Since partial shadows on yachts strongly limit the effectiveness of solar panels and different panels are to be used, we plan to install a single MPPT controller for each solar panel.
Theoretically we come to the conclusion that the daily yield will be about 5-8% higher.
What is the experience in practice or in tests?
So many variables are at play here but in a simple setup I cannot identify any improvement in having multiple controllers. How was the theoretical 5-8% improvement calculated?
Hi @a9b8c7, welcome to the Community!
Although I cannot directly speak to the 5-8% number you list, it is indeed our experience that multiple controllers in your circumstance will yield better result - this is largely simply a matter of logic on the face of it, since multiple controllers will not be affected by the shadowing of one panel; this is also, to some extent, a necessity when working with mis-matched panels.
The one- (or two, or three, depending on the craft layout) panel-per-controller method is used extensively in sailboats in particular due to the sails and rigging causing wildly varying shadows across various panels depending on direction of tack and etc, but the same logic applies to your yacht.
The actual real-world improvement in harvest efficiency that you'll see using multiple controllers rather than a single will of course be nearly impossible to quantify, given the number of variables involved at any given time, but your logic is sound.
