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...
Forum Discussion
phemens wrote:
Ok, running 2 controllers is definetly an option, I have an older 15 amp controller still installed, that would work for the 130 watt 12 v panel. Would I be better off pairing the dual 80 watters with the 130 @ 12 v or running with the 250 watt 24v panel?
If you put the 80W panels in series, that would be the equivalent of an 80W 24V panel. If their 2 x Vmpp matched the Vmpp of the 250W 24V panel, they might work well in parallel with it and with the Rogue MPPT. But, frankly, I doubt if that's the case. I would leave the 240W 24V panel alone on the Rogue. The Rogue is an excellent MPPT controller and will do well with the 240W panel alone.
If you put the 80W panels individually in parallel with the 130W 12V panel, you will generate more power than the 15W PWM controller can handle on bright sunny days. Presumably the controller will just ignore the extra power and not burn up; that's what the Rogue does but you may want to verify it. But on cloudy, low-light days, the PWM controller will work just fine. Those are the days you really need all the solar you can get anyway. So that's what I would do.
