Perigee Power Solutions
Solar Power Kit User Manual
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Battery Recharge Formula
Derive the time it takes to recharge a battery from safe discharge level to a normalized state. Evaluate the following:
1.
Panel Wattage / Panel Voltage Rating = Amps
a.
(45W panel / 17.3V rating = 2.6A)
b.
2.6 = panel amp rating
2.
Battery Amp hr / Amp = Time + 10%
a.
(40 / 2.60) + 10% battery variable = 16.92 hours
b.
16.9 = gross avg. time
3.
Calculate for 60% Safe Discharge Level
a.
(16.9 * 40% = 6.76 hours)
b.
6.7 hours is the avg. time to recharge from SDL in ideal charging conditions.
Notes:
Panel ratings may vary. You may substitute the 17.3V rating for 15V to normalize your results. 17.3V is the
rating for the 45W panels we sell. Increasing the panel wattage improves recharge time.
Most inverter manufacturers provide inverter efficiency at 1/3 and full load. You may substitute the 85% avg
we use for this (step “c”) with the MFG rating. We provide this data on a kit basis on the specification page
when it is available to us.
During recharge a battery at 60% SDL is actually 40% discharged, this is the value we need to use when
figuring recharge time.
These formulas are average estimates. There are potentially many other factors that can affect your
calculations including battery age (number of cycles it’s been through). Over time this will affect the
performance of the battery and as such we can expect the time derived from this formula to expand.
To use these formulas you have to know how to find the Amperage, Watts, and Volts of whatever it is you
want to run. There are several online conversion calculators. Look at the back of the device (or the power
adapter). There will be a label that gives the INPUT Voltage and having this info allows you to find:
o
Amps = Watts \ Volts
o
Watts = Volts * Amps
o
Volts = Watts \ Amps
