eBay ones do. the charge goes into the charge controller and you can set the voltage that comes out the other end .. l

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Well as you said... It is the MPPT charge controllers that have this function. PWMs can adjust the voltage by increasing or decresing the frequency it switches on and off.

@LostSoulsMed. 13 күн бұрын

Nice video. My question to this is that, does the dc buck converter don't suffer from converter collapse, in which when the batterys caoacity is large and the converter will draw more power than the solar panel produces? Does the PWM prevent converter collapse by regulating the charging voltage and current? That's the only question I had by the way this set up seems to be more efficient than using only PWM alone, cause pwm in their nature only steps down the voltage to the battery s charging voltage without converting that excess voltage to usable current, If the panels are producing 18v at 5amps, it will only step down the voltage to lets say 13v for charging a battery, and the current remains the same which is 5 amps, this set up enhances efficiency by the bucks converter converting the excess voltage (14vto 18v) to usable current, adding some usable current to charge the battery, in this demonstration your meter shows a current increse of .2amps, about 3watts of incresed power, not bad at all, and it will increase voltage increases. Good work, my only question to this, is that does the buck converter didn't suffer from converter collapse?

@diysustainableliving2774 13 күн бұрын

Hi!… Im not sure what you mean by buck converter collapse. But what happens when I connect a large load directly to the buck converter is that it draws the input side voltage ( the panel voltage) down drastically below the maximum power point. This reduces the efficiency. Thats why buck converters are not a replacement for MPPT charge controllers. However lets say you have a panel which produces 30V and you want to use it in a 12v system then you may see a benefit but as seen in the video when I am using a 18v panel the improvement is almost negligible.

@LostSoulsMed. 13 күн бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 yup, that moment when you directly connect the load to the buck converter and it drops the input voltage down is what I am referring to as converter collapse, and when the load connected to the buck demands more power than the solar panel is producing the whole system collapse and shuts down. You have my point, my question is when you connect that same load through the PWM NOT Directly to the bucks ouput, does the input voltage still go down or it still remains the same and only draw the available current that the buck can present to the PWM? Coz if that's true, the pwm solves the issue converters drawing more power than the panels can produce by directly charging the battery with buck converters from solar panels. Please verify my point thanks

@diysustainableliving2774 13 күн бұрын

Nope... The PWM will not help you in this situation. The PWM works like a high frequency switch. When the battery/load side voltage is low it just keeps the circuit open. However when it exceeds the fully charged voltage eg 14.4v then the frequency of how long it keeps the circuit open goes down untill it fully closes the circuit. There is no way that this will prevent converter collapse.

@LostSoulsMed. 13 күн бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 but how will you able to charge your battery without that converter collapsing? Does the charging current of your battery do not exceed the solar panel is providing so it doesn't collapse, have you tried charging a much greater capacity battery to see if the converter collapse will still occur? Thanks for your response.

@diysustainableliving2774 12 күн бұрын

Its like this. The battery voltage in the discharged state is 12.0v. In the fully charged state it is 12.8v and the voltage used to charge the battery is 14.4v. So all I have to do is adjust the buck converter output voltage to 14.4v to act like a charger.

@p.granger8824 11 ай бұрын

Just to clear up a few things per the comments. An MPPT controller does use Buck conversion, But that's only a piece of the entire MPPT controller. Only using a Buck converter is like having computerized fuel injection on a car, except you only have the injectors and no real control over them. It's rather pointless. I have a Drok buck converter connected to a small panel. To get anything meaningful out of it you have to constantly BabySit the potentiometers. If the solar exposure drops, the voltage will collapse to the battery level. You can dial it back to the MPPT voltage of the panel but it is Tricky to do. As the Solar exposure increases, now you have to change things again. As your load demand changes the voltage can collapse (perhaps you decided to charge your phone also). Now you are babysitting the potentiometers again. As the charged battery voltage rises, this will effect the input voltage of the panel also- sending it too high based on low amps being drawn. This requires more adjusting. A real MPPT controller automatically makes changes based on what is happening at Both Ends. Just because it uses Buck Conversion to do so, doesn't mean it's just a cheap adjustable Buck Converter! In short, these buck converters do not work well in the least as Solar Charge Controllers. I would bet most people would be better off just using a PWM controller, which is what these buck converters amount to (now with increased self load due to adding things into the chain) unless you constantly babysit them. If you have enough solar, you probably would not have to babysit one as much because you would have more power leeway. But, in that case you would then have to worry about blowing up a cheaply made buck converter with too many top input watts. In short, I'll stick to my real MPPT controller. Where these adjustable Buck Converters Shine is when you connect one to your battery and use it to change the voltage to what is required by your device to charge. They work well this way because they are then receiving Constant Voltage Constant Amps. I use one of these Buck Converters to change 12.6 volts to 3 volts for use with a AA battery charger off my solar bank. But, the bank is being charged with a real MPPT controller.

