solar budget of 2700.00 Canadian
Hi all, I'm going to beef up my solar system. The budget is $2700.00 including installation costs. I'm considering these because I will be able to pick them up from Calgary and save the (conside...
Forum Discussion
Here you go. Salvo's summary of Gale's shading test:
Thanks for running this test. This scenario is more prevalent than you think. Trees can easily shade one panel and leave the other in the sun. In summer, I'm usually partially in shade to keep the RV cooler. It's always a trade off between maximizing solar charging and minimizing solar load to the rest of the RV.
Reading your graph, I get:
Series or parallel in full sun is about 28A, or 14A per panel.
Series with one panel shaded: 4A
Parallel with one panel shaded: 15A
This is the classic reason why parallel is better. A series array will limit current to that of the least producing panel. The bypass diodes do not help.
The series vs parallel debate is not as clear cut as some think.
In series, you only get 4A out with one panel shaded. Parallel gives you 15A. That's quite significant.
Parallel vs. series test
Sal
Thanks for running this test. This scenario is more prevalent than you think. Trees can easily shade one panel and leave the other in the sun. In summer, I'm usually partially in shade to keep the RV cooler. It's always a trade off between maximizing solar charging and minimizing solar load to the rest of the RV.
Reading your graph, I get:
Series or parallel in full sun is about 28A, or 14A per panel.
Series with one panel shaded: 4A
Parallel with one panel shaded: 15A
This is the classic reason why parallel is better. A series array will limit current to that of the least producing panel. The bypass diodes do not help.
The series vs parallel debate is not as clear cut as some think.
In series, you only get 4A out with one panel shaded. Parallel gives you 15A. That's quite significant.
Parallel vs. series test
Sal
