Safely Charge Your Solar Battery Bank with a Simple Charge Controller

In this video, I show the 12 Volt Charge Controller that I use for my small scale solar generator. This component is extremely inexpensive and simple, but it is a critical part of the solar setup. Photovoltaic Solar Panel Cells produce a varying DC Voltage depending on the amount of sunlight received at that moment. This varying DC voltage is hard to charge a battery with directly and can even drain your body when the sun isn't out unless it has a diode preventing current from flowing back in that direction. A charge controller takes this varying voltage and regulates it to a safe and stable voltage to charge your batteries. This allows you to charge your batteries more efficiently and prevents you from overcharging them. A quality charge controller will increase the lifespan of your batteries simply by giving them the correct inputs.

This exact component sells for $11 on amazon, and I will attach the product link below. The setup is simple as can be. There are only 6 terminals to connect wire. 2 of these terminals are for the postitive and negative wires coming from your solar panel. 2 are for the positive and negative wires for your battery bank. The last 2 terminals are for connecting your DC loads such as an USB ports or DC Car ports. It is always a good idea to fuse all power sources for safety. Since this is a 20Amp charge controller and I should never be above 9amps with my single panel, I added 15 amp inline fuses to the positive lead coming from the solar panel as well as one on the positive lead coming from the battery bank. This will protect my charge controller from any short circuits or power surges.