@diysustainableliving2774 11 ай бұрын

Yes... This is exactly what I found out the hard way :)

@p.granger8824 11 ай бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 The better cheap solution would be one of those modules that attempt to keep the panels voltage at around 17-18 volts. It's not really MPPT and the gains are still questionable vs PWM, especially on lower wattage panels. Like on the panel I have the Drok Buck on, I calculated the difference at like 10% IF I constantly babysat the controls and IF the solar exposure is great enough to even provide enough power to ride it back to 17.5 volts panel side (definitely not when shady). That 10% would make a bigger difference on a giant array, but one of these cheap Adjustable Buck Converters would likely overheat and explode if you put that amount of watts through it. If you had a lot more panel voltage -36, 48 it would be easier to control which is exactly the same thing manufacturers of MPPT controllers will tell you, "don't expect much gain if you don't have high panel volts."

@diysustainableliving2774 11 ай бұрын

Ya.... One cheap way is to add another panel but especially in places like the UK it would be best to get a good MPPT to get the maximum power out of your existing panel set up.

@katiekumcgil Жыл бұрын

hi hello,i was watching the way you were connecting the wires ,you connected the output of buck con to the solar panel input of pwm chrge con,and the wires you had in your hand we were unable to determine if this was from your solar panels or was it from the load you had on, because then those same wires you connected to the pwm chrge con Battery output, which will not give you any comparison of with or without the buck con unit, i think you need to revise your method here sorry mate.

@diysustainableliving2774 Жыл бұрын

Hi.. Thanks for the critical insight... The reason I did the video was to make a point that the buck converter dosnt work like a MPPT charge controller. Thats the point I wanted to make.

@standbyme6395 2 жыл бұрын

Put the buck converter after the solar charger to regulate voltage output

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

It will produce the same results.

@standbyme6395 2 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 I would think it would be more stable...did you try a capacitor on the input of the buck...

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Yes infact I did! :) ... with a 26v 1F size capacitor bank. There was no significant boost when the load is connected.

@standbyme6395 2 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 trying to set mine up for a step-down from a 24v panel to 24v batteries then to 12v bank...hopefully it will work when finished...if not I'll probably go with the lm317 approach...

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Lm317 can only handle 1.5A. It will be better if you go with one of those high power buck converters instead of using batteries in the middle. The one I am demonstrating is 20A. If you have a 24v panel the buck converter should be able to give more amps at 12V than what the panel outputs.

@FactEarther Жыл бұрын

I want to run an inverter off panel and Buck converter during day and charged battery bank at night. Possible??

@FactEarther Жыл бұрын

Solar cell as transfer switch??

@diysustainableliving2774 Жыл бұрын

Please watch my video on how to run a fridge with and without batteries. There I am showing how to run a fridge with direct solar power.

@shiavngdash4487 2 жыл бұрын

Hello Sir. It's an amazing video. I have some doubts can you please clear that for me? Q.1 - which buck converter is appropriate for 330W solar panel? Q.2 - Is it safe to connect the output of buck converter directly in inverter for direct use?

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Sorry for the late reply. Your comment was held up in the review section. Answer to q1- you will need a buck converter that can handle 330w eg. either 2 x 20A buck converters in parallel or one that is rated above 30A. q2- please check out the video where I run my fridge with batteries and without batteries!

@vulvo4763 2 жыл бұрын

What type buck converter to use i have a 270watt solar panel

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

I am showing that. In most situations the buck converter is not as good as an MPPT. If you want to get the maximum out of your panel you will be better off just getting an MPPT charge controller.

@mrjodoe 2 жыл бұрын

you can put eg 2x 4016 in parallel

@karoldurasiewicz4552 2 жыл бұрын

Asked about: XL4016 How to connect 2 pv panels in parallel (170Wp 30-35V) under the XL4016 and connect the XL pump to the pond 12V 19W ... without a battery, will it work on a sunny day?

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

If you have one 170w panel it will certainly run a 19w pump without a battery! And yes the XL4016 module which is capable of handeling 8A should easily work with the 19w pump.

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Is the pump 19w or 190w? Why do you plan to connect 2 large panels for a small 19w pump?

