The best photovoltaic solar panels

BFL13 wrote:

MrWizard wrote:
i belive the 'efficency' he is talking about
is amount of power converted to electricity from the , the sq meters/ft of surface area at std irradiance tests

Ok, the 230w, 7.63a Imp panel is 39.38 by 65 inches. = 2560 sq in

the "efficient" 220w, 5.6a (Imp?) panel is 31.4 by 62.2 inches.= 1953 sq in.

So to be as "efficient" for watts as the 220 the 230 would be 230/220 x 1953 = 2042 sq in instead of its 2560 sq in, so that is fine.

The amps per sq ft gets you 5.65 and 1953 so 7.29 would be
7.29/5.65 x 1953 = 2520 sq ft vs the real 2560 for the 230w Sun panel

So no big diff there. That means it is all down to the MPPT controller what really happens between the two panels for their 'efficiencies" in charging batteries (producing amps)



Watts are nice, but it is amps that charge the battery. Will an MPPT sort out the amps to "Make up" the 7.29 vs 5.65 "little problem" here?

If you take 220 watts and devide by 5.65 amps you get about 39 volts that the panel should be running at.

A MPPT controller can take in 39 volts at 5.65 amps and transform this to about 15 amps at 13.2 volts. That is what a MPPT controller does. It is not "Magic" just transforming a higher voltage at lower amperage into a lower voltage at a higher amperage. 13.2 X 15 is only 198 watts, so it is not breaking any laws of physics. They have been on the market for many years, even my 1999 Solarboost 50 was not new when I installed it.

Fred.