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TIDA-010042: Solar Panel Selection

Part Number: TIDA-010042
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: BQ24618

Hi,
I am designing a portable power station using a reference design given on this link.
https://www.ti.com/solution/portable-power-station?variantid=237090&subsystemid=237095

I need a MPPT charger and the above link recommended to use TIDA-010042 design.
I have following question.

  1. What is the maximum input power for this reference design?
  2. It says charge the battery system 12V or 24V. I have to charge lipo battery pack which might be 4S to 10S. Can it still work for it?

Thanks

  • Hi,

    Thanks for reaching out!
    This design can handle output currents up to 20A and supports 24V Batteries, therefore the maximum output power is 480W, but this can be increase by using different MOSFETs.
    It is not designed for charging LiPo batteries, but since it uses a digital power control the SW can be adjusted for LiPo batteries. 
    The general structure and topology is not limiting here.

    Best regards,

    Andreas

  • Hi 

    Thanks for your reply.
    Can you explain a bit more how i can adjusted it for lipo batteries? Let's say i am using a 4S lipo battery pack.

    Also, in the design guide, it shows it can support upto 48V batteries that means, it should support lipo 10S battery pack.


    Also, i received an email about response of  on this thread but it is not showing here.
    Where did he replied me?

  • Hi Ali,

    I am not sure why Henrik's answer is not showing up here. But we are aligning internally and I will keep on working on this thread.

    The point with 48V batteries is that this design features a buck topology, so you need the voltages to be higher than 48V but lower than the maximum input of 60V which limits the range the design is working, since the panel voltage will be regulated to the maximum power point by the algorithm. 

    I am not a expert on batteries, but I know that the charging of LiPo batteries needs a little more caution than a lead-acid battery. The current algorithm is not implementing a charging profile suited for LiPo batteries. If you are looking at charging LiPo batteries, it might be useful to add a dedicated battery charger IC like the BQ24618 (https://www.ti.com/product/BQ24618). These ICs are made for charging LiPo batteries and include all the necessary features.

    Otherwise you have to modify the charging profile in the software for TIDA-010042. But as said I am not an expert on how to do this exactly.

    Best regards,

    Andreas