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For 150/45, the 150 is max PV voltage. 45 is the amps.
12/24/36/48 is pack voltage.
What I've seen is charge controllers are amp limited. So going to higher battery voltage will allow the controller to deliver higher watts vs lower battery pack voltage.
High PV input voltage allows you to series connect panels and not have to use high gauge wire between the panels and controller
Very likely yes, you will need some sort of solar charge controller, and Victron is a very solid brand.
Work backwards from the voltage of your house battery system (12v/24v/35v/48v), then if you have a general idea of how many watts you want (or can fit) on the RV roof, then that'll roughly give you your amps by dividing your desired watts by the battery voltage - for instance 800 watts divided by 24v battery system = 33.3amps, so you'd likely want a 30a or higher Victron unit. Then the first number in these model names is max solar panel input voltage into the charge controller (i.e. 100V, 150V - the higher the number, the more panels you can put in series - reducing gauge/cost of PV wire, but you can always compromise and run a series & parallel config to kind of get a medium voltage).
EPever is what I have now - and have an issue where it will get stuck and not do MPPT charging. I have new FW just loaded and it's working but time will tell.
I just read the manual on the Victron 150/45 smart controller, wow there's a lot of features!
I have an epever too. How do you tell whether or not it is performing an 'MPPT charging' as you claimed?
I think something is being hacked. Victron sells via authorized resellers only and 100% controls retail price. I checked few listings and all sellers are some unknown companies. Not sure what is going on.
I think something is being hacked. Victron sells via authorized resellers only and 100% controls retail price. I checked few listings and all sellers are some unknown companies. Not sure what is going on.
Because pricing has dropped at authorized dealers through multiple retailers (ebay, amz, etc), I'm fairly certain this would be an authorized price drop from Victron, probably clearing stock for a newer lineup (pure speculation on my part).
I have an epever too. How do you tell whether or not it is performing an 'MPPT charging' as you claimed?
Mine has a display and if I see the PV voltage very close to the battery voltage, then it is not performing MPPT charging, or not doing it well. If I cycle power from my PV panels, I'll see the voltage from the PV array triple (mine are 3 in series) and the current going to the battery also triple.
Yes 12V/24V/48V is the battery voltage. You can set in the app per your battery setup. 100V is max solar voltage. 45A is max amp output.
To confirm if you try putting more solar into it(more than 100v), It just doesn't flow? Correct? It doesn't hurt anything? Correct? It just caps out at 100. I think
Is this something I should get if I'm planning to buy an RV and install solar panels on top?
Very likely yes, you will need some sort of solar charge controller, and Victron is a very solid brand.
Work backwards from the voltage of your house battery system (12v/24v/35v/48v), then if you have a general idea of how many watts you want (or can fit) on the RV roof, then that'll roughly give you your amps by dividing your desired watts by the battery voltage - for instance 800 watts divided by 24v battery system = 33.3amps, so you'd likely want a 30a or higher Victron unit. Then the first number in these model names is max solar panel input voltage into the charge controller (i.e. 100V, 150V - the higher the number, the more panels you can put in series - reducing gauge/cost of PV wire, but you can always compromise and run a series & parallel config to kind of get a medium voltage).
Are people buying this building an off grid solar system? Trying to see how people are scaling into solar if it's only for a shed/RV or DIY solar for their entire house. I want to look into it but me and electricity never ends up wellโฆ๐
Very likely yes, you will need some sort of solar charge controller, and Victron is a very solid brand.
Work backwards from the voltage of your house battery system (12v/24v/35v/48v), then if you have a general idea of how many watts you want (or can fit) on the RV roof, then that'll roughly give you your amps by dividing your desired watts by the battery voltage - for instance 800 watts divided by 24v battery system = 33.3amps, so you'd likely want a 30a or higher Victron unit. Then the first number in these model names is max solar panel input voltage into the charge controller (i.e. 100V, 150V - the higher the number, the more panels you can put in series - reducing gauge/cost of PV wire, but you can always compromise and run a series & parallel config to kind of get a medium voltage).
Very helpful, thanks. I have a 550W Renogy panel and a 12V battery. The panel has an open circuit voltage of 50V. 550W/12V = 46 amps so I would need the Victron 100/50, correct? And with that unit I could also connect 2 550W panels in series (100V) and add another 12V battery wired in series, making it a 24V system (1100/24 = 46 amps). Am I thinking about this correctly?
Very likely yes, you will need some sort of solar charge controller, and Victron is a very solid brand.
