Recommendations for solar charge/controller
It appears a buddy of mind is going to donate two used 300 watt panels. They are rated at 30 volts with about 8 amps open voltage (he got them for a song - used I should say) We’ve been out in t...
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If you have ANY shading on your panels in series, you will lose a lot of power. The gain in series is two fold from the higher voltage. One, the panel voltage reaches the activation voltage needed by the MPPT controller earlier in the day and retains it longer in the evening. The higher voltage allows more power flow through thinner wires, I.e., less line loss.
Starting in parallel allows you to easily add more panels.
IMO, EPEver controllers are the most cost effective. Victron is likely the best consumer grade units with a matching cost.
Wattage equals volts times amps. Which unit you need comes down to that. Easier still, find likely candidate controllers, download their manuals. The ones I’ve seen all state the recommended maximum PV wattage input. For example mine states 390watts at 12vdc. So I’m planning on ending up with four 100 watt panels since PV panels rarely put out their rated output (for many reasons).
I agree that you would want a 50 Amp capable unit. The EPEver tracer series 4210AN (40 amp unit) lists max PV wattage at 520 watts.
Starting in parallel allows you to easily add more panels.
IMO, EPEver controllers are the most cost effective. Victron is likely the best consumer grade units with a matching cost.
Wattage equals volts times amps. Which unit you need comes down to that. Easier still, find likely candidate controllers, download their manuals. The ones I’ve seen all state the recommended maximum PV wattage input. For example mine states 390watts at 12vdc. So I’m planning on ending up with four 100 watt panels since PV panels rarely put out their rated output (for many reasons).
I agree that you would want a 50 Amp capable unit. The EPEver tracer series 4210AN (40 amp unit) lists max PV wattage at 520 watts.
