This International Standard establishes minimum requirements for the functioning and performance of battery charge controllers (BCC) used with lead acid batteries in terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) systems. The main aims are to ensure BCC reliability and to maximise the life of the battery. This standard shall be used in conjunction with IEC 62093, which describes test and requirements for intended installation application. In addition to the battery charge control functions, this Standard addresses the following battery charge control features:
- photovoltaic generator charging of a battery,
- load control,
- protection functions,
- interface functions.
This standard does not cover MPPT performance, but it is applicable to BCC units that have this feature.
This standard defines functional and performance requirements for battery charge controllers and provides tests to determine the functioning and performance characteristics of charge controllers. It is considered that IEC 62093 is used to determine the construction requirements for the intended installation which includes but is not limited to aspects such as the enclosure, physical connection sturdiness and safety.
This standard was written for lead acid battery applications. It is not limited in terms of the BCC capacity to which it may be applied, however, the requirements for test equipment when applied to BCC with high voltage or current, for example, greater than 120 V or 100 A, may be difficult to achieve. These approaches may be applicable to other power sources and other battery technologies like Ni-Cd batteries by using the corresponding values of cell voltages.