question

jesperwe avatar image
jesperwe asked

Can a BMS be used as charge controller for solar panel?

My setup: Yacht with Smart LPF 12.8V/160Ah battery, ChargeMaster 12/35-3+MasterShunt 500 and a BMS 12V/200A.

I want to add a solar panel (about 150W) for keeping up the charge when the yacht is in the marina without shore power.

Would it work to connect the panel to the engine generator input of the BMS? I am thinking the BMS does the needed overcharge protection.

Lithium BatteryBMSSolar Panel
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1 Answer
Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image
Daniël Boekel (Victron Energy Staff) answered ·

Usually: No, the BMS overcharge protection is for when a cell get's too high, and is an extra protection,

All loads / chargers should in normal conditions (dis)charge to the normal charge / discharge voltage, and the BMS should only have to interfere when something is wrong.

(discharge protection through a battery protect / Cyrix relay connected to the BMS can be an exemption on this)

4 comments
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jesperwe avatar image jesperwe commented ·

Thanks for clarifying. What would be the recommended way of connecting a solar panel in this configuration?

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Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ jesperwe commented ·

With 150W panel and a small smart victron mppt like a 75/15 or similar.

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jesperwe avatar image jesperwe Alexandra ♦ commented ·

The 75/15 is not specified to support Li-Ion as far as I can see?

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Matthias Lange - DE avatar image Matthias Lange - DE ♦ jesperwe commented ·

All Victron MPPT chargers have a charge algorithm for lithium batteries.
To change this you need the VictronConnect app.

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/victronconnect:mppt-solarchargers

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Related Resources

Victron VE.Bus BMS product page

Victron 3rd party BMS compatibility page

Additional resources still need to be added for this topic