expired Posted by Navy-Wife | Staff ā¢ Jun 18, 2022
Jun 18, 2022 10:43 PM
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expired Posted by Navy-Wife | Staff ā¢ Jun 18, 2022
Jun 18, 2022 10:43 PM
ACOPOWER 12V Monocrystalline Solar Panel Module: 200W $133, 100W
+ Free Shipping$66
$180
63% offAmazon
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These size and wattage of solar panels are great for using with towable trailers, RVS, camping and pulling out of a garage or closet (along with a rechargeable battery or power station) to provide low wattage power in an emergency. They're small and compact enough easily pick up and carry outside or placed and mounted around vents, skylights and other areas that would be next to impossible to fit a full size solar panel.
If you want to build a dedicated solar array for your home these small portable panels are NOT a good choice. They have a higher cost per watt than other larger panels, need more hardware to mount on a rail system, can require more cabling work, and are just generally a lot more work to install.
Right now a good target for panels alone + shipping is about $0.45/watt. You can also buy them by the pallet to get even better deals and lower overall unit shipping costs. If you have a local supplier you can save yourself a significant amount of money by picking them up yourself.
I have posted and contributed to other solar panel threads, and I've included a few of the links below. If you go through the comments you might find some general useful information. š
1 https://slickdeals.net/f/15756952-acopower-100w-12v-compact-monocrystalline-solar-panel-module-panel-only-66-free-shipping
2 https://slickdeals.net/f/15806137-acopower-100w-12v-portable-monocrystalline-solar-panel-suitcase-w-waterproof-20a-charger-controller-2-kickstands-150-free-shipping
3 https://slickdeals.net/f/15837301-acopower-100w-12v-portable-monocrystalline-solar-panel-suitcase-w-waterproof-20a-charger-controller-2-kickstands-150-free-shipping
Otherwise for powering general equipment, typically one connects to a solar battery charging controller preferably with the MPPT feature.
That is a device which takes whatever the output of the solar panel is and uses the power to charge one or more batteries attached to the charger (the voltage and current taken out of the solar panel may vary; the MPPT feature of some chargers / charging controllers actively looks for the optimum voltage¤t load to get the most power out of the panel in any given time based on the light level etc. so the most power at the right voltage and current is always delivered to the battery for optimized charging).
So one could have several types of deep cycle type lead acid battery (flooded, sealed / AGM, gel cell) or a lithium iron phosphate type battery connected to the battery charger, and one can possibly use one or two or sometimes more such batteries connected in series depending on whether you want a roughly 12V voltage single battery system or a roughly 24V voltage dual battery system (two 12V batteries series connected), etc.
Then the battery / batteries are possibly / typically connected to another piece of equipment which is a DC to AC inverter which can generate 120VAC or 220/240VAC according to your model's type and the power voltage/frequency used in your location so you can power suitable devices typically powered by the AC mains grid by plugging them into the inverter instead when you are traveling off-grid (e.g. camping, RV, outdoors work site ) or have a particular location (shed, gate, outdoor equipment or whatever ) which needs constant power available day or night possibly from the batteries but which gets that power ultimately partly or wholly from the solar cells charging the batteries during the light hours. One can also have a setup that switches from AC mains grid power to battery backup / solar power depending on how much of which power source is available at a given time.
Anyway you don't HAVE to have an DC to AC inverter, and if you're powering things like USB-C powered chargers / devices (laptops, cell phones, tablets ...), low voltage DC LED lighting, DC powered equipment / security systems / tools / pump / whatever then maybe all you will need is low voltage DC power coming from the solar panel and/or the attached batteries.
Also of course you don't HAVE to have the attached batteries and battery charger, maybe you only need to power charging laptops / phones etc. or something that can deal with the power being available or intermittent day / night etc.
A common alternative to using the solar battery charger controller and batteries is an integrated 'power bank' type unit which includes in itself batteries, a charger for its batteries, maybe conversion to output some USB / USB-type-C ports to plug in other stuff to be powered / charged, maybe includes an DC to AC inverter to power AC mains plug in type equipment etc.
So basically the solar panel(s) generate as much power as they can and is drawn from them whenever there is some modest light on them (even overcast, cloudy but ideally sunny).
A battery or power bank system can store that energy for future use or to supply higher bursts of power if needed to augment / substitute what the solar panel(s) put out at any time.
