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Well Mike can speak for himself, but what I think Mike is talking about with respect to heat on the Midnite Solar Controller is running the PV voltage substantially higher than recommended per the graphs. Take a look at this graph foe Classic 200 operating at 48 volt battery. At 70 Vmp you can input 4550 watts, @ 120 4080 watts, and @ 140 volt 3800 watts. That is telling you get best energy transfer at 70 volts Vmp. Morningstar can go higher input voltages, but do not offer curves to find the sweet spot. What it boils down to is you want to run the panel voltage as high as possible as it comes with many benefits. Much smaller less expensive wire with less loss. Fewer Strings of panels which eliminates the need for combiners and fuses. With that said there are 600 volt controllers on the market today. I would go with Morningstar 600-60 a 600 volt 60 amp controller.
As for panels not so fast. You want to match them with your controller capabilities. Use the Controllers web site for String Calculators and see how well panels match up. For Example here is Morningstar String Calculator. With a 600 volt Controler you want a panel with such a voltage so you only need 1 single string of panels. Use the wrong panel and you may find yourself needing two strings. FWIW if any Controller Manufacture DOES NOT HAVE a STRING CALCULATOR is telling you to not use that manufacture. Move on to ones that do, there are only a few that do that.
Both Morningstar and Midenite Solar make very good products. They both have strengths and weaknesses. You have to weigh them out to see which best fits your application. I know Mike or any other pro will say the same thing. Since you are DIY, you have to figure out which one. But do not get stuck by limiting yourself to one product like a specific panel from a specific manufacture. . That will limit what you can do. It may work, or it may not. That is like going to an exclusive dealer that only installs one brand of product.
As for panels not so fast. You want to match them with your controller capabilities. Use the Controllers web site for String Calculators and see how well panels match up. For Example here is Morningstar String Calculator. With a 600 volt Controler you want a panel with such a voltage so you only need 1 single string of panels. Use the wrong panel and you may find yourself needing two strings. FWIW if any Controller Manufacture DOES NOT HAVE a STRING CALCULATOR is telling you to not use that manufacture. Move on to ones that do, there are only a few that do that.
Both Morningstar and Midenite Solar make very good products. They both have strengths and weaknesses. You have to weigh them out to see which best fits your application. I know Mike or any other pro will say the same thing. Since you are DIY, you have to figure out which one. But do not get stuck by limiting yourself to one product like a specific panel from a specific manufacture. . That will limit what you can do. It may work, or it may not. That is like going to an exclusive dealer that only installs one brand of product.
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