mppt vs pwm

jrnymn7 wrote:
Concerning the "20%" question.

It is the difference between the 48 amps, from a 12v series/mppt set-up JiminDenver has seen reported, and the 60 amps he would expect to see from his own 24v parallel/mppt set-up. 48/60 = 80%. Do I have documentation? No. Is it a fair comparison? I can't say for sure. But Jim has proven to me to be a reliable source of information. And I'm quite convinced he's aware of all the factors that need to be considered when making such a comparison.

Pretty much everyone agrees there are many things to be taken into account. And as to the reliability of what is being reported on the various solar forums, I cannot say. But I also cannot attest to the reliability of much of what is said here on this forum, or by those in the retail industry.

take anything I or others say with a grain of salt. I have some more info such as wiring for the 960w set up but he stopped responding to me as soon as the how and whys the set ups differ. Then again I'm not very popular when discussing solar there because they keep telling me I can't do things and then I go do them anyways. lol

Besides being probably the least technically educated person here, my grains of salt are the extreme altitude, low humidity and the intensity of the sun light here. No where else in the lower 48 will you find that combination of factors. Would my panels loose some at sea level, sure but not that much.

So what I noticed and made a off hand observation is true though. Higher to lower is less efficient than lower to lower. That doesn't mean there isn't a good reason to go higher to lower but rather it is something to be considered.