Morningstar Corporation announced its signature SunSaver and higher-powered ProStar solar charge controller lines have achieved certifications for HazLoc use in North America with UL/CSA ratings. Morningstar’s new wider range of solar chargers designed for HazLoc use brings new opportunities for solar + storage projects to power remote off-grid systems with improved safety and reliability.
Solar + storage makes sense in oil and gas applications. Operations are often great distances from any electrical grid, yet require dependable sources of electricity for essential services including injection pumping, monitoring and control, data and communications, security, lighting and other “digital oilfield” needs.
Generators can power remote off-grid systems, but they require fuel and frequent maintenance. In contrast, a solar electric system has no moving parts and, outside of storage batteries, requires little maintenance over the system’s comparatively long operational life.
“The economics of solar work out to an extremely low operational expense over the life of the system, making it more cost-effective in the long run,” said Lee Gordon, president and founder of Morningstar Corporation. “One of Morningstar’s first products nearly 30 years ago was our SunSaver controller designed for oil and gas customers. We grew up in this industry. Our latest generation of HazLoc-rated controllers build on their predecessors’ excellence and take it forward into new applications.”
Out of a field of over 700 brands of charge controllers, Morningstar is unique for earning HazLoc certification on a wide range of models. For months, the company underwent a rigorous audit of its operations, documentation and quality procedures in the design, control and production of these solar charge controllers. Passing the audit demonstrates that Morningstar follows rigorous standards and procedures to ensure quality and consistency in its product lines.
“Energy storage batteries are one of the most expensive components of a solar system. Your choice of a charge controller is critical in protecting that investment and ensuring optimal battery health,” said Bill Mellema, product director at Morningstar Corporation. “Our controllers are used in the most extreme environments found on Earth. There’s no such thing as ‘overkill’ when it comes to reliability in these areas.”
Morningstar’s new range of HazLoc controllers makes it possible to enable “digital oilfields” with larger, more capable solar electric solutions. Products with the new UL/CSA North America certifications include:
- ProStar and ProStar MPPT charge controllers, 8 models
- SunSaver and SunSaver MPPT charge controllers, 8 models
- Morningstar SunKeeper for single-panel systems carries the UL/CSA ratings
News item from Morningstar Corporation
As the ruggedness increases for these components that are used in harsh environments like MSHA approved electronics used in mines, the longer one will have the product in service and the more cost effective it will become in the life of the products use. Tri-25, 25 year solar PV panel warranty, 25 year inverter/charger warranty, 25 year in use battery pack energy storage system. IF one picks their components carefully today one can put together a high functioning system that’s 25 years across the board.