Solar Panel Control
Solar Controllers and Temperature Sensors
The Solar Controller is the brain of the solar panel heating system.
The controller monitors the temperature in the solar panel and also the temperature in the water cylinder or in the swimming pool.
During the night the panels will not collect any energy, so the controller will switch the circulation pump off.
As the sun rises the panels warm up. As soon as the controller senses that the panels are 6 degrees higher in temperature than the water in the hot water cylinder, the solar controller will start the solar circulation pump, which will then commence transfer pf the heat to the hot water cylinder.
Solar controllers can also store and output data to a computer or digital display.
Solar controllers can also have a freeze prevention feature which pulses the pump at regular intervals when the collector temperature drops below 10deg.c.
Domestic systems use a 12 volt solar powered controller and 12 volt pump which is powered by a photovoltaic panel. A backup battery is usually also incorporated in the 12 volt system.
The controller is an essential part of the Solar Heating System, identifying when the collector is hot enough to transfer the heat around the loop through the solar coil via a pump. It may also be configured to circulate the water to heat the panel in the event that the collector becomes close to freezing. This will only happen in exceptionally cold weather and will represent a negligible energy drain.
The controller can also have a re-cooling facility to cool the panels should they become too hot.
