Serial vs Parallel Solar Panel Shading
I was asked if a post in another thread if this "Serial is actually better for shading (than parallel) if that is a concern for you." was a typo. It is not a typo but panel shading is not always under...
Forum Discussion
CA Traveler wrote:
Before purchase I carefully checked out my roof layout with different sized panels (watts and physical size) and the best panel was the 60 cell mounted crosswise. This allowed fore/aft roof access from the rear ladder. The 72 cell panels would have blocked fore/aft access which was not desirable for me.
I like my 60 cell 255w panel. It goes well with the RV 12v system. Goes with a 20 amp MPPT controller. It is also not too big and heavy to use as a portable if you are staying a few days, but I would not like to lug it in and out of the RV twice a day every day. For that kind of RVing, I would go with roof mounted for sure.
I tried the 60 cell panel with the batteries at "24v" as an experiment, and it got them to 30v before stalling out. So it can charge the 24v ok, but not do any sort of overcharge when you need one of those from time to time. For that you do need 72 cell panels with a 24v system.
