Hi folks. New guy here, and glad to talk with some new people. My name is Alex.
I've done a good deal of research trying to learn the best things to do to go solar (on-grid in my case). However, I do have a question that I can't seem to find an answer to. I looked through some of the existing threads and didn't see my question posted anywhere. My apologies for how ignorant this question may seem to some of you who are more electric-savvy.
My question concerns the compounding of voltage and amperage. I know that watts are volts × amps. I've also figured out that cells run together in a single panel have a compounding effect. For example, a PV cell that produces .5V and 150 mA will have an output of approximately .075 watts. But if you run 36 cells together in a panel, collectively they will produce roughly 100 watts (97.2 watts @ 18V and 5.4A). There are plenty of them for sale on the market.
But if I string 2 panels together in a series, does the compounding continue? Will I find myself with the collective voltage and amperage of 72 cells, bringing me to 36V and 10.8A for a total of 388.8 watts? Or does the wattage of each panel stand alone and merely add to the one before it rather than compounding the effect, making, in essence, the watts increase from 100 to 200, while the volts go from 18 to 36, and the amps from 5.4 to 10.8?
In short, if I ran 13 panels in a series, would that give me 1300W, 234V, and 70.2A? Or would it instead result in a compounded wattage of 16.42kW? I think I know the answer (the math sort of shows the absurdity of my question), but I would rather not do something that will get me killed or result in my house burning down. So if someone would be kind enough to give me some bare basics on how voltage, amperage, and wattage combine, compound, or work together, I'd be much appreciative.
Also (related), a similar question concerns stringing together two or more series of panels. How does the voltage, amperage, and wattage combine? I assume they will combine the same way ... but again, I just want to be safe.
Thanks in advance for your time in responding.
I've done a good deal of research trying to learn the best things to do to go solar (on-grid in my case). However, I do have a question that I can't seem to find an answer to. I looked through some of the existing threads and didn't see my question posted anywhere. My apologies for how ignorant this question may seem to some of you who are more electric-savvy.
My question concerns the compounding of voltage and amperage. I know that watts are volts × amps. I've also figured out that cells run together in a single panel have a compounding effect. For example, a PV cell that produces .5V and 150 mA will have an output of approximately .075 watts. But if you run 36 cells together in a panel, collectively they will produce roughly 100 watts (97.2 watts @ 18V and 5.4A). There are plenty of them for sale on the market.
But if I string 2 panels together in a series, does the compounding continue? Will I find myself with the collective voltage and amperage of 72 cells, bringing me to 36V and 10.8A for a total of 388.8 watts? Or does the wattage of each panel stand alone and merely add to the one before it rather than compounding the effect, making, in essence, the watts increase from 100 to 200, while the volts go from 18 to 36, and the amps from 5.4 to 10.8?
In short, if I ran 13 panels in a series, would that give me 1300W, 234V, and 70.2A? Or would it instead result in a compounded wattage of 16.42kW? I think I know the answer (the math sort of shows the absurdity of my question), but I would rather not do something that will get me killed or result in my house burning down. So if someone would be kind enough to give me some bare basics on how voltage, amperage, and wattage combine, compound, or work together, I'd be much appreciative.
Also (related), a similar question concerns stringing together two or more series of panels. How does the voltage, amperage, and wattage combine? I assume they will combine the same way ... but again, I just want to be safe.
Thanks in advance for your time in responding.
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