Hello,
Ok, I'm a little bit stuck and could really do with some advice.
I have four 300W panels. Two of them face east, and two of them face west. That is the way the roof faces and they can't be arranged any other way.
I'll be running a24V battery system.
Now, my original logic was to use two charge controllers (one for the east facing panels, and one for the west facing panels) and have essentially two strings of series panels. This was to try and deal with the issue of shading between the east and west facing panels.
However, I want to use an MPPT charge controller which works with lithium cells. This feature doesn't seem to be included with any of the controllers at thecheaper end of the range. But, this feature is included with many of the 300+ controllers.
Now, not wanting to buy two 300+ charge controllers (due to budget), also spending nearly 700 on charge controllers for a 1kW array seems a little excessive...Is there a way of wiring all four panels into one charge controller, even with them facing opposite directions?
I'm thinking maybe the PCM60X like everyone seems to be using, or one of the morningstar TristarMPPT controllers would have the capacity to handle 4 panels.
I've been reading about bypass diodes being used for shading issues but not specifically for whole strings facing opposing directions, but I'm thinking the same rules apply.
Does anyone else have panels facing different directions?
I don't know if I'm over thinking this, or if I've missed something obvious. For me this solar project is just a bit of fun, doing something I find interesting. So spending vast sums on kit which I am not 100% sure will do what I need it too, is mildly troubling for me.
I've included a quick sketch of what I think may work for my setup.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks. Alex
Ok, I'm a little bit stuck and could really do with some advice.
I have four 300W panels. Two of them face east, and two of them face west. That is the way the roof faces and they can't be arranged any other way.
I'll be running a24V battery system.
Now, my original logic was to use two charge controllers (one for the east facing panels, and one for the west facing panels) and have essentially two strings of series panels. This was to try and deal with the issue of shading between the east and west facing panels.
However, I want to use an MPPT charge controller which works with lithium cells. This feature doesn't seem to be included with any of the controllers at thecheaper end of the range. But, this feature is included with many of the 300+ controllers.
Now, not wanting to buy two 300+ charge controllers (due to budget), also spending nearly 700 on charge controllers for a 1kW array seems a little excessive...Is there a way of wiring all four panels into one charge controller, even with them facing opposite directions?
I'm thinking maybe the PCM60X like everyone seems to be using, or one of the morningstar TristarMPPT controllers would have the capacity to handle 4 panels.
I've been reading about bypass diodes being used for shading issues but not specifically for whole strings facing opposing directions, but I'm thinking the same rules apply.
Does anyone else have panels facing different directions?
I don't know if I'm over thinking this, or if I've missed something obvious. For me this solar project is just a bit of fun, doing something I find interesting. So spending vast sums on kit which I am not 100% sure will do what I need it too, is mildly troubling for me.
I've included a quick sketch of what I think may work for my setup.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks. Alex