Inverter/solar panel question

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Jarrod

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Hi my inverter have a max voc of 145v
Panels have a voc of 49.4v so 3 will be 147.9v
I currently have 2 of these panels connected just wondering if I can add another panel?
 
I assume you are over the minimum operating VOC already. What is the maximum current?

without knowing more I would say you should add another 2 panels on a seperate string and parallel them

So 2 strings in parallel of 2 panels in series on each
 
2s2p will exceed my inverter i think. The inverter specification: 60Amp rated current, 80Amp max so that is 60x24 =1440w and max is 80x24 = 1920w if i understand correctly. Panels that I'm using is canadian solar 545w. Current price on these panels are pretty damn good. Just upgraded to an 24v system but not quite ready for 48v system. Hopefully in a year or 2 the price of these panels will still be reasonable so that I can just build on to the existing solar array. Thanks for the input guys.
 

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The panels are roughly 13a and roughly 40v so if you put 4 of them in a 2s2p series parallel layout it should give you 26a @ 80v.

That being said you need to check the specs as there were some of those 3000w inverters that the mppt could only use 600w max power.
 
B-1 said:
The panels are roughly 13a and roughly 40v so if you put 4 of them in a 2s2p series parallel layout it should give you 26a @ 80v.

That being said you need to check the specs as there were some of those 3000w inverters that the mppt could only use 600w max power.
Click to expand...
The panels when sun is up I've seen up to 92 ish (series connection). . I've set my battery to 26.3v discharge whilst solar and grid available so last Saturday load shedding kicked in 12 to 2pm day was cloudy until 12 so battery was sitting at about 26.3v then full sun whilst load shedding, panels were producing 1000w plus for about 2 hours peaking at 1140w. Our load was about 600w and the rest to the battery +/- 20A.
Had this system for just over a month. Its just used for lights, tv , network and computers and I've seen the solar go over 600w a couple of times depending on soc and usage. Pretty chuffed being a newbie to solar and seeing no grid power used during the day and battery full. Modern day caveman. Me man me make power ;)
 
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Your max solar on that inverter is 1500W, you should have used smaller panels to get the best configuration, bigger isn't always better.

I would probably be more inclined to go 2S2P over 3S though, the operating range of the mppt is 30-120 so as soon as the voltage exceeds that it will probably shut off mppt production
 
Steamy Tom said:
Your max solar on that inverter is 1500W, you should have used smaller panels to get the best configuration, bigger isn't always better.

I would probably be more inclined to go 2S2P over 3S though, the operating range of the mppt is 30-120 so as soon as the voltage exceeds that it will probably shut off mppt production
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It started with the idea to get what i can afford now vs later and when I'm able to afford a 48v system ill get more of the same solar panels and upgrade the rest.
 
Jarrod said:
It started with the idea to get what i can afford now vs later and when I'm able to afford a 48v system ill get more of the same solar panels and upgrade the rest.
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Panels are really the cheapest part of a system. Better to buy the inverter you need first, then add panels+ battery when you have funds.
 
Jarrod said:
It started with the idea to get what i can afford now vs later and when I'm able to afford a 48v system ill get more of the same solar panels and upgrade the rest.
Click to expand...

even on a bigger system bigger isn't always better, for example take a luxpower SNA5000, they are massively popular at the moment because of their price point and functionality. People are also paralleling them and using them as a 10Kw system. Their charge controllers have a 13A limit per controller and people are pairing them with these large 550W panels and effectively reducing their total solar capacity because they end up having to combine the mppt's, and then there are those who don't and end up destroying the controllers after a few weeks or months.

Rand per kw I dont think there is a massive saving on the bigger panels always, I can for example find a cheaper R/Kw panel in a 470W right now than a 555W
 
itareanlnotani said:
Panels are really the cheapest part of a system. Better to buy the inverter you need first, then add panels+ battery when you have funds.
Click to expand...
I understand your point but my viewpoint, rather buy a small new car and save for the Ranger than, have no transport. I paid 23k all inc parts i sourced and installation and coc (saved 5k because i had one 12v 100AH lifepo4 from my old system). If I went to 48v it would of been way to pricey for me, (all ball park figures) 20k for battery 10k for inverter, minimum of 6x550w panels 14k and installation 10k adds to quite a bit more that i had saved up.
 
Steamy Tom said:
even on a bigger system bigger isn't always better, for example take a luxpower SNA5000, they are massively popular at the moment because of their price point and functionality. People are also paralleling them and using them as a 10Kw system. Their charge controllers have a 13A limit per controller and people are pairing them with these large 550W panels and effectively reducing their total solar capacity because they end up having to combine the mppt's, and then there are those who don't and end up destroying the controllers after a few weeks or months.

Rand per kw I dont think there is a massive saving on the bigger panels always, I can for example find a cheaper R/Kw panel in a 470W right now than a 555W
Click to expand...
https://www.geewiz.co.za/solar-pane...high-power-hiku6-mono-perc-with-mc4-evo2.html
Pretty good deal i think. For that price If I had the funds id pair the inverter to suit the panels than pair the panels to suit the inverter.
 
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