Flexible Solar Panel - Will This Wire Cause Problems
FedEx just delivered my 100W flexible solar panel. I noticed this wire sticking out. Do you solar gurus think it will cause issues/problems down the line when it's out in the weather?
Forum Discussion
Yeah, that looks like the specks. Here's some splaining on what I was talking about:
With my cheap PWM controller, no matter what voltage comes out of the panel, I'm only ever going to get the nominal 12v, at whatever amperage it's sending. So although a hundred watts come out of the panels (19v x5.7a), my PWM controller is going to take the first 60 or so watts (12v x 5.7a) and throw the rest away.
You have linked to a nice-looking MPPT controller. This controler can take a wide range of voltage (19v at 5.7a is easy), and turn it into more amps at lower volts (12v at 8a, say). There is still a lot of inefficiency, but at least it's not throwing as much power away.
With a single panel, you will probably not notice the difference. With multiple panels, MPPT can allow you to link the panels in series so that 38v (19v x 2 panels) comes at the controller and 12 v comes out, at three times the amps. That's the theory, anyway. There have been discussions here on whether it ever really works that well.
The fact is I am an incredibly lazy human being, and if my panels are giving me enough power at 12v with a cheap PWM controller, I'm really not inclined to stress out over where the rest of the power has gone.
With my cheap PWM controller, no matter what voltage comes out of the panel, I'm only ever going to get the nominal 12v, at whatever amperage it's sending. So although a hundred watts come out of the panels (19v x5.7a), my PWM controller is going to take the first 60 or so watts (12v x 5.7a) and throw the rest away.
You have linked to a nice-looking MPPT controller. This controler can take a wide range of voltage (19v at 5.7a is easy), and turn it into more amps at lower volts (12v at 8a, say). There is still a lot of inefficiency, but at least it's not throwing as much power away.
With a single panel, you will probably not notice the difference. With multiple panels, MPPT can allow you to link the panels in series so that 38v (19v x 2 panels) comes at the controller and 12 v comes out, at three times the amps. That's the theory, anyway. There have been discussions here on whether it ever really works that well.
The fact is I am an incredibly lazy human being, and if my panels are giving me enough power at 12v with a cheap PWM controller, I'm really not inclined to stress out over where the rest of the power has gone.
