. Hello vanners ,I have just mounted a new solar panel to the roof of my van and have not connected it to the controller as yet. Do I need to disconnect the panels from the controller ,the existing panel is still connected up ,so how do I go about installation of the panels ,hope I made sense .JOHN..
dragonfly1 said
07:51 AM Jul 2, 2015
Just connect it in parallel with the other panel that Is positive to positive and negative to negative
Dragonfly1
dogbox said
09:38 PM Jul 4, 2015
can panels of different watts be connected in parallel eg 100 watts an 200 watts do you get 300 watts
Plendo said
10:50 PM Jul 4, 2015
Yes as long as the panels are voltage matched.
However it is always best to combine like panels, as the voltage curve on different panels will be different, thus reducing overall efficiency.
dogbox said
10:49 AM Jul 5, 2015
voltage matched same dc eg 17v
like panels meaning same brand or same construction (mono) verses other
Plendo said
12:13 PM Jul 5, 2015
Ideally you would combine like panels, as in same brand and model. However panels of the same voltage and cell type (mono or poly) together would be fine.
In the ideal world you would be able to look at a panel and tell by how many cells were in a long row how many cells were in series and what the voltage was, but a couple of things get in the way, many panels have two long rows connected together in series, and ther eis now such an amazing range of technologies that the cells themselves are now producing different voltages.
When I wa sin the industry 22% was regarded as the theoretical maximum conversion efficiency, but I just read an article that a company was moving towards production with a 34.6% efficient cell (tri junction technology), and the article was discussing newer better technologies that were being trialed.
With the advances in efficiency, and the ever reducing costs, why would you consider using anything else other than solar as your power source for a new house.
Just connect it in parallel with the other panel that Is positive to positive and negative to negative
Dragonfly1
Yes as long as the panels are voltage matched.
However it is always best to combine like panels, as the voltage curve on different panels will be different, thus reducing overall efficiency.
like panels meaning same brand or same construction (mono) verses other
Ideally you would combine like panels, as in same brand and model. However panels of the same voltage and cell type (mono or poly) together would be fine.
In the ideal world you would be able to look at a panel and tell by how many cells were in a long row how many cells were in series and what the voltage was, but a couple of things get in the way, many panels have two long rows connected together in series, and ther eis now such an amazing range of technologies that the cells themselves are now producing different voltages.
When I wa sin the industry 22% was regarded as the theoretical maximum conversion efficiency, but I just read an article that a company was moving towards production with a 34.6% efficient cell (tri junction technology), and the article was discussing newer better technologies that were being trialed.
With the advances in efficiency, and the ever reducing costs, why would you consider using anything else other than solar as your power source for a new house.