Solar panels to Mppt 100/30

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chasbow asked Jun 25, '22

Solar panels to Mppt 100/30

I have 4 Victron identical solar panels each 95 watts. One pair on a arch over the cockpit and the other pair on the coach roof. Because of shade issues they are wired parallel. The wires from each pair are then joined in parallel before the are attached to the Mppt 100/30.

Should the pairs be joined in series or parallel before the are connected.

No matter which way the controller can cope with volts and amps generated.

Which is the most effective way of connecting to get best out of panels and controller

Thanks

smart solar set-up help

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Answer 1 · 2022-07-07T09:42:00Z

netsrac27 answered · Jul 07, 2022 at 09:42 AM

If the panes are identical, you should not have a problem running them parallel. That's what I do with my 2x 100W panels and never seen any problem. I've also seen a Pmax of 170W which means we got pretty close.

I recommend having a look at your Pmax. What do you see? How close do you get to the maximum. Also keep in mind, that - if the panels are mounted flat - you'll never get maximum capacity.

The reasons why you might should think about parallel .vs. serial has to do with Voltage .vs. Current.

Running them in parallel will give a higher current. Running them connected serial will result in a higher voltage. And that's what the 100/30 stands for. 100V and 30A.

So as long as your panels have the same specs, I don't see a difference in performance - except being partial shaded which is bad in serial mode.

If you use different panels - e.g. a foldable solar panel in addition - it's recommended to use a second MPPT.

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