Solar-Panel to Controller Loss
Much has been made of the lower losses on the panel to controller path with MPPT because the amps are less. So once you have your loss measured, how valuable is it to improve on that if you don't lik...
Forum Discussion
I believe jr has the ticket. MPPT and PWM as we describe it are just two different ways of doing it and beyond the hype, what you choose should be situation specific. There isn't a huge difference in bright light if that's all you care about.
In my case the altitude makes the situation very specific. My panels wake up with frost on them most mornings and it's over cast most afternoons. MPPT gives me the most early when I need it and milks the most from the clouds once they roll in. PWM would be fine if I had long sunny days and I didn't have to worry about being in float before 11 am or noon.
So when suggesting a system knowing things like where, when and conditions are as important as knowing the loads, roof space and budget. There is no one size fits all except if you over build you will likely be ok.
BFL
Thank you for the efforts. There are always formulas and concepts of what should happen but it takes some one pushing the button for real to see what really happens. You are dealing with PWM vs MPPT, for me it was mono vs poly and now mismatched panels. Yesterdays test has me thinking about buying a forth 250w for $170 while I can. Someday I might expand or need to replace a panel and would hate to have to replace all of them to get the controller to work right.
.
The ability to expand later without having to have a exact match should be listed as one of the advantages of a PWM system.
In my case the altitude makes the situation very specific. My panels wake up with frost on them most mornings and it's over cast most afternoons. MPPT gives me the most early when I need it and milks the most from the clouds once they roll in. PWM would be fine if I had long sunny days and I didn't have to worry about being in float before 11 am or noon.
So when suggesting a system knowing things like where, when and conditions are as important as knowing the loads, roof space and budget. There is no one size fits all except if you over build you will likely be ok.
BFL
Thank you for the efforts. There are always formulas and concepts of what should happen but it takes some one pushing the button for real to see what really happens. You are dealing with PWM vs MPPT, for me it was mono vs poly and now mismatched panels. Yesterdays test has me thinking about buying a forth 250w for $170 while I can. Someday I might expand or need to replace a panel and would hate to have to replace all of them to get the controller to work right.
.
The ability to expand later without having to have a exact match should be listed as one of the advantages of a PWM system.
