question

Thomas Whittle avatar image
Thomas Whittle asked

solar voltage 55v battery voltage 12v is this ok?

Hi All,


I am new to Solar and have just installed my first off grid system at home. It is 3 x 175 Victron panels, a 150/35 controller and a VE.direct smart 500W inverter and a 12v 100ah LifePO4 battery.


Using the Victon connect App I can see that the panels are generating power (50 - 100w) which considering the very cloudy September day in the UK might be about right.


But I do have a question on the voltage. The panels are installed in series, so the votage is reading around 55 volts, fluctuating up and down. I believe this makes sense because mounting the panels in series keeps the ampage the same but increases the voltage.


My battery, inverter, etc, are 12v. Is this ok that my solar PV voltage is much higher than the other items? The items were sold as a "kit" from a shop so I assume it should work absolutely fine together, but I'm very new so would appreciate someone with more experience reassuring me :)


Many Thanks!

Tom

voltage
1 comment
2 |3000
Toggle Comment visibility. Current Visibility: Viewable by all users

Up to 8 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 190.8 MiB each and 286.6 MiB total.

kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
Agree with @nickdb

But to set your mind at rest, panel voltage in your setup should be somewhere near 60V. The MPPT will convert this to appropriate voltage to charge the battery.

Fluctuations... You don't say by how much or how often. Could be shading, could be the MPPT doing its 10minute track adjustment, could be wiring problems. Could be other things.

More details, like the MPPT graph for an extended period, would help, as would the battery settings.


0 Likes 0 ·
2 Answers
nickdb avatar image
nickdb answered ·

The job of your mppt is to convert PV power into battery power at the appropriate voltage that you set. While sold as a kit, you will still need to configure it all.

I would suggest you sign up to professional.victronenergy.com and follow the online training as well as read the relevant documentation, otherwise you're going to get yourself confused and frustrated.

2 |3000
Toggle Comment visibility. Current Visibility: Viewable by all users

Up to 8 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 190.8 MiB each and 286.6 MiB total.

Thomas Whittle avatar image
Thomas Whittle answered ·

Hi,


Many Thanks for the quick answer. That's great I didn't know this existed, I'll look through now.


Kind Regards,

Tom

2 |3000
Toggle Comment visibility. Current Visibility: Viewable by all users

Up to 8 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 190.8 MiB each and 286.6 MiB total.

Related Resources

Additional resources still need to be added for this topic