Little confused, 12v vs. 24v solar
I've got an existing 12v solar array with 1x 130 Watt and 2x 80 Watt for a total of 290 watts @ 12v, fed to a 30 amp MPPT controller (Rogue MPT-3024). I bought what I thought was going to be a 200 wat...
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If the controller handles 24v and no higher, then you'd have to run the new panel in parallel with the 2-80s (hooked in series.) Then you have a 250w panel in parallel with a "160w panel" giving you 410w. I'm not sure how you arrived at 320w.
That's a big imbalance, but in parallel it just may work. I'd be willing to give it a go and see what happens. If your controller can handle more than 24v, it won't help at all because you definitely will have problems putting your new panel and the 80s in series for 48vdc. The amperage in that circuit would be severely restricted by the smaller panels. Imbalances are a big deal with series wiring.
410 watts @ 24v = 17a, which theoretically pumps 34a into a 12v battery bank.
That's a big imbalance, but in parallel it just may work. I'd be willing to give it a go and see what happens. If your controller can handle more than 24v, it won't help at all because you definitely will have problems putting your new panel and the 80s in series for 48vdc. The amperage in that circuit would be severely restricted by the smaller panels. Imbalances are a big deal with series wiring.
410 watts @ 24v = 17a, which theoretically pumps 34a into a 12v battery bank.
phemens wrote:No, watts stay the same (they're conserved). 320w@ 24v= 13.3a, which is 26.6amps for a 12v system. 12v * 26.6 = 320 watts.
.. 320 watts at 24V, this is where I get confused - does that give me the equivalent of 640 watts @ 12v?
