Not solar again ?
I ain't gonna do it , but I am Curious . In the course of a year I pull 3 different trailers and I was wondering : My pickup has a metal topper like the phone companies had in the past , if I put 3 o...
Forum Discussion
3 tons wrote:
OP says, “Where does all that electric that I ain't catchin , where do it go ? ”
The panels will merely have the ‘potential’ to produce, but won’t produce unless the power has somewhere to go.
3 tons
Actually, the panels when not connected to anything WILL "produce" a VOLTAGE at the panel terminals when sun is shining on them.
But when no LOAD is connected (battery, controller or light bulb) there just will not be any CURRENT flowing.
This can be easily proved by connecting a volt meter to any solar panel with sunlight on it and nothing else connected.. If panel is good, you should see a voltage reading up to the rated voltage listed on the panel.
Same idea as a battery whether it is a dry cell (D, C, AA, AAA), lead acid battery, AGM, Lithium.. They all will have a voltage at the terminals if they are good and/or charged.
With that said, some controllers will have a specific hookup requirement which may need batteries connected first and then the solar panel.
Best to read and understand the controller manual before making connections.
