Solar question
I have 100 watt system with a Morning Star controller on my TC. I was thinking of getting a portable 100 watt suitcase type with it's own built in controller by Renogy that I could use on a lot of ot...
Forum Discussion
DJ,
What's a "TC"?
I think you're asking if two solar systems will interfere with each other (two solar controllers).
If that's the question, the answer is yes, at least potentially.
Solar controllers work by reading what the battery is doing. When you add two controllers, the voltage at the battery is artificially inflated by one and the other may misread that as battery charge level.
In practicality, it'd be hard to tell exactly what's going to happen - it's going to depend on controller type.
I have a remote power station at a gate. It's charged by both a small battery charger and a solar array.. The array and charger definitely interact.
What can you do about it? In theory, you can add diodes to the charge side of the controller so it's not possible to feed back any current through the less powerful controller. This would make sure you at least don't get a loss. I'm not sure that it solves the issue.
Best solution would be to isolate a battery for charging with the portable setup.. IE - one charger hits one set of batteries, the other charger on the others. While isolated, the RV couldn't use that batteries under charge.
Best suggestion would be to get a charge controller that handles both arrays and arrange a way to plug in the portable setup to that controller. Solar arrays arranged in parallel.
What's a "TC"?
I think you're asking if two solar systems will interfere with each other (two solar controllers).
If that's the question, the answer is yes, at least potentially.
Solar controllers work by reading what the battery is doing. When you add two controllers, the voltage at the battery is artificially inflated by one and the other may misread that as battery charge level.
In practicality, it'd be hard to tell exactly what's going to happen - it's going to depend on controller type.
I have a remote power station at a gate. It's charged by both a small battery charger and a solar array.. The array and charger definitely interact.
What can you do about it? In theory, you can add diodes to the charge side of the controller so it's not possible to feed back any current through the less powerful controller. This would make sure you at least don't get a loss. I'm not sure that it solves the issue.
Best solution would be to isolate a battery for charging with the portable setup.. IE - one charger hits one set of batteries, the other charger on the others. While isolated, the RV couldn't use that batteries under charge.
Best suggestion would be to get a charge controller that handles both arrays and arrange a way to plug in the portable setup to that controller. Solar arrays arranged in parallel.
