Amperors Power Integrator

What is the Power Integrator?

The Power Integrator is an advanced 25A Leisure Battery Charger, which can be employed on motorhomes, caravans, narrow boats or anything that uses an automobile battery. While the recreational vehicle is on the move, the power integrator can work as a battery-to-battery charger and convert the alternator output to the proper charging sequence. While the vehicle is parked at the campsite, the power integrator can grant the MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) function to the installed solar panels, boost the charging efficiency, and drastically reduce the charging time. It can also be used to top off the starter battery while camping.

Why do You need a Power Integrator?

When your Motorhome is idle, you are relying on the leisure battery to provide electricity to the appliances. The capacity of your leisure battery determines the frequency to turn on that noisy generator. You might think that by installing enough battery bank, regularly moving the automobile around, plugging the motor home into the AC outlets at the campsite, or utilizing the solar panel will help keep the leisure battery fully charged. This is not true! You need to understand the following FACTs to uncover the secrets of better motor homing:

Your Leisure battery is never Fully Charged:

No matter what type of battery - Flooded, Gel or AGM that you install, it needs a multi-stage charging sequence to completely replenish the juice. Unfortunately, the alternator in the motorhome is not designed to fulfill that sequence. To make the situation worse, the leisure battery is often located away from the alternator. The voltage drop over the wires can become significant. By constantly facing the under-voltage and out-of-sequence charging condition, your leisure battery in the motorhome is simply never fully charged.


The solar panel installed on your narrow boat can never produce the full rated power output:

You install a 70W solar panel on your narrow boat. You think it can generate 70W power to charge your leisure battery. But, that is not always going to happen! Not mention, the solar panel needs to be de-rated on an overcast, cloudy day, or even on a sunny afternoon, and without the proper control of the charging voltage and current, the 70W solar panel cannot send its full output into the leisure battery. The result is: your solar panel will never perform to its full potential. You will need to wait extra time for your leisure battery to get fully charged.


Your Starter Battery will get Depleted during the winter:

If you don't perform a maintenance charge during the winter, after a long idle time, there is a high chance that the starter battery in your motorhome will be depleted. You will have trouble starting the vehicle when you are ready to go out and have fun.

The power integrator is designed to solve all the above issues


How does the Power Integrator work?

After being installed, the power integrator uses the ignition ON / OFF signal to trigger the switch between the battery-to-battery charger mode, and the solar panel MPPT charging controller mode.

While the ignition is on, the vehicle alternator is tricked to stay at its maximum output. The starter battery and other devices in the motorhome will get the regular share of the power to perform necessary routines, just like the power they receive without having the power integrator installed. The excessive power generated by the alternator will be assigned to charge the leisure battery. The voltage and current applied to the leisure battery will be optimized so that the battery can be brought up to the full capacity quicker, yet safely. The leisure battery can now finally be fully charged.

Below is the working diagram when the ignition is on:

While the ignition is off, the power integrator can take inputs from either (or both) the solar panel or wind turbine channel, and convert it to the proper voltage and current to charge the leisure battery. The fast-response MPPT controller function is performed to increase the solar panel's charging efficiency. Your solar panel will now finally work to its full potential.

The power integrator can also generate top off (less than 1A) charging current for the starter battery to combat the drain loss during camping or winter storage. Below is the working diagram when the ignition is off

The Installation:

The installation of the power integrator is straight-forward, and simple. Just use the right gauge wiring (to minimize the voltage drop) specified in the user manual, connect the power integrator to the batteries / alternator / ignition / solar panel / wind turbine following the below setup diagram, insert the correct fuses, and it will be up and running immediately. One thing to note is the location of where to mount the power integrator in the motor home: it is recommended to place it as close to the leisure battery as possible.

What Type of Battery can the Power Integrator Charge?

The power integrator can output the required multi-stage charging sequence to the battery. Below is a typical 4-stage charging sequence voltage and current chart

The power integrator can work with all three major types of automobile batteries: Flooded, Gel and AGM. The user needs to specify the battery type by pushing the switches on the back of the power integrator. The equalization charge stage is designed for the Flooded battery only. It is recommended not to use Flooded mode to charge Gel and AGM battery, or it might cause damage to the battery.