Work backwards from the voltage of your house battery system (12v/24v/35v/48v), then if you have a general idea of how many watts you want (or can fit) on the RV roof, then that'll roughly give you your amps by dividing your desired watts by the battery voltage - for instance 800 watts divided by 24v battery system = 33.3amps, so you'd likely want a 30a or higher Victron unit. Then the first number in these model names is max solar panel input voltage into the charge controller (i.e. 100V, 150V - the higher the number, the more panels you can put in series - reducing gauge/cost of PV wire, but you can always compromise and run a series & parallel config to kind of get a medium voltage).
Can anyone help me with this- I have (4) 200w/20v panels, totalling 800w. (I'm also considering buying another (2) 200w panels down the line. I also have 4 12 volt/80 amp batteries. This is completely an off grid system. Anyone would have an idea of which unit I should purchase?
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Very helpful, thanks. I have a 550W Renogy panel and a 12V battery. The panel has an open circuit voltage of 50V. 550W/12V = 46 amps so I would need the Victron 100/50, correct? And with that unit I could also connect 2 550W panels in series (100V) and add another 12V battery wired in series, making it a 24V system (1100/24 = 46 amps). Am I thinking about this correctly?
Yes, that's roughly correct. Unfortunately VOC varies with temperature, you can find a chart, but 2 of those 550W panels could exceed 100V at cold(er) temps, and you really don't want to exceed the 100V max input voltage or you risk frying the controller. Personally I would go with a 150V controller in your case. And yes, definitely advantageous running your batteries in parallel to 24V.
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12/24/36/48 is pack voltage.
What I've seen is charge controllers are amp limited. So going to higher battery voltage will allow the controller to deliver higher watts vs lower battery pack voltage.
High PV input voltage allows you to series connect panels and not have to use high gauge wire between the panels and controller
Work backwards from the voltage of your house battery system (12v/24v/35v/48v), then if you have a general idea of how many watts you want (or can fit) on the RV roof, then that'll roughly give you your amps by dividing your desired watts by the battery voltage - for instance 800 watts divided by 24v battery system = 33.3amps, so you'd likely want a 30a or higher Victron unit. Then the first number in these model names is max solar panel input voltage into the charge controller (i.e. 100V, 150V - the higher the number, the more panels you can put in series - reducing gauge/cost of PV wire, but you can always compromise and run a series & parallel config to kind of get a medium voltage).
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I just read the manual on the Victron 150/45 smart controller, wow there's a lot of features!
Because pricing has dropped at authorized dealers through multiple retailers (ebay, amz, etc), I'm fairly certain this would be an authorized price drop from Victron, probably clearing stock for a newer lineup (pure speculation on my part).
Thanks.... I think
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Very likely yes, you will need some sort of solar charge controller, and Victron is a very solid brand.
Work backwards from the voltage of your house battery system (12v/24v/35v/48v), then if you have a general idea of how many watts you want (or can fit) on the RV roof, then that'll roughly give you your amps by dividing your desired watts by the battery voltage - for instance 800 watts divided by 24v battery system = 33.3amps, so you'd likely want a 30a or higher Victron unit. Then the first number in these model names is max solar panel input voltage into the charge controller (i.e. 100V, 150V - the higher the number, the more panels you can put in series - reducing gauge/cost of PV wire, but you can always compromise and run a series & parallel config to kind of get a medium voltage).
Work backwards from the voltage of your house battery system (12v/24v/35v/48v), then if you have a general idea of how many watts you want (or can fit) on the RV roof, then that'll roughly give you your amps by dividing your desired watts by the battery voltage - for instance 800 watts divided by 24v battery system = 33.3amps, so you'd likely want a 30a or higher Victron unit. Then the first number in these model names is max solar panel input voltage into the charge controller (i.e. 100V, 150V - the higher the number, the more panels you can put in series - reducing gauge/cost of PV wire, but you can always compromise and run a series & parallel config to kind of get a medium voltage).
Work backwards from the voltage of your house battery system (12v/24v/35v/48v), then if you have a general idea of how many watts you want (or can fit) on the RV roof, then that'll roughly give you your amps by dividing your desired watts by the battery voltage - for instance 800 watts divided by 24v battery system = 33.3amps, so you'd likely want a 30a or higher Victron unit. Then the first number in these model names is max solar panel input voltage into the charge controller (i.e. 100V, 150V - the higher the number, the more panels you can put in series - reducing gauge/cost of PV wire, but you can always compromise and run a series & parallel config to kind of get a medium voltage).
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Yes, that's roughly correct. Unfortunately VOC varies with temperature, you can find a chart, but 2 of those 550W panels could exceed 100V at cold(er) temps, and you really don't want to exceed the 100V max input voltage or you risk frying the controller. Personally I would go with a 150V controller in your case. And yes, definitely advantageous running your batteries in parallel to 24V.
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