Solar Boost™ 3000i
12-Volt 30-Amp MPPT Solar Charge Controller & Display
Blue Sky Energy's new Solar Boost™ 3000i solar charge controller charges 12V batteries at up to 30 amps from conventional 36-cell, 12-volt PV (photovoltaic) modules. Patented Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) technology operates the modules electrically in a manner that harvests all available PV power and can increase charge current up to 30% or more compared to conventional PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) type controllers.
The voltage step-down operation of the MPPT power converter also allows use of higher voltage, lower cost 60-cell grid-tie PV modules at up to 22 amps of output current. The process of converting the much higher 60-cell input voltage down to battery voltage may produce a charge current increase approaching 200%.
Solar Boost 3000i's sophisticated 3-stage charge control plus auto/manual equalization optimally charges flooded, GEL and AGM lead-acid chemistry batteries. A user-configurable auxiliary output is also provided, which can serve as either a 20-amp LVD load controller, 20-amp lighting controller with LVD, or 2-amp auxiliary battery charger for a second battery, such as the engine start battery in an RV.
The low-power LED display combines excellent readability with very low power consumption, includes an automatic nighttime dimming feature, and may be turned off completely if desired. The high-accuracy display shows battery voltage, input & output current, auxiliary battery voltage, and computes total solar charge amp-hours produced. To provide optimal charge control for various battery types, all digital setpoints for charge control and load control are user adjustable.
Solar Boost 3000i may also operate as an IPN Network Master, controlling up to 7 remote Blue Sky Energy IPN-compatible charge controllers, such as the SB3024iL. Blue Sky Energy's IPN Network allows multiple charge controllers to communicate with each other and coordinate their activities to charge the battery as a single, coordinated charging machine. All networked controllers display through the SB3000i's digital display and may share a battery temperature sensor, IPN-ProRemote display for high-accuracy battery system monitoring, or Universal Communication Module (UCM) for remote access over the Internet.