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  • Help the newbie

    Yeah hi I'm new to the DIY solar game anyone could give me a hand with some information I'm looking to hook up two 120 Watt monocrystalline 18 volt panels 2 a 60 amp MPPT solar charge controller on a 12 volt battery Bank should I run these in series or parallel also I have just purchased 4 240 watt monocrystalline panels will I have to run as separate MPPT charge controller and battery Bank or will the one MPPT charge controller operate both lots of panels and will a 12 volt battery Bank be able to handle this amount of Watts and amperage
    Last edited by Wrl1981; 04-19-2016, 11:46 PM.

  • #2
    Going to need to know the battery bank capacity (Ah), chemistry (flooded, AGM, etc), charge controller model, your location and panel orientation (south facing, no shade, latitude tilt?)

    What is the Vmp and Imp of the 240 W panels and of the 120 W panels?
    CS6P-260P/SE3000 - http://tiny.cc/ed5ozx

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    • #3
      No one can answer all your questions as you have not provided any useful information. Mixing panels is the problem.

      With MPPT controllers you want to wire the panels as many in in series as you can within the limits of your MPPT controller. Your controler has a Voc limit. Most good ones can input 150 volts, some new ones 600 volts

      Additionally low voltage panels like you have (18 Vmp) are known as 12 volt battery panels. They are antiques. A battery panel cost 2 to 8 times more per watt than a high voltage Grid Tied panel. The advent of a MPPT controller antiquated 12 volt battery panels.

      What size battery you ask?

      That is easy. 10 times the amp output of the controller. Example, a MPPT Controller Amps Out = Panel Wattage / Battery Voltage. So if you have 4-240 watt panels into a 12 volt battery then, 960 watts / 12 volts = 80 amps. You would need a 80 amp controller and a 800 AH 12 volt battery. Do you see any problem with that on a 60 amp controller? A 60 amp mppt controller with a 12 volt battery can only handle 60 amps x 12 volts = 720 watts.
      Last edited by Sunking; 04-20-2016, 02:18 PM.
      MSEE, PE

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