@karoldurasiewicz4552 2 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 because I want to use them for other tests by the way. I have a UPS + 75Ah battery. It is powered by the gate drive. I want to be able to power it off grid. These panels are used and I can buy them very cheaply. In addition, with large oversizing, the pump would work on a less sunny day.

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Great... Make sure the output load is within your step down converters rating. Those panels can produce a large ammount of power at the output that it might overload the buck converter. Eg: If you connect it to a battery 2 panels will definetly fry the 8A buck converter. Connecting to a small load such as a 19w pump wont harm it.

@karoldurasiewicz4552 2 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 yes, but can I adjust the output current to a minimum? Is there a risk that the voltage or current at the output may ripple if the voltage or current at the input fluctuates?

@In_the_name-of_ALLAH Жыл бұрын

Can step down buck converter power on the inverter without battery ..direct from solar cell?

@diysustainableliving2774 Жыл бұрын

Yes that can be done. But the power won't be stable like for example when you are running a load and a cloud comes over!... Everything will stop.

@In_the_name-of_ALLAH Жыл бұрын

Unfortunately, my dear friend. The inverter does a reboot with a low voltage whistle, even without loads, and I tried it myself today With a strong sun on the panel.my panel is 250watt 36v 8ah .the inverter 1k modified sign wave.what is your advice ?

@diysustainableliving2774 Жыл бұрын

Check out this video where I show how to run a fridge with and without batteries. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/r991g7F9nLzFaaM.html Also the modified sinewave inverter will struggle with heavy induction loads as induction loads will work better on puresinewave.

@marine1718 2 жыл бұрын

I have imars panels sp 50w have 3 of this have 2.2a at 23.8v only getting 3.7a on pwm controller can I use this dc to DC instead of a mppt controller?

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

It is not as efficient as an MPPT!... It can give a marginal increase in the voltage if the voltage difference is large. It would more cost effective to just add another panel considering the cost of MPPTs.

@marine1718 2 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 is not wort it I nedd mppt

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

@@marine1718 for the cost of an MPPT you can add another panel!... It will be more benificial for you in the long run.

@marine1718 2 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 I'm only getting like 3.5a in pwm controller if I change o mptt I will double that

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

@@marine1718 Well according to your panels if you have three of those in parallel you should get 6.6A even on pwm. I think you need to check your wires and connections first. In theory an MPPT should be able to get 10A from those 3 panels at 12v. But just look at the cost. If you are able to get a panel with a higher amp rating for the same cost as the MPPT you will be better off. Remember all electronic components can fail at any time. A solar panel will last much longer than an MPPT! Im just trying to point the cost benefit here.

@dotKey 4 күн бұрын

I have a different problem. Using 640wp solar panel. VOC is 25 and, 30amp in total. Also using hybrid PWM inverter with 12v battery. Currently I am getting 18-24amp from solar. Can I use 3 x20amp buck converter parallelly to improve the solar current as input of the hybrid inverter?

@diysustainableliving2774 3 күн бұрын

What is the VMP?... This is exactly the place where the buck converter will be useful due to the voltage difference, however Im not sure about placing multiple buck converters in parallel. In theory it should work. Please make sure the output voltage of all are equal so that they balance each other.

@dotKey 3 күн бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 The VMP is 21v (all 3) and VOC is 25v. If I reduce the voltage I have to make it 15v approx (by buck converter), so my inverter can charge the battery upto 14.6v (the inverter app displaying that). So 21v will be reduced to 15v. Do you think buck converter may increase the current?

@diysustainableliving2774 2 күн бұрын

I dont think you will get much of a gain here. Please note... buck converters are not as efficient as a true MPPT. Going down from 25 to 12v you should see an increase in amperage but from 21 to 15v the gain most likely will be negligible.

@dotKey Күн бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 thanks for the reply. I will not invest my time there. But still I will buy a buck converter to run my computer UPS directly from solar. The battery supports 12v 7amp. What voltage and ampere should I set for this?

@diysustainableliving2774 13 сағат бұрын

Usually lead acid batteries need a charging voltage of 14.4v. Just make sure this dosent affect the UPS inverters voltage limits.

@studentshelpdesk_FSM Жыл бұрын

How to step down dc to dc? input 450 DC Voltage to output 24 voltage

@diysustainableliving2774 Жыл бұрын

Yikes!... first is it solar power 450v or from a battery? If it is solar you will need an MPPT that can handle that voltage. BTW.. why would you want to reduct voltage from 450 to 24v? It might be easier to come down from 450v DC to 220v AC.

