Monitoring solar panel systems
Charge controller monitoring or battery monitoring
Monitoring solar panel systems on boats, campervans and caravans can be completed through your solar panel charge controller or from your battery:
Monitoring solar panel systems from your charge controller
This provides good information on the solar system but does not accurately monitor the battery.
Monitoring solar panel systems from your battery
Monitoring the battery is important to prolong the life of the battery. However, monitoring through your battery does not give a complete picture or solar performance.
Charge controller monitoring benefits
- Detailed information on your solar system including watts, volts and current. This lets you know if the solar system is working.
- Provides the voltage of battery which gives an approximate state of charge of the batteries.
Battery monitoring benefits
- Gives a relatively accurate state of charge of your battery (providing a shunt is installed). Knowing the state of charge of your battery is essential to prolong the life of your battery.
- Shows how much energy is going into or being taken out of your battery.
Charge controller monitoring disadvantages
- Does not give information on the total energy going into your battery and being drawn from your battery.
- Only gives an approximation of the state of charge of your battery through the battery voltage.
Battery monitoring disadvantages
- Gives an indication that the solar system is working but not how well it is working.
The best way to monitor solar panel systems
The optimal solution is to have solar panel charge controller monitoring and battery monitoring. This monitoring can be via bluetooth or fixed always on displays. They can be linked with bluetooth, wi-fi, infrared or physical wires.
- The starter battery can be monitored with a cheap 12V battery monitor. This is because the voltage of lead acid batteries gives a good indication of the state of charge of the battery if there are no charging devices or loads being applied. The voltage alone lets you know if the alternator or solar panel system is charging the starter battery.
- The solar charge controller lets you know whether the solar system is working and how much the solar panel system is helping to charge the service battery.
- The battery multifunction display (with battery shunt) lets you know the state of charge of the service battery and how much energy is going into and out of the service battery. A battery monitor with shunt is essential in LifePo4 battery systems to ensure longevity of the battery – it allows you to check the service battery is being charged fully (but not overcharged) and also not being over discharged. A shunt is a device which accurately measures the direction and amount of current.