A DC-to-AC inverter can output AC 120V or 220/240V to power plug in equipment if needed.
A DC input battery charger can be powered from solar panels or batteries input and used to charge / power other things like vehicle, laptop batteries, USB-type-C charging outputs, etc.
100w same price 50 days ago
https://slickdeals.net/share/android_app/fp/715918
Surely we have some people with experience?
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Here is a illustration I found on Google image search that might make it easier to understand how it all fits together. This is for an "off-grid" system.
https://www.suterpower.
They mostly all DO have folding / suitcase (carry bag) type panels that one can easily fold / pack / carry / deploy
temporarily by unfolding.
That said, yeah these do have rigid aluminium frames around them so clearly they're not going to actually
fold under the size of one panel. But the 100W (or even the 200W) panels are not THAT large (I have some and the measurements are listed on the product pages / graphics etc.).
Someone with a compact car could totally put up to several panels in a trunk with a fold-down back seat or if you've got a SUV / pick up truck then they'd likely go right in the trunk / bed, or could be maybe put in the back seat of a car or larger vehicle etc.
I've transported one of the 100W panels in the trunk of a 2D civic sedan no problem, for instance, and they're light and easy to carry.
So it isn't out of the realm of consideration that one could take one camping or whatever with a bit less convenience than the suitcase foldable models of these panels. Obviously one would just have to avoid scratching / breaking the panel by careless packing / handling but they're relatively rigid / durable but clearly you wouldn't pack 50 pounds of camping gear on the panel.
EDIT: In case you didn't see it lately on SD or Amazon or whatever they actually recently did have the "suitcase" portable system on sale or at least advertised on SD from Acopower I think. Maybe it still is. I think it had the foldable panel with a charge controller of some little kind etc.
One "identical" panel may have a little less efficiency vs its brother, or one may be a little dirtier or have some shade falling across it from a tree etc. whereas the other panel is fully in the sun, etc. so the reality is the MPPT voltage / current can vary from one panel to another panel even with side by side panels, right?
So connecting them in series will be a compromise in the sense that a heavily shaded panel can cut down the
whole string's total current flow as well as its own contributed share of the string voltage for any series connected string.
Connecting panels in parallel would possibly rely on the panel's built in reverse flow protection diodes to ensure that if one panel is shaded and connected across another which may be outputting higher voltage under some / no load that the stronger panel doesn't cause any problem.
AFAIK this kind of slight incompatibility / inefficiency is often put up with when connecting strings of panels together even though it's a sacrifice in efficiency the simplification of wiring and reduction of string inputs to channels on the load equipment is lessened by possibly a lot so long as it really is a safe thing for the panels etc.
One thing you can't do AFAIK is hook two different wattage panels even those with similar nominal voltages in series since of course the higher power panel will want more current to flow through the lower power panel than it is able to even roughly match e.g. 200W/19V/10A vs 100W/19V/5A.
The ACOPOWER could have been producing 4.5 amps at 14.7v for 66watts
And the RENOLOGY could have been producing 5.5 amps at 12v for the same 66 watts.
The difference in electrical characteristics between solar panels is exactly the reason why you don't want to connect dissimilar panels together, regardless of their listed wattage. Doing so can dramatically limit the efficiency of your entire solar array and potentially damage your solar panels.
I would always recommend buying/installing solar panels in even numbers when possible and avoid ever mixing solar panels together on an electrical circuit. Each model of solar panel has its own characteristics, its own voltage and its own amperage/current, and if you mix them together the best case scenario is that you only get the performance of the lowest outputting panel, worst case is that you fry the panel with the lowest amperage / current rating. And that raises another important point, if you are ever using more than two panels, always connect fuses to your solar panel wiring to prevent damage and fires.
You can however, have completely different types of panels connected to the same -system-, provided each group is on their own independent charge controller, and each charge controller is outputting the same voltage to the battery.
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100w same price 50 days ago
https://slickdeals.net/share/android_app/fp/715918
Surely we have some people with experience?
HOWEVER. They are different panels. They both say ACOPOWER but the barcodes are totally different, the metal divots on the frame are different, and the panel itself where the metal wire type things go up and down the panel - one was wider than the other.
Not sure in this case if it is safe to connect them together because they are clearly different. But same watts. No idea on amps I'm not that deep into solar yet.
