Campers&Motorhomes

Many campers dream of never having charge the battery. With solar panel and charge booster to get the dream closer. Promobil reveals how it works.

Many motorhome owners dream of romantic evenings in nature, by the sea or in the wilderness. Far from the next 230-volt connection works completely but only with additional power generators. The most commonly used solar modules that convert solar energy into electricity for the on-board battery, but their power is not enough to always have a full battery.

This is also due to the available space. For more manoeuvrable motorhomes as van vacancies on the roof and thus the space for larger solar panels are rather scarce. Their performance is still limited because they run only in the state and the sun does not always shines.

The booster for more independence
A good complement to the solar system is therefore a booster that optimizes battery charge while driving and ensures greater independence. Motorhomers had individual components so far since the spring of Büttner Elektronik but the so-called power packs are on now. The Power Pack 1 will be sold from 1489 Euro with a 90 watt solar panel. In the test car from Promobil the system has to prove how much freedom it really allows.

The booster interrupts the charging cycle of the alternator and charger comes in handy. For the latter manages, as it is used by many manufacturers, often not optimal charging the onboard batteries. The devices – such as the EBL of Schaudt – upload often only after curve, taking into account  the weather conditions – a higher charging voltage is needed when it is cold. In addition, the charging circuit is aligned on the charge of the starter battery. If it is full, the alternator regulates down their performance, so that the vehicle battery is slow to load.

At this point the battery Control Booster BCB 20/20 from the power pack increases the charging power during the journey to 20 amps. From BCB also values ​​such as the battery temperature are monitored. This means that the device is able to increase the charging voltage at low temperatures. It also has a switch, wherein the battery type can be set. Also for AGM batteries, which many chargers missing that are factory installed. This setting is important because AGM batteries ideally need 14.7 volt charge voltage, the standard electronics are only set to 14.3 volts.

Booster improves the battery charge even when these is a shore power connection. Standard chargers provide around 15 to 20 amps, the BCB 20/20 again 20 amps grabs it. A value that is generally far higher than the recommended ten percent of the battery capacity, and above all ensures that the batteries are charged much faster.