Solar panel identification
I'm new to the forum but have been reading it for some time. I just bought a 2012 Adventurer 86FB . This unit came with a solar panel professionally installed but apparently not by Adventurer. There a...
Forum Discussion
Each square is about .5 volts. A typical 12 volt panel will have 36 cells for 18 volts open circuit. The current output will depend on a lot of things;
1. the material the photoelectric cell is made of. Poly-crystalline or Mono-crystalline.
2. The physical size of each of the 36 cells.
3. The intensity of photons hitting the panel from the sun.
4. The angle to the sun.
Solar panel current output is rated into a short. Basically take your amp meter and measure between the positive and negative, shorting out the panel with the meter. This measurement will be somewhat more than it would be into 12 volt load. Your panel won't be at the optimum angle to the sun, so that too will diminish the actual vs rated output, but it will give you a real view of actual power it can generate.
I have 200 watts RATED solar and rarely see more than 8 amps with the sun directly over head and into a load of something greater than 8 amps (a tail light bulb for example). Doing the math; P=I*E, Where I is 8 and E is 12.8 volts, the power out of my 200 Watt panels is 102 watts. That is very typical of what to expect from roof mounted solar; 1/2 rated of the panel. Also remember the type of solar controller will also affect the final power that can be generated. Some controllers are better at converting than others. Just the fact the open circuit voltage of a panel is 18 volts and the typical float voltage of a battery is 12.8 to 13.6, shows you that there are inherent losses in a typical solar generation system. Wire size/gauge and wire length also will affect the final power you'll get out of your solar plant.
1. the material the photoelectric cell is made of. Poly-crystalline or Mono-crystalline.
2. The physical size of each of the 36 cells.
3. The intensity of photons hitting the panel from the sun.
4. The angle to the sun.
Solar panel current output is rated into a short. Basically take your amp meter and measure between the positive and negative, shorting out the panel with the meter. This measurement will be somewhat more than it would be into 12 volt load. Your panel won't be at the optimum angle to the sun, so that too will diminish the actual vs rated output, but it will give you a real view of actual power it can generate.
I have 200 watts RATED solar and rarely see more than 8 amps with the sun directly over head and into a load of something greater than 8 amps (a tail light bulb for example). Doing the math; P=I*E, Where I is 8 and E is 12.8 volts, the power out of my 200 Watt panels is 102 watts. That is very typical of what to expect from roof mounted solar; 1/2 rated of the panel. Also remember the type of solar controller will also affect the final power that can be generated. Some controllers are better at converting than others. Just the fact the open circuit voltage of a panel is 18 volts and the typical float voltage of a battery is 12.8 to 13.6, shows you that there are inherent losses in a typical solar generation system. Wire size/gauge and wire length also will affect the final power you'll get out of your solar plant.
