Remove Stock 40w Panel Before adding?
So I just got an Arctic Fox 811, and I'm adding 2 x 100 solar panels to the unit to help us with boondocking. The camper came with a zamp solar 40w panel already on the roof, and a zamp solar 30a pwm ...
Forum Discussion
TriBeard wrote:naturist wrote:
Assuming all panels are the same voltage, a 30 amp controller should be able to handle all 240 watts of panels. Put them all in parallel, and it should be fine. 240 watts at 12 volts is 20 amps, well within the controller’s capacity.
Of course, upgrades are always possible. But the simplest is just adding the 200 watts.
Judging by the spec sheets I was able to find, the voltages are within a volt or two of each other, but they're not identical.
Volt or two isn’t important. Raw voltage from a 12 volt panel is going to range from about 8 volts to about 19 volts depending on sun. What matters is spec voltage, thus a 12 volt panel can’t be parallel with a 24 volt panel, which will put out between 16 and 38 volts. The panels will adjust their own output to cover a volt or two.
Same thing happens if one panel is in sun, other in shade. Two panels of same nominal voltage will be fine, the shaded one just won’t contribute.
