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Solar Panels 

 

prevent the maximum amount of energy passing from the panel into the battery 
during sunny conditions. 

If used in a high current application, although there is no risk of overcharging the 
battery, the charger may get hot, especially when solar radiation is very high. This 
can be minimised by mounting the panel at less than its optimum Summer angle, or 
even turning the panel to its Winter setting (see Sections 2 and 4). 

 

The  SP30,  when  connected  to  the  CR3000,  CR6  datalogger  or  the 
PS150  series  chargers,  must 

not 

be  used  to  charge  a  large  external 

battery, connected in parallel with the internal battery.  

It  is  also  important  to  note  that  the  SP30R  (with  shunt  regulator) 
should 

not

  be  connected  to  any  of  the  power  supply  chargers  or  to 

the rechargeable CR3000/CR6 charging circuit. 

3.4  Using solar panels with the CH150 and CH200 chargers 

Any of the solar panels which do not have built-in or secondary regulators can be 
used with the CH150 and CH200, with the exception of the SP100 which requires 
a high current charger. 

Please refer to the manual for these chargers which can accommodate two charge 
sources, larger panels and larger batteries. 

3.5  Using solar panels with Morningstar regulators 

SP60 and SP100 panels will often be supplied with high current regulators. Please 
refer to the instruction supplied with those regulators. Please note that the 
quiescent consumption of the regulator may be quite high, e.g. 8-10 mA. Please 
note the fuse warning below. 

4.  Optimum Battery Size 

The batteries fitted inside the rechargeable CR3000, and the ‘PS’ power supplies 
and the BP7 have a capacity of 7Ah. These batteries are suitable for operation with 
solar panels at most sites for many applications with slow to medium power 
requirements. 

However, the power consumption of a logging system can vary a great deal; 
factors such as high logging frequencies, external sensors, communications         
interfaces and multiplexers will all add to the power requirement. Very low 
temperatures can also reduce the effective capacity of the battery and the          
geographical location of the installation can greatly affect how much energy the 
panel can capture. 

It is essential to analyse all the power requirements and to try to arrive at a figure 
for the total power consumed over a daily period, normally estimated in ampère-
hours. The following general rules can then be used to estimate the size of panel 
and battery capacity required for reliable operation: 

 

When the solar panel is set at the optimum winter angle (latitude plus 15 
degrees from horizontal), the average power it can capture in mid-winter 
should be equal to your estimate of the average power needed by the data-
logger. Please contact Campbell Scientific for further details of the efficiency 

NOTE 

Summary of Contents for SP10

Page 1: ...Solar Panels Issued 20 5 15 Copyright 2010 2015 Campbell Scientific Ltd CSL 60 USER GUIDE ...

Page 2: ......

Page 3: ...her the repair is under guarantee or not Please state the faults as clearly as possible and if the product is out of the guarantee period it should be accompanied by a purchase order Quotations for repairs can be given on request It is the policy of Campbell Scientific to protect the health of its employees and provide a safe working environment in support of this policy a Declaration of Hazardous...

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Page 5: ...nt for recycling Any batteries contained within the product or used during the products life should be removed from the product and also be sent to an appropriate recycling facility Campbell Scientific Ltd can advise on the recycling of the equipment and in some cases arrange collection and the correct disposal of it although charges may apply for some items or territories For further advice or su...

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Page 7: ...fore beginning work Wear a hardhat and eye protection and take other appropriate safety precautions while working on or around tripods and towers Do not climb tripods or towers at any time and prohibit climbing by other persons Take reasonable precautions to secure tripod and tower sites from trespassers Use only manufacturer recommended parts materials and tools Utility and Electrical You can be ...

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Page 9: ...acid batteries 7 3 4 Using solar panels with the CH150 and CH200 chargers 8 3 5 Using solar panels with Morningstar regulators 8 4 Optimum Battery Size 8 5 Precautions 10 6 Maintenance 10 Figures 1 General View of SP5R SP10R with a Typical Mounting Bracket 2 2 Assembly Details of bracket for the SP5 and SP10 3 3a Assembly Drawing for fitting the multi mount bracket to a larger panel 4 3b Solar pan...