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One "identical" panel may have a little less efficiency vs its brother, or one may be a little dirtier or have some shade falling across it from a tree etc. whereas the other panel is fully in the sun, etc. so the reality is the MPPT voltage / current can vary from one panel to another panel even with side by side panels, right?
So connecting them in series will be a compromise in the sense that a heavily shaded panel can cut down the
whole string's total current flow as well as its own contributed share of the string voltage for any series connected string.
Connecting panels in parallel would possibly rely on the panel's built in reverse flow protection diodes to ensure that if one panel is shaded and connected across another which may be outputting higher voltage under some / no load that the stronger panel doesn't cause any problem.
AFAIK this kind of slight incompatibility / inefficiency is often put up with when connecting strings of panels together even though it's a sacrifice in efficiency the simplification of wiring and reduction of string inputs to channels on the load equipment is lessened by possibly a lot so long as it really is a safe thing for the panels etc.
One thing you can't do AFAIK is hook two different wattage panels even those with similar nominal voltages in series since of course the higher power panel will want more current to flow through the lower power panel than it is able to even roughly match e.g. 200W/19V/10A vs 100W/19V/5A.
Solar panels have variations in voltage(and therefore total wattage output) and the aggregate range is going to be listed on the back on the manufacturer sticker. This particular solar panel shows to have a power tolerance range of plus-minus 3%. When you have two panels that are on polar sides of that 3%(so 6% while still remaining in spec) is when you start seeing significant inefficiencies. I check all of my panels in real world tests rapid fire one after the other in the exact same conditions to get accurate voltage and amperage readings before I ever connect it to an existing system.
A lot of manufacturers will sell low-performing solar panels with minor defects, including out of spec voltage, to wholesale distributors as scrap or salvage, and those wholesale distributors turn around and sell them as "used". It's pretty shady, and that's usually the only place you're going to see really different voltages on the same model.
Yes there are problems with running panels in series when you either have one low performing panel or one that gets covered in shade before the others. When doing an installation with panels and series you need to track the motion of the Sun in relation to shade casting obstructions like trees or other building structures across the gathering surface. This will determine how you wire the panels together so that panels in a single series are all shaded at more or less the same time while other sets of parallel panels are still able to produce for as long as possible.
For wiring in this configuration on installations where you know you have progressive shading, it's best to put panels in sets of paralleled series because you can take advantage of the benefits of higher voltage while minimizing the downsides. You just get the best of both configurations with minimal drawbacks.
When you have a large clear open area for your solar panels without any obstructions, it's easy to go for the higher voltages from larger series chains because it does increase the overall efficiency of the system while reducing material costs. (High voltage does introduce its own challenges however.)
Having multiple series chains in parallel is a good compromise between the two, but you need to have good connection boxes with good fusing and backfeed prevention.
You are correct that you can have two panels of the same Peak Circuit Voltage(Voc) and Max Power Voltage(Vmp) that produce different amperage in parallel, but the lower wattage panel will need to have an appropriately sized fuse and diode put in line to be safe.
Parallel and series wiring configurations aside, the single most effective way to wire solar panels(for a tiegrid system) is to use single panel microinverters that then tie in directly to AC. The micro converters take whatever power is produced by each individual panel and then converts it independently of any other solar panel. This currently is the best way to get the most energy out of solar panels, but the microverters themselves often cost as much as the panels that they connect to. šø
HOWEVER. They are different panels. They both say ACOPOWER but the barcodes are totally different, the metal divots on the frame are different, and the panel itself where the metal wire type things go up and down the panel - one was wider than the other.
Not sure in this case if it is safe to connect them together because they are clearly different. But same watts. No idea on amps I'm not that deep into solar yet.
Also, look up the model information on the solar panels, I wouldn't be too surprised if you might have bought one polycrystalline panel and one monocrystalline panel?
An example manufacturer's label from Amazon page, so you know what to look for.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images..._V1___
Thoughts on this controller to pair w 200watt panel?
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank OmahaJeff
Thoughts on this controller to pair w 200watt panel?
Buy a charge controller with a capacity for what you plan to connect to it, not just what you have right now. š
Or am I better off with the suitcase kit? https://slickdeals.net/f/15837301-acopower-100w-12v-portable-monocrystalline-solar-panel-suitcase-w-waterproof-20a-charger-controller-2-kickstands-150-free-shipping?p=1555
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