Cheap China Solar Controller Failure
For a couple days been noticing higher than the 14.6 voltage,.....going to 15, and even 15.5,....I knew something was not right. The next day it was showing 16, then quickly went to 17+.......I quickl...
Forum Discussion
The expected amps with MPPT does change with battery voltage where you get more amps out of the same controller output watts when the battery voltage is less. This is why you must use amps as the "output" not the watts.
When you run loads and have solar, this could mean the battery voltage is lowered by the load, so that the solar will do more amps. You can also have the battery voltage unaffected by load running if the battery is not using all the amps the solar could provide at the time.
It makes solar performance comparisons difficult where you can't duplicate the situation for both set-ups. In my own comparisons using the same actual done that situation for different set-ups, I think the comparisons are valid and they are repeatable.
So again, 230w PWM gets 14.4 amps all season, MPPT gets 15.5 amps in April and 13.5 amps in July.
If I had two 120s instead of a 240, I would put the two in series and use MPPT for the dark half of the year and then put them in parallel and use PWM for the sunny half of the year when MPPT is lower in amps than PWM due to panel temperature getting so high then.
When you run loads and have solar, this could mean the battery voltage is lowered by the load, so that the solar will do more amps. You can also have the battery voltage unaffected by load running if the battery is not using all the amps the solar could provide at the time.
It makes solar performance comparisons difficult where you can't duplicate the situation for both set-ups. In my own comparisons using the same actual done that situation for different set-ups, I think the comparisons are valid and they are repeatable.
So again, 230w PWM gets 14.4 amps all season, MPPT gets 15.5 amps in April and 13.5 amps in July.
If I had two 120s instead of a 240, I would put the two in series and use MPPT for the dark half of the year and then put them in parallel and use PWM for the sunny half of the year when MPPT is lower in amps than PWM due to panel temperature getting so high then.
