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  • Can you mix poly and mono panels?

    I helped my dad install 42 Talesun 320 poly panels connected in three strings of 14 each connected to a SolarEdge SE11400. Everything is working great.

    Now he's thinking he would like to add 3 more panels, 1 to each string. The dealer we are using shows that the Talesuns are only sold in pallets of 20 so he's asking me if there's any reason we can't add 3 of the SunEdison 335 mono panels (I installed 10 of these this morning). I'm guessing this would be some kind of problem with a string inverter, but with the optimizers, is there a downside to this?

    Thanks,
    Greg

  • #2
    You can drive the wrong way down a one way street, Sometimes it will be bad, sometimes you get away with it,

    Snarky question, if you installed 42 panels, and they come 20 to a pallet, there should be 18 panels left ? Or the dealer has 3 odd ball panels he wants to dump.

    I'd just wait till the dealer has another order come in.

    What you have to do first, is find out
    does the inverter have enough voltage headroom to add more panels?
    Good clear roof space to install them on (why install panels if they will be shaded more than 20% of the time
    And most important, specs on the panels, the Vmp and the Imp on the new panels needs to be close (10%) to the old panels, or the optimizers may not be able to compensate - i don't know how much they can adapt.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

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    • #3
      Thanks for the info Mike. I know I have enough room to add as many as 6 panels before I reach the inverter's maximum connected watts. I'll look into the voltage issues though.

      He originally ordered 40 panels and when they got here, one of them had a hole in it from a fork truck. They wanted to replace it with a comparable panel, but I was able to convince them it should be the same panel. So if they were going to ship one panel, we were able to get them to sell us two more to make 3 even strings. I will definitely try to get the same panel first, but also wanted to find out if the mono panels would work as well. Roof space and shade are not a problem at all.

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      • #4
        I just checked the specs on both panels and the Vmp and Imp are very close(less than 2%diff).

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        • #5
          You can mix almost any type of module on a solaredge system.
          OutBack FP1 w/ CS6P-250P http://bit.ly/1Sg5VNH

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          • #6
            Originally posted by ButchDeal View Post
            You can mix almost any type of module on a solaredge system.
            That's my understanding as well.
            I believe there are limits on the amount of amps per string, the number of optimizers per string and total power for an inverter.
            But most likely the bigger thing I'd be concerned with is aesthetics.

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            • #7
              Just use a matching or compatible optimizer, don't exceed 25 module strings, and understand aesthetic issues and you should be set.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by adoublee View Post
                Just use a matching or compatible optimizer, don't exceed 25 module strings, and understand aesthetic issues and you should be set.
                25 modules is way too many at 320 watts each. Max string wattage for single phase is 5250 and min modules is 8.
                OutBack FP1 w/ CS6P-250P http://bit.ly/1Sg5VNH

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by ButchDeal View Post

                  25 modules is way too many at 320 watts each. Max string wattage for single phase is 5250
                  That is a design limitation/decision and not a technical one. 5250 is a maximum production value but not connection limit.

                  I will add that the total input wattage cannot exceed 15350WSTC on that inverter, so 3 strings of 25 modules would be no good. OP appears to be at 13440W total and thinking of going to 14445W total which is technically fine. OP will also not be clipping the string's maximum production of 5250, so only design question is if he or she is ok with whatever inverter clipping may occur from DC/AC oversizing.

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                  • #10
                    I just did this over the weekend, no issues at all. I mixed 310W poly (72 cell) panels with 280W mono (60 cell) and system is working as it should. SolarEdge system using an 11400A inverter.

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                    • #11
                      As many experts shared their experience of mixing the different solar panels here i just want to tell you the ways to mixing the solar panels.and what is difference between the mono and poly solar panels for beginners.


                      Best Way To Mix the mono and poly solar panels?


                      There are quite a few ways to go about mixing different panel technologies. The easiest is to simply use string inverters for all panels no matter what their construction type. This means that all the roof mounted panels would feed the strings, and the off-grid or other auxiliary system (like Tesla’s Powerwall) could draw from any of them directly, reducing wire costs by eliminating extra wiring between systems.

                      Another way is to use micro-inverters on each panel in your array(s). This will provide maximum isolation between production sources but also requires extra equipment and maintenance since every cell has its own dedicated inverter/controller box. There are pros and cons to either method, so you should carefully consider which mix of technologies works best for your application. We hope this sheds some light on the subject of mixing different solar panel technologies together in a single PV array! much sites are publish the article at this same topic so if you want i can share the link
                      Last edited by Antonio491; 03-08-2022, 01:05 PM.

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