Using a residential PV panel on RV
Hi everyone, Newly registered to the forum here, I've been reading a lot of helpful information here over the past year while doing my conversion though. I haven't been able to find a straight ans...
Forum Discussion
mexicanfooddude wrote:
I know the usual RV PV panels have an output voltage of ~ 17 volts. So, my question: will this 40.5 volt panel work with a Morningstar PWN charge controller to properly charge the batteries?
There are 2 most common groups of panels used in RV: with ~17V and ~30V. There is no such thing as "RV panel" or "residential panel", any panel can be used in RV if there is enough space, though 40v panels are not common in RV installs.
No, Morningstar PWM or any other PWM controller won't work. When you connect 12V bank and a 40v panel, the controller will cut the volts down to 13-14 (if it will accept 40V input without going up in smoke, to begin with), and you will lose 70% of power. This 245W panel would work as ~80W panel then.
If you want it to work as 245W, you need an MPPT controller.
