Series or parallel for your solar?

[TobyQuest]

Just wondered how many watts solar you all have?

Connected in series or parallel?

 

[Two on Tour]

410 watts in total, a 100 and a 150 watt in parallel through a Victron 100/20 SmartSolar MPPT controller and 2 x 80 watt in parallel through a Victron 75/15 SmartSolar MPPT controller, both feeding a 220Ah LifePo4 battery.

 

[9526]

300w in parallel

Series is badly effected by partial shading

 

[Bagofsand]

1500w in parallel 5kw inverter.

 

[Boringfrog]

1500w in parallel 5kw inverter.

Need to see this.....

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[Lenny HB]

1500w in parallel 5kw inverter.

I take it you have a big RV with a huge roof area.

 

[Lenny HB]

We have 300 Watts in parallel with a Votronic MPPT regulator.

In parallel with shade on one panel you still get the full output from the others. In series you would loose all output.

 

[Two on Tour]

I take it you have a big RV with a huge roof area.

Horse box conversion Lenny.

Horse lorry to camper.. in 4 months

Hello all.. just joined as this seems like the right place to be! To cut a long story short we have just acquired an old horse lorry (old enough not to have seatbelts in the cab) and are attempting to convert to a self sufficient MH by the end of October. The beast is parked up, the mahogany...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[autorouter]

One advantage of charging 12V batteries is that for any solar panels you can choose series or parallel. Panel voltage should be 4 or 5 volts above battery voltage for most solar controllers to work, so any panel over 18 or 19V (most are) will work fine.

For 24V batteries, the 29V minimum means that some single panels don't work, so more than one in series is required.

As mickyc says, series setups are more affected by partial shading, but series setups turn on earlier and turn off later in the day than parallel setups.

 

[Campervan_man]

Just 200W with a 1500W inverter with a 130A battery leisure.
{ 2 X 100W linked on the roof panels with Y connector cables. }
20A Dual Charge Controller wired up to charge the engine battery as well.
12V jump pack booster on board as well just in case.

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[IRHP]

Need to see this.....

Is that on a house ?

 

[Lenny HB]

1500W inverter with a 130A battery leisure.

You need at least 300a/h of batteries if you want your batteries to last with that size inverter.

 

[TobyQuest]

You need at least 300a/h of batteries if you want your batteries to last with that size inverter.

Not sure thats technically true.
As an example, take this 1700WH (formerly 1300WH) which is a 142AH LiPo battery and has a 2000W inverter with a lifetime battery warranty.
Monster X

 

[Dazzlin]

Series AND parallel on last van.
4 panels, 2 in series + 2 in series, then Joined in parallel to the controller.
Makes the best of low light in the darker months, and 2 circuits to keep the effect of shading reduced.

Will be doing the same on this van when I get the other 2 panels from storage....

 

[Nigel Crompton]

Personally, if I only have two panels I wire in series because the higher voltage gives an MPPT controller more volts to work with. This is more effective/efficient in winter.

In my ideal world I have pairs of tiltable panels in series with their output paralleled.

Regarding shading, even the shadow of a boat's VHF aerial falling diagonally across a panel can have a dramatic effect.

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[peterc10]

250W wired in parallel

 

[Campervan_man]

You need at least 300a/h of batteries if you want your batteries to last with that size inverter.

I just use it for low wattage 240V stuff as a back up if I'm off grid.
I haven't been away this year so only fired up to test so far.

 

[Gromett]

Series = less losses in cable / Shading of one panel cause loss of power in entire series string.
Parallel = no loss in panels that aren't shaded / Higher losses in cables.

My personal choice is parallel but then put hugely overspecced cables in which reduces cable losses.

 

[DBK]

My two are in series as the existing cable wired to the original single panel was a bit thin.

Shading reduces output but it doesn't stop the system working. The trick is to avoid shading.

 

[TobyQuest]

Series = less losses in cable / Shading of one panel cause loss of power in entire series string.
Parallel = no loss in panels that aren't shaded / Higher losses in cables.

My personal choice is parallel but then put hugely overspecced cables in which reduces cable losses.

I was going to go with series. But based on most people having parallel set ups here and also because when its likely parked under a car port for long periods at least partial light should hopefully prevent the batteries going dead.
So Ive gone for 10AWG 6mm2 cable and the distance from panels to the controller will be about 3m max and controller to battery about 1metre.
FYI ive tested the power on my folding panel and a small line like a cable running across it has little to no difference in the power output of the overall panel

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[cmcardle75]

I was going to go with series. But based on most people having parallel set ups here and also because when its likely parked under a car port for long periods at least partial light should hopefully prevent the batteries going dead.
So Ive gone for 10AWG 6mm2 cable and the distance from panels to the controller will be about 3m max and controller to battery about 1metre.
FYI ive tested the power on my folding panel and a small line like a cable running across it has little to no difference in the power output of the overall panel

Also, if you use in winter, series has the advantage of keeping a high enough voltage to actually charge a 12V battery in much lower light. If you park up for the winter, this is much less of an issue.

 

[dunnah01]

Wowzer - never thought solar would end up as a c@ck waving contest! The size of mine are 2 X 180W through seperate grunt PWM controllers to a pair of 110Ah batteries. Been off grid for 4 months with no EHU so must be enough. How much is too much??

 

[Lenny HB]

How much is too much??

Can never have too much.
With your set up you would only last a few days in mid winter in the UK. A decent MPPT regulator would improve the situation.

 

[Two on Tour]

Wowzer - never thought solar would end up as a c@ck waving contest! The size of mine are 2 X 180W through seperate grunt PWM controllers to a pair of 110Ah batteries. Been off grid for 4 months with no EHU so must be enough. How much is too much??

Well my cock is bigger than your cock.

 

[dunnah01]

Can never have too much.
With your set up you would only last a few days in mid winter in the UK. A decent MPPT regulator would improve the situation.

There's t'other side of f'all chance if us spending winter in the UK, especially on a site where EHU isn't included in the mighty fees

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[Lenny HB]

There's t'other side of f'all chance if us spending winter in the UK, especially on a site where EHU isn't included in the mighty fees

I thought you were off grid.

 

[dunnah01]

I thought you were off grid.

Only when the price is wrong

 

[68c]

Picking up on a thread from last year. If shading is such a problem with series wired panels what happens with a partially shaded single panel? I thought they had bipass diodes fitted to offset this problem so why does that not work with a pair of series panels?
It seems to me that a partially shaded pair of panels in series will give a higher voltage than a similar shaded pair in parallel. This would mean better performance in the more northern latitudes.

 

[donkey]

Can never have too much.

Isn't that what the actress said to the bishop

Geoff

 

[Tombola]

360w
victron 110 30 mppt
200ah lithium

Avoid shade
have a b2b