Hi All,
I came across this video where a fellow uses a small buck converter to match a 24 volt (28 -34 vdc) solar panel
to a 12 volt charge controller to charge a small gel cell battery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD7g5BNy5fMThis interested me because I have a few 50 watt (24 volt) panels and I would like to use them on some protects involving 12 volt gel cell batteries and a microprocessor. I also have a few cheap Ebay buck converters kicking around.
Now granted, this may not be the best accepted practice, but if one has the components sitting around collecting dust, maybe it's ok.
So my question is...
Does anyone see a problem with this setup when used for small batteries and low amperage?
I'm not really concerned with efficiency. I just want to use a surplus 24 volt panel to charge a small 12 volt battery using a 12 volt charge controller.
The microcontroller would run 24/7 so it will draw from the battery constantly.
Battery charges in the day and draws down at night.
I am aware of the necessary depth of discharge limitation that I must consider with the microcontroller draw.
I have multiple 50 watt, 24 volt panels if needed.