A closer look at the Interface:

Below is the interface on the front panel. From left to right are the connection terminals for: Wind Turbine Input, Solar Panel Input, Ignition signal, Starter Battery, Leisure Battery and the main return. On the top are the three fuses for the Wind Turbine input channel, Solar Panel input channel, and the output channel to the leisure battery.

Below is the interface on the back panel. The user can connect a digital display panel to the "Control Panel" port to read the battery and the Power Integrator's vital signals. The reset button is to reset the power integrator just in case it sees a fault on the input / output channels and latches itself . The "Fault" and the "Mode" LED indicator can use different color and flashing frequency to indicate the status of the power integrator. (See the user manual on how to read the signals). The SW1 and SW2 switches are used to specified the type of the battery connected to the power integrator

Protection, Protection, Protection:

The power integrator can protect the batteries and itself from many different fault conditions, such as vehicle battery being lower than 10.5V, over current, short circuitry, reverse polarity, no battery installed, over temperature and over voltage presented on the input / output channels. The fault LED indicator on the back panel will use different colors and flash to inform users about the fault. (See the user manual on how to read the signals).

Available Accessories:

Currently, there is only one accessory available for the power integrator. It is the digital control panel which is used to display the vital signals of the battery and the power integrator. It also allows users to switch modes and turn the power integrator on and off.

Frequently Asked Questions:


Is the power integrator an AC charger?

No, the power integrator is a battery-to-battery charger and a solar panel MPPT charging controller, but not an AC charger. However, there are no issues with using an AC charger in the motorhome with the power integrator installed.

What will happen if my wind turbine generates a voltage higher than 25V?

The input voltage upper limit of the wind turbine channel is 25V. If the power integrator sees an input voltage higher than that, it will shunt the input current to the ground. In other words, that input channel will be disabled.

I don't own a wind turbine. Can I connect solar panels to both the wind and the solar input channels?

You can connect solar panels to both of the solar and the wind input channels. The only requirement is not to exceed 100W input power, per channel. By doing so, the power Integrator will work with 200W total solar power to charge the battery.

Are there similar products to the power integrator on the market?

No. The power integrator is a unique product. There are individual battery-to-battery chargers or solar panel MPPT charging controllers on the market. But no single product, except the power integrator, can perform those two functions in one unit. Because of sharing some electrical circuitry from the both functions and using the same case, Amperor is able to slash the cost and offer the power integrator at a very competitive price. With what it would cost to purchase a single battery-to-battery charger or a solar panel MPPT charging controller, you can buy the power integrator, which offers two functions. Even if you don't need the other function, there is no harm in purchasing the power integrator and leaving room for future expansion, without extra costs involved.

Installation of your 70 Watt Solar Panels to your Motorhome

Introduction



The Amperor 70 watt solar panels are an extremely neat power solution for Motorhomes,Caravans & Narrowboats. Instead of a bulky frame and fragile glass top, the Amperor panel simply bonds to the roof. Once it is there it will be barely noticeable, and it is tough enough to walk upon with soft-soled shoes. This guide describes how to fit 2 x Amperor 70 Watt solar panels to a roof, along with a Votronic MPPT 150 charge controller & SDP1 display panel.




You will need the following tools

• Pencil

• Drill with ½” bit

• Sandpaper

• White spirit

• Wire to carry 20 amp current

• Soldering iron & heatshrink tubing, or “chocolate block” wire connectors

• Screws & screwdriver for mounting controller

• Adhesive


A Multimeter can be used for checking the installation

Preparation

1) Choose a location for the panel. The surface to be bonded to does not have to be completely flat, as the panel is flexible. However, the panel won't bend to very tight radii or round sharp corners. Other factors to consider are: proximity to the battery bank, to minimise the length of connecting wires; how the wires will be led from the battery bank to where they pass through the roof, and minimising shading of the panel.


