Mismatched Panels Help

[greenHouse]

Who said that? You did right? You forget most the people who come here are DIY and have no electrical knowledge what so ever and are not going to take the time to learn the math.

Check your password -- someone using your account posted this:

"You would be better off selling them on ebay and starting over with quality panels."

[SolarGuyTX]

I guess I'll just step in and end this nonsense. The job was a pro bono job using what the customer had laying around. I chose not to use some of the mismatched panels b/c they were not UL listed. I arranged the panels in a single string. The values I was reading after the install were comparable to the values I had calculated originally (current was the limiting factor in this case). I chose a single string b/c I had to match the inverter tracking voltage. The panels were all the same nominal voltage just different power outputs. I ended up losing ~120 W power with the mismatch. It didn't matter to the customer since they had received the equipment for free from my company. The job is currently producing ~2000 W AC power and everyone is happy. I declare this thread and internet pissing contest over!

[Sunking]

I guess I'll just step in and end this nonsense. I chose not to use some of the mismatched panels b/c they were not UL listed. I declare this thread and internet pissing contest over!

Good job and I agree. Bye!

[Sparky McBiff]

You forget most the people who come here are DIY and have no electrical knowledge what so ever and are not going to take the time to learn the math.

That's one heck of a statement.
Simply because one may be a DIYer I don't see why that would make you conclude that they would not take a small amount of time to learn simple math or electrical concepts.
If they weren't willing to learn a small amount then chances are they would not be here.
If someone does not wish to learn anything then they simply will not become a DIYer.

[Offgrid]

Sparky

You forget that a lot of people only need to or should only need to know the basics 1st and build on from there.Throwing mathematical formula at someone just starting out is bound to confuse some and chase a lot of people.Better to build on to a knowledge base that is stable. i.e. Crawl before you walk.