600W Solar - Getting 420W Max
I have 5 120W Solar panels flat mounted. I am in Mission TX at a FHU park for the winter. It is giving me a good place to test my system out. Back in the NE there are to many trees. I have seen a max ...
Forum Discussion
JiminDenver wrote:Well said. I started by fitting the smaller 12V panels to my apparently limited space roof with scale drawings. But one factor kept making me question 12V panels - namely the cost/watt was much less for 24V panels. I then began to realize that there was no reason to mount the panels just a few inches above the roof. Eureka! The 24V panels then fit very well and no rig shadows and the cost with MPPT was very close to the 12V panels with PWM - so 24V panels and MPPT was a no brainier.
You really need to understand how your needs work, your situation, location and even time of travel to get anything out of tweaking the design so. Start with what fits on the roof and you may find out the choice has been made for you.
And there is a clear shoulder hour advantage with MPPT and serial panels with bypass diodes that you do not get with parallel panels. My 90V serial setup starts charging when the voltage is only 20V due to overcast weather. And bypass diodes allow partially shaded panels to produce more power any time there are partial shadows.