2) Lay down the panel on the roof, and draw round it with a pencil. Mark the positions where the wires exit the panel.


3) It is important that the area to be bonded to is clean and sound. If needed, the surface should be lightly sanded to provide a 'key' for the adhesive for the corner mounts. Patches of bare steel are fine - the adhesive will bond well to metal.



4) Drill one hole for the wires. Note that there is a blob of sealant around each wire, so the holes have to be made wide enough to allow the panel to sit flat on the roof. And if you choose to use the mounts an additional four holes will need to be drilled for each corner

5) Wipe the area down with white spirit to remove any dust and grease.

6) Lay the panel down to check that it fits snugly before continuing.


Laying the panel

You will need at least two people for this part of the job.

1. Attach the mounting adapter to the solar panel and lightly tighten the nuts to hold them in place.

2. Position the panel on the roof in the final position, and mark round the adapters with a pencil

3. Lift the panel and rub the area below the adapters with very fine sand paper being careful not to rub though the surface coating, clean any loose dust away from the area you have cleaned.

4. Reposition the panel and lift one corner at a time and remove the tape from the bottom of the adapter and firmly place that corner down onto the roof, do this with all four corners.

5. Loosen and remove the nut from the panel and gently lift the panel off the adapter.

6. Puncture the end of the adhesive with the tool provided place the top of the adhesive securely into one of the holes in the adapter, insert the end of the tube into the split on the tool, at slow pace turn the tool and inject the adhesive it the adapter until it flows out of the other hole in the adapter. Clean any excess adhesive away.

7. Reposition the panel and lightly tighten the nut in place allow the adhesive 24 hours to set before firmly tightening the nuts securely down remembering not to over tighten the nuts.

8. There are several ways to attach the cable from the panel by cleaning the roof along the cable path, gluing a piece of small square trunking to the roof and running the cable thought it remembering to seal the ends to stop wind noise, or you can run a bed of adhesive along the path you require the cable to run and bed the cable down onto the adhesive, after it has set you can run a further bead of adhesive to ensure the cable is held securely to the roof.

9. To install a cable gland make sure the cable is entering the van in an area that is concealed from view but you can get access to the roof, ensure there are no other cable runs that can be damaged. Mark the position on the outside of the roof clean and mark around the base of the gland using a suitable hole saw, cut into the roof after the roof has been cut it is advisable to use a grommet to protect the cable from damage as it passes thought the hole, feed the cable in thought the cable gland and down though the hole in the van roof with your adhesive glue the gland to the roof securely and allow time for it to set. I recommend that after it has set go round it with another bead of adhesive including round the cable entry’s on the glands.



Wiring

1) Decide on a location for your solar controller, and mount it using the screw holes provided. Almost anywhere will do, although it is good to minimise the wire run to the battery from the controller.

2) Run two lengths of wire from the controller location to where the positive (red) and negative (black) wires will be protruding an inch or so under the roof below the solar panel. This may mean installing some conduit, or removing panelling to run the wires behind it.

3) Join the short panel wires to the new lengths of wire with solder and heatshrink, or with 'chocolate block' connectors.

Solar controller

There is a detailed instruction manual supplied with the controller. However, connecting it is essentially just a matter of wiring the wires you have just run from the solar panel to the two terminals marked 'solar' + and -, and attaching another two wires from the 'battery' + and - terminals to the battery bank, preferably via a fuse board.

In most caravans and narrowboats appliances are wired via a common negative terminal block, and a fuse board for the positive wires, and these will probably be the easiest places to connect your solar controller to. However it can be hard-wired direct to the battery if preferred. If there is a master battery switch that cuts off power to the fuse board, this is the preferred option, as otherwise the solar panel will not be charging the batteries when the master switch is turned off.

Use a multi-meter to check it is charging the battery, by measuring the voltage with and without the controller attached - the battery voltage should be higher with the controller attached.

You may like to add the Votronics SDP1 between the controller and the battery to see how much current /wattage you are getting from the panel.