Flexcharge™ USA is the trademarked name for all products manufactured by Flexcharge LLC, Holland MI. With many years of experience in the alternative energy field we are very familiar with system sizing, design and applications that use our products.
The success of the Flexcharge product line and exceptionally low level of warranty returns is a testament to the level which we have achieved these goals. Flexcharge controllers are operating in harsh environments such as; Antarctica, Alaska, Africa, Saudi Arabia, FL, Canada, Mt. Everest etc. Flexcharge offers a 5 year warranty on all model NC controllers and a full two years on most other models.
Our controllers are designed to be installed and forgotten. With boring monotony they will control and help protect your alternative energy system’s battery banks, loads, and PV Array or permanent magnet type charging source.
Working closely with dealers and their customers during the alternative energy system designs and troubleshooting, it became clear that the alternative energy industry was severely lacking in controllers that offered long term dependability combined with high operating efficiencies and at a reasonable price.
Solid State controllers mounted on large heat sinks worked, but due to their inefficient operating characteristics, they consume a significant amount of the charging energy generating heat at the controller.
Before the patented Flexcharge process, relay based controllers were typically power hungry and designed with unstable control circuits causing premature relay failure, serious over or under charging, and over discharge situations.
Armed with this extensive real world PV system operational knowledge, the Flexcharge Engineering Team created a new generation of controllers.
Flexcharge was issued a patent for the innovative circuitry that emerged from this effort and which allows Flexcharge controllers to operate at these Ultra High Efficiencies.
During phenomenal growth we have not forgotten “where the food on our dinner plate is coming from”. You, the customer, are very important to us. We have highly qualified personnel available to answer your alternative energy system application questions from 9 am to 5 pm EST USA. For off-hours requests, 24 hours a day, you may submit email, call to leave a message to have information mailed to you, or to have someone call you back.
To help answer your questions as they arise we’ve also put a substantial effort into the operating manuals delivered with each controller. We tried to cover the topics that a novice installer will need to connect and troubleshoot smaller PV systems. Larger Off-Grid systems are still best left to the experienced installer.
Something you will notice about the Flexcharge product line is the extensive use of non-corrosive ABS polymer enclosures instead of the sometimes more eye appealing powder coated metal enclosures. This engineering decision was made to eliminate case corrosion and allow for the simplified potting of the electronics.
Furthermore the Flexcharge controllers operate at such high operating efficiencies that metal cases are not required to dissipate the heat that is generated by most controllers. This combination creates a package which is forgiving to even the worst mounting locations such as; marine vessel engine rooms, near a lead acid battery bank, non-environmentally controlled battery shacks, marine navigational buoys, dust and sand environments, etc.
As an alternative energy systems distributor or dealer you want to offer your customers system components which are the highest efficiency and quality, lowest cost and easiest to use. For this reason Flexcharge USA approaches the controller design with the end users system performance as our primary focus. As the consumer we understand that you want a high quality, efficient controller you can install and forget about.
The first of each newly engineered Flexcharge product is put through rigorous real world, in the field operational testing on a functioning solar or wind power generating system (you may be surprised how many other brands are not field tested). It is then operated under, at, and over the controllers design limits. The information gained through this testing is used for design improvements that are incorporated before we sell the first controller. This rigorous testing ensures that the controller you purchase will be the second generation design of the highest possible quality and reliability.
Due to the inherent high cost of generating power from an alternative energy system, each component used in that system must operate at the highest possible efficiency. Secondly, because these systems are often in remote locations these components must also perform at an exceptional level of dependability. At Flexcharge we achieve this goal through strict attention to quality at every step, from new product concept, to materials and components used, to controller testing. Flexcharge products are machine assembled in the USA using the highest quality surface mount components. Each and every controller is tested prior to shipping. Most Flexcharge controllers are potted with a UL listed flame retarding material making them impervious to occasional water spray and high humidity conditions.
Charging Efficiency Most other brands of controllers operate at efficiencies near 97% or worse. That means that 3% or more of your solar panel’s output capacity is used to produce heat in the charging regulator. Flexcharge NC family of Controllers operate at efficiencies up to 99.9%. At full rated current the NC25A operates at 99.5%, using only 0.5% of your precious PV energy. Most of our controllers use less than 5 ma of standby current. Other brands will use up to 80 ma. The charging methods used to achieve this ultra high efficiency as well as other features, were invented and patented by Flexcharge.
Flexcharge™ Charge Method
Charging Algorithm Explained All Flexcharge charge controllers use the innovative “Energy State Taper Charge” method. In alternative energy charging systems this method has numerous advantages over the constant voltage PWM charge regulation as used by many controller manufacturers. Click on the link for more detail.
Flexcharge controllers were designed to minimize the display complexity and power required to operate them, while clearly displaying the controller’s basic status. More elaborate displays should be installed as a separate device in a easy to see location. We suggest using a switch to only have the display turned on when you are interested in seeing it.
One question we are often asked is why we do not include volt or ampere meters, amp/hour meters, totaling circuits, etc… in our controllers. The Reason: Usually these devices consume an undesirable amount of precious system power and should be used only where they are really necessary, such as large scale off grid home PV systems. For smaller dedicated PV systems like monitoring sites, navigational buoys, PV powered street light controllers, etc. the system should be designed for unattended – non monitored operation. The designer must ensure the project is supplied enough energy to operate, and the PV system designer must ensure the solar powered or wind powered system makes and stores enough energy to do the job. In smaller system installations the monitoring circuitry simply uses up precious energy and adds cost. If you determine that you need system monitoring equipment, install it where it will be most effective, and where it can be turned off when not in use.
Alternative Energy Charge Controllers and System Control Products.
Hours 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern Time Weekdays
231-547-9430
sales@flexcharge.com
87 Chris Craft Ln, Holland, Michigan, 49424 USA