Eco-Worthy 12v solar panels, Now drifting to... mono vs poly

Will 0.12 Voc make that much of a difference though?

And if I parallel two 12v panels, does the Voc double?

This is what I'm trying to establish... do I need to series 12's to work with the Eco-W mppt?

JiminDenver wrote:
Not that bad really especially with pick up.

Not that I'm suggesting it but a pair of the 135w polys with the lower Voc might be just the ticket for the Eco-w.

Fantastic price for the 135s for "up here." Would be $270 at wegosolar. He says they are too big. My 130w was ok as a portable, but I didn't have roof space to consider.

My 130w was about 20.3Voc in the sun in the summer (rated 21.9) That 42-45 limit on the Eco-W is very awkward!

+1

Er, I guess I mean +2.

Not that bad really especially with pick up.

Not that I'm suggesting it but a pair of the 135w polys with the lower Voc might be just the ticket for the Eco-w.

I have to add about 14% to u.s. prices, plus shipping.

I found a store a little over an hour from me, with some pretty good prices, and free pick up. They have 135w poly on sale for $145, and 100w at regular price of $130. Hopefully the 100's will go on sale.

The 135's and all the 24v panels are too big, so I'm stuck paying the extra for smaller 12v panels.

http://2solar.ca/

Roughly, in 25-30C, I was getting 13.5 amps with MPPT where I would have been getting 14.5 amps with PWM. At 16C I was getting 15.5 amps with the MPPT instead of the same 14.5 amps with PWM. YMMV.

That was with my 230w and Eco-W. So for the warm half of the year I would have preferred two 115w panels and my Solar30 controller and have that 14.5 amps every time.

In the cold half of the year when MPPT does better you also have shorter days, so even with an extra amp your time is less to build more AH from.

The big 230w panel is a beast to handle, but ok for a portable at our seasonal site. I would prefer two smaller panels for a portable (not hinged or it would be heavy too) if you had to move it often.

I got the 230w because it was $1/w compared with $2/w for a pair of 12s. No shipping either way (the dealer pays the shipping, but pays less than you would by buying in bulk) And then only because the required MPPT controller was only $102 (thanks to JiminDenver for the good steer on that)

I was expecting to get more like 16 amps all the time with the MPPT hype, so I was not very happy seeing that 13.5 amps. However, the year before with the two 100s (which I sold, so I was back in the market last winter) and PWM I was seeing 12.5 amps so I tried to like the 13.5.

They are all out to get you of course. :)

I like my Eco-w's but I wouldn't waste the money if I were going parallel with the panels. The three I have went for $85-92 in auction. A PWM that would handle the two panels are much less expensive.

My big panels are a pain at times but they were bought to eventually mount, otherwise I would have traded for a folding portable set up. Solarblvd has a nice 160w portable that I know they had in stock a few weeks ago.

Hi,

Just found a new low price on panels--it would require MPPT with voc of 134 volts.

90 watts Amorphous $30

The fly in the ointment is that the minimum order is 28 panels.

If I still had a house it would be a no brainer.

BFL,

yes, it would be cheaper for me to order the panels and Y-cables from Eco-worthy's site, for $82 x 2 + cable + shipping, and their controller from Ebay, for say $82 and free shipping. $376 vs $405, IF I won an auction. Otherwise, it's cheaper to buy the package. $413 vs. $405 (u.s.)

Jim, the 230w panel would be too big and heavy to deal with as a portable. Even these 100w's are a little bigger than I would prefer.