I have 9 x 12volt 145watt panels installed on my shed making 3 strings of 3 panels each in series. These 3 circuits will then be combined into a breaker box where each circuit will have it's own 15 amp breaker. From that bus bar the combined current will then go to a TriStar MPPT 60 charge controller and eventually to the battery bank.
I understand that the controller will block reverse current going back to the panels at night from the batteries but I'm not so sure about the panels themselves.
Would it make sense to put a blocking diode on each circuit before going into the combiner box to prevent current back feeding from one series of panels to another?
My friend had two small arrays on opposite sides of his house and he said he had to put a blocking diode between them because when one side was shaded the other side would try to back feed to the shaded side. All of the 9 panels I have are side by side on my shed facing due South. The only way they can be fully shaded at the same time is at night. There could of course be various levels of shading with clouds but all 3 circuits would be affected to some degree at the same time. I really can't see a situation where one of the 3 series of panels would be fully shaded while the other two were not.
Just trying to decide if installing a blocking diode on each circuit is a necessary step or just over kill for a problem that may never exist.
Any thoughts on the matter are welcome.
Thanks
I understand that the controller will block reverse current going back to the panels at night from the batteries but I'm not so sure about the panels themselves.
Would it make sense to put a blocking diode on each circuit before going into the combiner box to prevent current back feeding from one series of panels to another?
My friend had two small arrays on opposite sides of his house and he said he had to put a blocking diode between them because when one side was shaded the other side would try to back feed to the shaded side. All of the 9 panels I have are side by side on my shed facing due South. The only way they can be fully shaded at the same time is at night. There could of course be various levels of shading with clouds but all 3 circuits would be affected to some degree at the same time. I really can't see a situation where one of the 3 series of panels would be fully shaded while the other two were not.
Just trying to decide if installing a blocking diode on each circuit is a necessary step or just over kill for a problem that may never exist.
Any thoughts on the matter are welcome.
Thanks
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