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Page 11: ...h consumes a significant amount of power e g an Eddy Covariance system the SP60 or SP100 panel is normally specified Under these conditions the battery capacity should also be increased to suit e g using a leisure battery of 70 100 Ah 1 Specifications SP5 SP10 SP30 SP60 SP100 Typical peak power W 4 5 10 10 10 30 5 60 5 100 5 Voltage at peak power 16 5 16 8 17 5 17 5 18 0 Current at peak power A 0 ...

Page 12: ...lamp provided The panel should face due South North in the southern hemisphere and the angle of the panel should generally be adjusted according to the following considerations For best performance in short term installations the panel can be set perpendicular to the solar beam at midday For longer term use over many months the optimum angle from the horizontal is the latitude of the site plus 15 ...

Page 13: ...ly details of bracket for the SP5 and SP10 The SP30 and larger standard panels are supplied with a Solar Panel Multi Fit bracket Part number 006607 This is a substantial bracket that fits many different sizes of panels using small clamps fitted under the rear lip of the frame at either side of the panel it works with panels up to 500 mm internal width This allows easy exchange of the panel in the ...

Page 14: ...Solar Panels 4 Figure 3a Assembly drawing for fitting the multi mount bracket to a larger panel Figure 3b Solar panel mounted on pole using the multi mount bracket ...

Page 15: ...s will vary with the model and make of panel supplied Smaller panels such as the SOP5 are fitted with a flying lead that is moulded into the back of the panel Larger panels have junction boxes on the back of the panel to which Campbell Scientific will normally fit a two core lead Newer designs of panels have a junction box which is fitted with industry standard single core leads with MC3 solar pan...

Page 16: ...ve to be wired into cables connecting the panel to the battery The wires of the shunt regulators are clearly identified Connect the shunt regulator as shown in Figure 5 Solar Panel Solar Batt VE VE VE 12V Battery Lead Acid To Datalogger Shunt Regulator Figure 5 Connection of Shunt Regulator for SP10R Panels Observe the correct polarity when making connections to the shunt regulator Failure to do s...

Page 17: ...S200 and CR6 manuals regarding their LED indicators The CR200X does not have an LED The LED only indicates that a voltage is being generated by the panel it does not necessarily indicate that the batteries are being adequately charged 3 2 1 Dataloggers with built in chargers the CR200X CR3000 and CR6 Any of the smaller solar panels can be connected directly to the built in charging circuit of the ...

Page 18: ...egulators Please refer to the instruction supplied with those regulators Please note that the quiescent consumption of the regulator may be quite high e g 8 10 mA Please note the fuse warning below 4 Optimum Battery Size The batteries fitted inside the rechargeable CR3000 and the PS power supplies and the BP7 have a capacity of 7Ah These batteries are suitable for operation with solar panels at mo...

Page 19: ...st effective to opt for a much larger battery to cover several months in the winter than to buy a much larger panel to give positive charging at all times If a larger battery is to be used with an existing power supply system e g a PS power supply either disconnect the existing supply altogether or connect the external battery to the existing supply using a diode resistor connection technique see ...

Page 20: ...ctly 2 It is important to match panel output to battery capacity and current drain Although an incorrect choice of components can lead to undercharging of the batteries in overcast conditions there is little danger of overcharging even if a large panel is used with low capacity batteries at very low current drain Some care may however be needed to prevent the battery cell temperature from rising i...

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Page 22: ...ientific Centro Caribe S A CSCC 300N Cementerio Edificio Breller Santo Domingo Heredia 40305 COSTA RICA www campbellsci cc info campbellsci cc Campbell Scientific Ltd CSL 80 Hathern Road Shepshed Loughborough LE12 9GX UNITED KINGDOM www campbellsci co uk sales campbellsci co uk Campbell Scientific Ltd France 3 Avenue de la Division Leclerc 92160 ANTONY FRANCE www campbellsci fr info campbellsci fr...

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