Switch on a Solar Panel

[hellosailor]

b-
My first gut reaction was "British engineering, I hope there's no one from Lucas working there." <G>
But it sounds like they might be combining the wind and solar power into a PWM (MPPT) input and then feeding the batteries from one output. Or perhaps not quite since that might involve diode losses, their tech sheet isn't specific about their magic beyond "This feature gradually reduces the speed of the turbine to an eventual “idle” thus extending the working life of the windcharger." meaning, their charger requires a wind trubine that can be speed braked in order to throttle down it's output, instead of using a dump regulator.
I'll give 'em points for a clever solution but if they're going to use a brake as a throttle...that's also going to mean routine stops at Meinke to get new brake pads in the windgen, isn't it? <G>
Still, at least someone out there is trying to make it happen.

[sailingaway221]

Have a look in the box on the bottom of your solar panel.....open it .....pull one of the wires off there and you no longer have a problem...really cheap switch!

[barnakiel]

Yep. Whoever makes the first one-in-all to charge from the alt / wind / solar will get some market share. I hate to think I waste all ´mine´ solar energy every time the alternator is running.

Sure it can be done but maybe the market is too shallow for it.

b.

[Bash]

one caution is that you don't want to hook a self-regulated wind gen, such an as Air Breeze or Air X, into a controller of any sort, even one of the new hybrid controllers, because when it switches the Air Breeze off, it will cause it to freewheel rather than brake itself. Not recommended.

(For those not used to these systems, they use a three-way toggle that shorts out the system to turn it "off," or allows it to freewheel in a true off mode, or causes it to charge.)

[Bash]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Yep. Whoever makes the first one-in-all to charge from the alt / wind / solar will get some market share. I hate to think I waste all ´mine´ solar energy every time the alternator is running.

Sure it can be done but maybe the market is too shallow for it.

b.

What I'm looking for, ultimately, is a controller that, rather than turning my solar off, will divert the charge to a 12v heating filament in my water heater. Again, a shallow market, but I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Bash

What I'm looking for, ultimately, is a controller that, rather than turning my solar off, will divert the charge to a 12v heating filament in my water heater. Again, a shallow market, but I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

The Trace C40/60 models will do that, and I imagine many other types will also. Problem is that you won't get much heating of the water from the solar unless you have a LOT of excess solar.