solar upgrade
On my RV roof I presently have 2 Kyocera 135 W panels, flat mounted, hooked in series, feeding to my Blue Sky Solar Boost 3024iL charge controller. I want to add more panels to my array. The simpl...
Forum Discussion
Salvo wrote:
I don't see any good way to combine all 3 panels. To make matters worse, your shading issues could degrade your entire setup.
I would connect the 2 Kyrocera panels to a pwm controller. You can get a pretty good 20A pwm controller for $20 at ebay. You'll connect these panels in parallel. Use your Blue Sky controller for the new higher volt panel.
Sal
Probably right but pretty easy to test. Connect the new panel in parallel to the old series panels and measure amps into battery. Disconnect the old panels from controller and direct hook them in parallel to the battery, parallel to the controller output. Measure total amps into battery. If it is significantly better, get a cheapie PWM controller for the 12v panels.
It is possible that buying the higher Vmpp new panel and paralleling it to the Vmppx2 of the old panels may not be too far from the max power point for either when it optimizes the system to a voltage in between. It all depends on the specific IV curves and how far the new panel drops off a couple of volts above, and how far the old panels drop off a volt or two below Vmpp.
Jim