@keith_ferdinanduz 2 жыл бұрын

Can I trick the solar charge controller by feeding it with DC power adapter (19V 3A laptop charger) through the buck converter so that solar charge controller think it is a solar panel and charge the battery. Because, connecting DC adapter directly to the PWM solar charge controller does not charge the battery. I've tried that...

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

No I dont think that will solve your problem. I think the most likely reason is the output of the dc power adapter. What is the size of your battery? If the output is 19v it can definetly charge a 12v battery but the amps should be adequet for the size of the battery. You dont need a buck converter if you are using a dc power adapter. Just make sure the power output is adequet or let it charge for a longer time.

@keith_ferdinanduz 2 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 I have a 12V 7.2Ah VRLA battery. I bought a PWM solar charge controller, because it has battery charging and battery protection features. But since I don't have a solar panel (yet), I was thinking of changing the battery through the PWM solar charge controller by using the laptop charger. Since the SMPS have self regulations of voltage and current, PWM controller cannot recognize the SMPS. That buck converter has CC/CV, and you already connected that to your solar charge controller. I was hoping that same way instead of connecting a solar panel, what if I connect the DC charger to the buck converter? Have you tried that (as an experiment)?...

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Im not sure how the laptop charger works. The panel produces a pure dc output. It is at the PWM charge controller that the dc is converted to a high frequency on and off state. If the laptop charger also produces such frequency on the output then the solar charge controller cant adapt accordingly. Before trying the buck converter why dont you add a large capacitor at the dc power adapter output to stabilize any high frequency fluctuations.

@keith_ferdinanduz 2 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 thanks!... I'll do some experiments and if I succeed, I'll update you.

@alibilgeozturk2227 Жыл бұрын

It is possible. I connected a laptop adapter (19v 3.6a) to a buck converter and reduced the voltage to 14.4. Then I used this setup to charge a lifepo4 battery (50a). It worked.

@321letsgoo 2 жыл бұрын

i have 375 watt 44 Volts solar panel...can i charge my 12 volt tubular battery with this buck converter??

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

This buck converter is rated upto 40v but should be able to handle the 44v panel. Although it might work better than a PWM charge controller alone the efficiencies are not comparable to an MPPT charge controller. If you can afford an MPPT then go for it. If not then this buck converter should be enough to serve the purpose in your situation.

@321letsgoo 2 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 thank you so much for the information

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Just make sure the amps are within the rated value. 375÷14=26amps which might burn a 20A buck converter.

@321letsgoo 2 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 i don't know much about it. but the panel gives 9 ampere at it's peak. i've measured

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

The buck converter efficiently reduces the voltage, at the same time if the power input is high it will increase the amperage on the output side. 375w panel theortically can cause the amps on the output side to go above 20A. If this happens the 20A buck converter will get destroyed. In that situation you could try with a larger buck converter or two 20A buck converters in parallel.

@musicvision1701 3 ай бұрын

Please share connection diagram...

@diysustainableliving2774 3 ай бұрын

From solar panel power goes to the Buck converter and from there to the battery. If there is not a significant difference from the panel voltage to the battery you are not going to see any significant improvements. This is not going to acheive the values you wll find on an MPPT.

@musicvision1701 3 ай бұрын

Can I use 575w panel direct with 24v to 12v Buck converter?@@diysustainableliving2774

@diysustainableliving2774 3 ай бұрын

You will need a powerful one for that. It depends on the rated power of the buck converter. You cant use a 300w buck converter for a 575w panel.

@guywhoknows 2 жыл бұрын

Your buck shouldn't drop in voltage to battery voltage when charging. I charge my batteries when it's not sunny with the buck and not the pwm charger. There is always a fair increase in current. But I'm using 24v (37v) panels. As we know the difference in voltage makes for amps, so you'd never get much for the 2 volts or so from a 18v (16v) panel.

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Yes exactly!... It works well only if there is a large difference in voltage.

@guywhoknows 2 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 don't forget depending on the battery type and SOC the current can be very different. - ohm's law will give the voltage to amp conversion. Basically if I have 20v 5 amps and I want 10v I could get 10v 10amp. Realistically probably about 8.7 amp. Or worst case 6.25amps. The other factor is battery state, after 80% charge, you can drop to around 2 or less amps, and it get slower the more the battery is charged. Regardless of the amps on the input or gained in conversion.

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Yes you are correct. The point of this video is to show that buck converters are not equevalent to MPPTs. And it might not be worth it at all depending on the system.

