Looking for a very reliable and high performance solar charger for your RV or campervan?  Want an amp-hour counting solar charger to fully charge your truck camper’s AGM batteries and prevent sulfation?  Want a charge controller that also doubles as a current limiting DC-DC alternator charger? Want a solar charge for your lithium batteries with customizable low temperature cut-off?

The SC-2030 is a high performance compact PWM Solar Charger that (when used with the TM-2030 battery monitor) offers significant control over the charging process to extend the life your expensive batteries.

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Smart Solar Charger

Our competition calls their solar charger “smart” because it can connect to a smartphone.  We call our controller “smart” due to the amount of electro-chemistry and battery charging principles we have packed into its firmware. In addition, our solar controller can also connect to smartphone, tablet or laptop computer!

Compatible with lead-acid, lithium LFP, Nickel-Iron & other battery chemistries. Low temperature charging cut-off at user specified temperture (10C to -5C).

● Uses Amp-hrs returned in addition to voltage & trailing current criteria to ensure fully charged condition and minimize or delay sulfation – the most compelling reason to use the SC-2030.  Here’s a quote from page 19 of the Sun Xtender AGM Battery Technical Manual – “Typically, between 102% and 110% of the discharged ampere-hours must be returned for full recharge. If the recharge is insufficient, the battery’s state of charge will gradually “walk down” as it is cycled, resulting in sulfation and premature failure.”

● Has a built-in shunt for measuring solar current

● Well suited for use with RV & camper solar installations where high panel temperature cause a significant drop in panel voltage & power

Please see this illustration for our recommendations on wiring panels to the SC-2030.  These recommendations emphasize reliability & ease of troubleshooting (very important for boondocking).

● More reliable than many MPPT controllers.  When delivering 31 Amps to a battery bank, the SC-2030 consumes under 5 Watts for its operation.  Even the most efficient MPPT controller may consume 30-35 Watts.

● May be used as a DC-DC charger to charge house battery using the vehicle’s battery/alternator, with a 30 second delay. May also be used with a 16 V DC power supply as a high performance shore power charger.

● For 12 or 24 V battery systems.

● Up to 30 amps maximum solar current. Charger will safely reduce output if panel current exceeds 31 amps.  Note: Open Circuit Voltage limit from panels must not exceed 55 Volts.

● Optional Temperature compensation if temperature sensor is used.

● Small size: 3 x 5 1/4 x 2 3/4 inches; 7.6 X 13.3 X 7 cm.

● Easy programming for charging your batteries:  The TriMetric  has 8 adjustable charging parameters to match any battery type.  Enter your charging data using the TM-2030 based on battery manufacturer recommendations.  Get your charging data here.

● If TM-2030 disconnected, the charger functions as a 3 stage charge with its built-in profiles for AGM and flooded cell batteries.

● When designing the SC-2030 we checked many battery company websites, and spoke with experts in their companies to find out what they recommend for charging before we designed it. Many solar charge controllers have very limited ability to adjust–a few even charge with voltage that is lower than what any battery company recommends.

As a result of this research we’ve added two unusual features to ensure that batteries are not damaged by over or under charging:

1. Amp hour counting: During a discharge period it measures precisely the amount of previous discharge, and then when recharging adds back the same amount plus an additional measured percentage of charge: for liquid electrolyte lead acid batteries about 110-120%–or for AGM types about 104-109%.

2. Also unusual in chargers, but frequently now recommended to maintain battery capacity is an extra higher voltage “mini equalization” finishing stage.  During the last part of the charge it can increase charging voltage (at a regulated low current value) to avoid undercharge during a limited solar day. (This is sometimes called “IUI” charging).

3. Undo the damaging effects of sulfation with an automatic mini equalization stage *every* time the batteries are recharged.

● All of this is controlled by the TM-2030 Battery Monitor located in your living area–connected with a common crossover phone cable to the SC-2030 usually located near the batteries.  In addition to high quality charging, you also get all of the benefits of the TM-2030 monitoring system: volts, battery amps, solar amps, replaced percent of charge compared to previous discharge, extra unused solar power, battery temperature and more.

● The SC-2030 uses “PWM” (“pulse width modulation”) technology, which requires that it be used with what are often described as “12 Volt” (or “24 volt”) solar panels for good efficiency. Some have asked why we used this instead of newer “MPPT” technology for this charger. We explain this in a “Frequently Answered Question” on this web site. If you’re curious, go to the top of this page to “Support,” then “Frequently Answered Questions,” question C.1.

For a wiring diagram, technical details on charging, and to see what’s involved to install it, visit our Support and Applications page.