MPPT and PWM solar charge controllers, 10A through 100A, 12/24/48V, with proper lithium and lead-acid profiles. We test the MPPT claim on samples before anything ships. Minimum 50.
Description
Most buyers ask us for the 100A one. They've heard bigger is safer and they're wrong, because a controller rated far above the array does nothing except take money out of the order. Size it from the panels: array wattage divided by battery voltage, then add about a quarter for headroom. A 1kW array on a 24V bank wants something near 50A, so a 60A unit covers it comfortably. Give us the array and the battery bank and we'll do that sum for you before you commit to a quantity.
What's photographed is a wall-mount charge controller with an LCD and a terminal block for panel, battery and load. It sits between the array and the batteries and governs how the bank gets charged. Dull work, done well or done badly. Since the Band A tariff landed and load shedding kept doing what it does, installers across Ibadan, Kano and the south-east have been buying these in tens rather than ones. The picture shows one rating in one case style; read it as a starting point. You can order MPPT or PWM, 10A up to 100A, 12V through 48V with auto-detect, a plain LCD or a colour screen, and Bluetooth or RS485 on the units where an installer wants to read the system from a phone or bolt it onto an inverter.
PWM against MPPT is the choice that actually matters. A PWM controller connects the array to the battery and pulses that connection, which is cheap and dependable and throws away the voltage difference between panel and bank. MPPT converts that surplus voltage into extra charging current, usually recovering twenty to thirty per cent more out of the same panels. On a small 12V system with a matched panel, PWM is decent honest value and I'd happily stock it. Higher-voltage arrays and any bank worth insuring should get MPPT. It earns the difference back inside a season.
Here's the ugly part of this trade. A great many boards sold as MPPT are PWM inside an MPPT case, wearing an MPPT price tag. The customer never finds out. He just quietly gets less charge than he paid for and blames his panels. There's a test that settles it in minutes and it's described below.
Battery chemistry is the last thing to nail down. LiFePO4 banks are everywhere now, and they charge differently from tubular or sealed lead-acid: different absorption voltage, no float in the same sense, and a cut-out that stops charging when the cells are too cold. A controller with selectable profiles costs almost nothing extra and stops your customer cooking a bank that cost more than his generator. Worth knowing too: one consignment we priced had terminal blocks too tight for the 16mm² cable installers here actually use, which surfaced when a fitter in Ibadan tried to land the wires. We check terminal sizing now as a matter of routine.
The five-minute test that exposes a fake MPPT
PWM boards wearing an MPPT case. Plenty of controllers marked MPPT are PWM inside, and the customer pays MPPT money for PWM yield.
Settling it takes minutes. Feed the controller from a panel running well above your battery voltage, then measure the current going into the battery against the current coming out of the array. Genuine MPPT pushes more current into the battery than it draws from the panels, because it's trading surplus voltage for current. A fake gives you the same figure or less.
We run it on samples and hand you the result in writing. Ask any other supplier to do the same. The ones who dodge the question have answered it.
Specification
This is the exact unit in the photograph, spelled out. None of it is fixed. Tell us the rating, the display and the battery types you want and we'll quote against your version.
| Product type | Solar charge controller, MPPT or PWM |
|---|---|
| Current rating | 10A, 20A, 30A, 40A, 60A, 80A or 100A |
| System voltage | 12V / 24V auto-detect; 36V and 48V on larger units |
| Max PV input | 100V, 150V or 250V open-circuit depending on model |
| Tracking efficiency | MPPT models: 98-99% tracking, 95-97% conversion, verified on samples before shipment |
| Battery types | LiFePO4, lithium-ion, sealed, gel, AGM, flooded and tubular; user-selectable |
| Display | LCD or colour screen showing PV voltage, current, battery state and daily yield |
| Monitoring | Bluetooth app, RS485 or Wi-Fi dongle available on selected models |
| Protection | Reverse polarity, over-charge, over-discharge, over-load, short circuit, over-temperature |
| Terminals | Sized for the rated current; cable gauge stated on the datasheet |
| Enclosure | Indoor wall-mount; IP-rated outdoor housings available on request |
| Branding | Your logo on the faceplate, label and box |
We do not publish prices, because the landed figure depends on the specification, the Customs valuation and the exchange rate on the day you pay.
