Hello all, fairly new to using solar set ups. Hoping to run a few questions by the group. We are using 2 panels putting out between 50 and 70 watts total, going into a Victron SmartSolar MPPT 150/45. The battery bank is 4 AGM 12V batteries, wired up in series for 48V total. The batteries are powering a Hanwha multi-sensor PTZ camera, a PoE switch, a cellular router, and a mini PC. All of this is on a traffic pole.
One issue we seem to have is that the batteries don’t ever seem to fully charge up. It’s supposed to be a 48V system, but it usually floats around 37-40v. One issue obviously could be that I have too many components being powered and not enough solar power going in, but aside from that I did have these questions:
Are there certain settings I should set the solar charge controller to for this set up?
The charge controller doesn’t have a “load” output. So should the load (components) just be directly connected to the batteries at the 48V out posts?
I also have a Cerbo GX plugged in. I can see the status of the unit remotely through the cloud, but I’m suprised/disappointed that it seems you can’t really make settings changes through the Cerbo, you can just see the status. Is there a way to make changes remotely to the settings, such as when you are connected to the controller via bluetooth?
What is the Voc of the panels and how are they setup (in-series or in parrallel?) ?
Beware for charge to occur the voltage on input needs to be at least 5v higher than what you are charging.
Blockquote The solar charger will commence battery charging as soon as the PV voltage is 5V higher than the battery voltage . For charging to continue, the PV voltage must remain at least 1V higher than the battery voltage.
Are there certain settings I should set the solar charge controller to for this set up? - Tell us first how the panels and setup. Could you post some screenshots from the stats on the solar charger? Stats, voltages, etc.
The charge controller doesn’t have a “load” output. So should the load (components) just be directly connected to the batteries at the 48V out posts? - Are all your components 48V? Then if properly fused, you can connect them with no issues.
I also have a Cerbo GX plugged in. I can see the status of the unit remotely through the cloud, but I’m suprised/disappointed that it seems you can’t really make settings changes through the Cerbo, you can just see the status. Is there a way to make changes remotely to the settings, such as when you are connected to the controller via bluetooth? VictronConnect Remote
If you have a Cerbo set up and have a VRM account then you can use VictronConnect app on your phone and connect to the Cerbo through the internet and then access the devices connected to the Cerbo such as the Solar panel, SmartShunts etc. and program them as if you were there. If your Cerbo is set up properly then you should be able to see the settings pages and copy the setting here via a screenshot.
Ah, good to know! I will have to get up there with our bucket truck and determine if the 2 panels are in series or parallel. I will also see what the details of the panels are on the stickers to determine the voc.
I will try to figure out how to upload a photo here to show a screenshot of the solar stats.