@guywhoknows 2 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 they can be if you pull down the voltage to the vmp. I find they don't, there a little over and require 'tuning' which is what the mppt does. Mppt are not a magical fix all. There just a buck with variable resistors that micro controlled to do the math.

@dantronics1682 Жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 you were not comparing the buck converter with an mppt though, you was using a pwm controller, I have one of them and they are crap, the only disadvantage of using the buck converter on its own is if the transistor was to blow it would send the full panel voltage to the battery, the way you wired it up with the pwm after the buck is the safest way to do it since it will go into pwm mode if there is high voltage on the input

@ericomeli2235 2 жыл бұрын

In the description, I see this "buck converters can't hold the panel voltage at its maximum powerpoint". Could you please explain what you mean by that sentence

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

To extract the maximum power from your panel the panel side voltage has to be held at its maximum power point to give you the maximum power at the output. MPPTs are capable of doing that thereby giving you higher amps than a pwm controller. But buck converters depending on the energy available pull down the voltage. Thus you are not able to get the best output like an MPPT. It might be helpful if there is a big difference in voltage eg. 40v to 12v.

@ericomeli2235 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you

@dantronics1682 Жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 considering an mppt works off a buck converter how can you say the buck converter isnt as good as the mppt?

@robertuhrikpersonal 24 күн бұрын

please share schematics...

@echosolarpower3783 Жыл бұрын

Can I use 24 Volt Solar Panel with 12 volt Inverter & 12 volt Battery

@diysustainableliving2774 Жыл бұрын

Yes.. That is one of the best uses for the buck converter. It will stabilize the voltage but it wont give a significat increase in power. If you want to get the maximum out of your panel then use a MPPT charge controller.

@learnmore2753 2 жыл бұрын

sir ask lang pede ba ih direct ang solar dc step down sa ups power supply??

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Can you please say that in english. I cant understand the language!

@learnmore2753 2 жыл бұрын

sir can i use dc step down to direct in ups power supply ?

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

You mean instead of a battery? Certainly... but when a cloud covers your panel whatever you are running will shutdown. It is always better to add at least a small battery to your setup to ensure there is enough predictable power when you need it.

@learnmore2753 2 жыл бұрын

okay thank you sir i subscribe you thank you so much for the information

@allitsolution4417 2 жыл бұрын

Dont buy this product for. Solar charge controller, i already checker it. Its just money wasted... And thanks for making this video

@diysustainableliving2774 2 жыл бұрын

Yes I also realized it only after I bought and tested it. But it has one benefit that might be of use. By having control of the output voltage you can use this as a charge controller for lithium cells. Im currently testing this and the voltage regulation is good.

@Middle-Eastt 2 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 am also enjoying it on my lithium batteries, no more over charging

@emenikeifeanyi3388 2 жыл бұрын

@@Middle-Eastt can it be used in place of bms?

@standbyme6395 2 жыл бұрын

@@emenikeifeanyi3388 no...a bms regulates each bank of cells...this will only regulate total voltage and could lead to runaway...

@emenikeifeanyi3388 2 жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 please sir at what output voltage is good to charge a 2pcs of 12v 100ah lithium battery pack that is using for 24v inverter system? (Please am confused since each battery is using 12v bms system)

@PopCorn-xo8lm Жыл бұрын

wrong testing. must be before and after buck converter, not before converter and battery port.

@diysustainableliving2774 Жыл бұрын

First I didnt want to connect my panels output to the buck converter output side. Second is that I didnt want the solar charge controller further downgrading my solar panel output for the test as this is a test comparing direct solar panel output vs buck converter output. I wanted to see whether there is a very significane improvement in the buck converter. The solar charge controller function is to block direct solar panel power to the buck converter output.

@PopCorn-xo8lm Жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 not good practice if you connect the solar panel directly to the battery. the comparison must be with or without buck converter but both with the presence of the scc.

@diysustainableliving2774 Жыл бұрын

As I mentioned I didnt want to put the direct solar power to the output side of the buck converter. I know that I could have just removed the buck converter and done it as how you said. But if I were to remove the buck converter and put it back the results cannot be comparable as the solar power varies with the clouds. And even in this case the difference is so minute that in this setup with a panel producing 18.8v at maximum pp the buck converter is not as good as an MPPT scc!

@PopCorn-xo8lm Жыл бұрын

@@diysustainableliving2774 use switch

@diysustainableliving2774 Жыл бұрын

The issue is, as long as the voltage difference is not very significant you wont get a significant improvement in amps, like an MPPT. MPPT sccs are better in the case of solar panels.