Alternative Power sources - Charge Controller vs. Regulator?

Author

Charge Controller vs. Regulator?

Antipodean Bucket Farmer

2005-08-17, 12:21 am

Basic terminology question:

What exactly is the difference between a "charge
controller" vs a "regulator"?

My basic understanding is that their function is
primarily to protect batteries from overcharging(?)

Thanks...

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Paul

2005-08-17, 2:21 am

In general, I would say that a regulator puts out a preset voltage.
A charger puts out a specific voltage, depending on charge state of the
battery.

"Antipodean Bucket Farmer" <usenet2005@THE-DOMAIN-IN.SIG> wrote in message
news:MPG.1d6c3cabec51e19e989930@news.xtra.co.nz...
> Basic terminology question:
>
> What exactly is the difference between a "charge
> controller" vs a "regulator"?
>
> My basic understanding is that their function is
> primarily to protect batteries from overcharging(?)
>
> Thanks...
>
>
> --
> Get Credit Where Credit Is Due
> http://www.cardreport.com/
> Credit Tools, Reference, and Forum

Robert Morein

2005-08-17, 4:21 am

"Paul" <pitcl@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:V3zMe.6425$%K4.1506@trnddc09...[color=darkred]
> In general, I would say that a regulator puts out a preset voltage.
> A charger puts out a specific voltage, depending on charge state of the
> battery.
>
> "Antipodean Bucket Farmer" <usenet2005@THE-DOMAIN-IN.SIG> wrote in message
> news:MPG.1d6c3cabec51e19e989930@news.xtra.co.nz...
That sounds right to me. Elaborating a bit, a charge controller has
functions to charge a battery according to specific instructions of the
battery manufacturer. For example, most lead acid batteries are specified to
have three charge stages: bulk, absorption, and float. Roughly, each
successive stage charges the battery at a slower rate.

Some battery types are charged constant voltage, for at least part of the
cycle, while others are constant current. A charge controller is supposed to
be aware of the state of the battery, and choose the charging rate and
method.

By contrast, a regulator is a single purpose, electronic device, which
maintains the output according to one specification of the output value.
Typically, there are voltage regulators, and current regulators, though
theoretically, there could also be power regulators. A regulator is
completely unaware of what is hooked up to it.

Dave

2005-08-17, 6:21 pm

>> >[color=darkred]

I believe they are the same thing- In Australia we tend to call them
regulators while the rest of the world calls them Charge controllers.

OzDave
www.rpc.com.au

Scott Willing

2005-08-17, 7:21 pm

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 20:41:53 GMT, "Dave" <dave456xx@nospam.com> wrote:

>
>I believe they are the same thing- In Australia we tend to call them
>regulators while the rest of the world calls them Charge controllers.
>
>OzDave
>www.rpc.com.au
>

I just got caught in a similar semantics trap, given that I
automatically associate the term "charger" with line-powered battery
chargers and "charge controller" with (usually but not necessarily DC
powered) battery chargers.

Once upon a time, charge controllers were just simple voltage
regulators, which is no doubt where the Oz convention came from.

In industrial electronics, in my experience (admittedly this may also
be North America-centric) the term "regulator" is universally reserved
for a circuit that attempts to maintain either a constant voltage or a
constant current.

At the end of the day there is no definition set in stone so you just
gotta dig deeper to know what is really meant.

AFAIK. TTBOMK. YMMV. ETC. :-)

-=s

JoeSixPack

2005-08-20, 12:21 am

"Scott Willing" <NOTwilling2BSPAMMED@mts.net> wrote in message
news:16c7g155lbp50d5qviur9o5hk98mt2lpjr@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 20:41:53 GMT, "Dave" <dave456xx@nospam.com> wrote:
>
>
> I just got caught in a similar semantics trap, given that I
> automatically associate the term "charger" with line-powered battery
> chargers and "charge controller" with (usually but not necessarily DC
> powered) battery chargers.
>
> Once upon a time, charge controllers were just simple voltage
> regulators, which is no doubt where the Oz convention came from.
>
> In industrial electronics, in my experience (admittedly this may also
> be North America-centric) the term "regulator" is universally reserved
> for a circuit that attempts to maintain either a constant voltage or a
> constant current.
>
> At the end of the day there is no definition set in stone so you just
> gotta dig deeper to know what is really meant.

I agree. The more advanced the circuitry of a battery charger, the more apt
the term "charge controller."

Steve Spence

2005-08-21, 8:21 pm

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I recently acquired a new "charge controller" that I use to keep my
house batteries up to snuff. It's microprocessor controlled, and
constantly monitors the status of the batteries, adjusting the charge to
match. It also detects whether sulphation is present, and kicks in a
desulphation process. If line voltage is low, it accommodates, to make
sure charge voltage stays in spec.

It's a Schumacher WM-10000A 40 amp charger. I'll be discussing it on my
blog in a couple of days, as I'm going camping tomorrow, and just
charged my pack. I'll be running a Coleman 40 quart peltier cooler, plus
some fluorescent lights at the site. The pack is two 115ah deep cycle
12v type 27's from wally world. Also running a vector 750 watt inverter.
I'm in the process of building a DIY PV panel from individual cells (see
http://www.green-trust.org/2005/08/...-pv-panels.html) for
this pack as well.

--
Steve Spence
Dir., Green Trust, http://www.green-trust.org
Contributing Editor, http://www.off-grid.net
http://www.rebelwolf.com/essn.html

JoeSixPack wrote:
> "Scott Willing" <NOTwilling2BSPAMMED@mts.net> wrote in message
> news:16c7g155lbp50d5qviur9o5hk98mt2lpjr@4ax.com...
>
>
>
> I agree. The more advanced the circuitry of a battery charger, the more apt
> the term "charge controller."
>
>

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