Jinx wrote:
> I've asked the client to actually find out what his current system does.
> My take on the Morningstar is that he already has a buck-boost converter.
> On page 50 of the Charge Controller Manual it says that the minimum
> voltage to operate is 9V (which in his system he says still means several
> 10's of watts and, previous to this discussion, he thought was lost).
> It's not 100% clear whether that minimum voltage is boosted to the
> selected battery voltage but I'm guessing the unit is better than the
> manual and in fact a 9V - 68V range is available for battery charging.

It's hard to tell. From skimming the manual, my first guess would be that
9V is required to run the control circuits, but not that power would be
available for charging.

However, if your client says that it draws tens of watts at that voltage --
a couple of amps -- then yes, I agree that it would seem that it's boosting
the voltage to charge the battery.

Further investigation is required. You'd think that the vendor would make
a bigger deal about it in the documentation if the unit had this feature.

-- Dave Tweed
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