high voltage solar panels?

BFL13 wrote:
I wonder about the 20a limit during cloud effect. Get lots of that around here (can see 9 or 10a instead of 8 on PWM for a few minutes at a time), but JiminDenver camps above the clouds, so he wouldn't have that info I guess. :) I don't have info on Voc during cloud effect that raises the amps. ?

Cloud effect nets me 1/4 to a 1/2 a amp and usually my head is in the clouds, not above them. ;)

Using the 20% margin "rule" a 20a controller would go with an "expected amps" of 16a. With PWM 12v that would be 230/130 x 8.2 = 14.5a. Forum members report getting 15ish amps from panels about that size with MPPT, so that should all work.

West said he bumps the 15a limit at times, I would be bumping it 7 am to 7 pm on good days.

Some have those 15L controllers though , which clip at 15, so they would not have that problem anyway. I wonder if the Eco-worthy also clips, but at 20a. If it does, then you could go higher in expected amps right to 20, no margin. But now you are pushing the Voc limit as Jim says.

The Eco-worthy controller has its panel on it, so it would be better to have it inside where you can get at it and see it. That makes it farther from the batteries. However, it also lets you jack up the Vabs to make up for any voltage drop from the controller to the batts. Be a temp diff inside vs outside at times too.

The Eco-worthy does have a temp sensor so being inside may cause a temp difference. Whatever you do, don't leave it in the sun.
Mine will go just inside the storage behind the batteries. It's unheated/cooled and will be the shortest run to the batts. I will have to go outside to check it but that's ok, I find I check it less and less each trip.

Yes, you can have more solar than needed, which just gets the batts done way early in the day, unless you increase your AH use. I like a swivel contraption for those half days of sun we get quite often. Here that can be morning or afternoon.

230w is more power than we can use normally but was just enough to get us back into float on a 99% cloudy day and hold it for 4 hrs. It would have been faster but we never turned down the stat and the radio or TV/DVD ran a lot drowning out the neighbors Honda.

So for us, this year has felt like the rig has had a extension cord because if we felt like turning it on, we did. Next year the banks will be bigger, the solar will be bigger as will the inverter. I can't wait to see how far the systems will be push while running the microwave and how long it takes to recover the loss. I should be pushing 400w and close to 30a so it'll be interesting.