Minimum order
Order size starts at 50 units in total. They needn't be identical. Twenty PWM 30A boards for small household systems, twenty MPPT 60A for your installer trade, ten MPPT 100A with Bluetooth for the larger jobs, and that's your fifty. The figure climbs to around 100 per design once you want your own faceplate printed or your own retail box, because the print plate carries a minimum run the factory won't break. Neutral packaging holds the floor at 50.
Lead time. Around 12 to 18 days to Lagos by sea consolidation on plain-packaged stock, or 6 to 9 by air for the smaller ratings. Sample testing ahead of a bulk order adds roughly a week and is money well spent on anything labelled MPPT. Branded faceplates and printed boxes add another 7 to 12 days. Build in time for your Form M and for SONCAP on electrical goods as well; sorting that out before the goods sail is far cheaper than sorting it out at Apapa afterwards.
What decides the right one
Venocipal buys what customers point at. That's the whole model.
So this page is an example, put up after a client asked for controllers that do what the label claims and we went and found the factories whose boards pass the test. Somebody had to be first. You get to look at the result.
Bring us a different brief and nothing about our side of the work changes. A hybrid inverter with the controller built in. A BMS. DC breakers, combiner boxes, PV cable, MC4 connectors. An entire kit quoted as a single line so you can price a job in one go. Or something from a completely unrelated trade. A photo will do. So will a link, or two lines of description. We trace it back to whoever builds it, test the claim where a claim can be tested, and quote you delivered into Nigeria.
Why fifty? Because that's roughly where a factory will still humour a mixed specification instead of ignoring your email, and because consolidation only earns its keep once you have enough cartons to justify the handling. A hundred applies where your own name gets printed on the faceplate, print plates being what they are. Technology, rating, display, battery profiles: your call, every time.
Common questions
Which should I stock, MPPT or PWM?
PWM where the sale turns on price and the system is a small matched 12V setup. MPPT for higher-voltage arrays and any bank of real value, where 20 to 30 per cent more yield is worth paying for.
How do I size one?
Array wattage divided by battery voltage, plus roughly 25 per cent headroom. Send us the array and the bank and we'll size it, so you don't over-buy amps you'll never use.
Does it handle LiFePO4 correctly?
On models with selectable battery types, yes. Lithium wants a different profile from lead-acid, so avoid stocking lead-acid-only controllers if your customers are moving to lithium.
Can I put several ratings in one shipment?
Yes. The minimum applies to the order as a whole, so mix the ratings your installers ask for.
Will I get the test result?
On MPPT units, yes, in writing, from samples pulled before the bulk run.
What about SONCAP?
Electrical goods need it, and getting it after the container has sailed costs far more than arranging it beforehand. We handle the certification with the factory as part of the job.
I need something outside this category
Then describe it or send a picture. Tracking down whatever a buyer points at is what this company does; the controller above is only one instance of it.
Related products
Folding Solar Camping Lanterns
Four hinged panels open out into something bright enough to light a whole room, then fold back into a block that fits in a market bag. Wall charge, USB charge, and a small panel on the body for topping up in the sun. Demand for these holds steady right through the year in Nigeria, and you can probably guess why.
View details
Digital Display Fast-Charging Power Banks
A phone in Nigeria does the work of a bank, a shop counter and an office, and the grid has no opinion on that. So power banks sell here on daily need rather than on novelty. What separates a batch that clears from a batch that sits is narrower than most buyers expect: real capacity, a display customers believe, and a fast-charge claim that survives someone plugging a phone in at your counter.
View details
Rechargeable Solar and USB Standing Fans
Heat doesn't check whether NEPA is up. The hours a fan matters most, late afternoon and right through the night, are the hours the grid is least dependable, which is why households buy these without needing much persuading. This particular build does two things that lift it clear of the cheap end of the market: the column adjusts, and it takes a top-up from a small solar panel as well as from a cable.
View details
Give us the array and we'll size it
Tell us your panel wattage, your battery bank and the system voltage, and we'll work out the right rating and quote it landed in Nigeria. Chasing a different item altogether? Send the photo or the link and we'll start there instead.
Swipe or use the arrows for the next image. Tap the image to zoom, then drag to move around.
Discover more from VENOCIPAL
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.