diy solar

diy solar

Combining Arrays?

Nevadajim

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May 20, 2021
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I’m upgrading my off grid solar system. I will have 3 separate arrays of 1080 watts each. One on the roof of the cabin angled east for the AM sun and two 60 ft away. (One set for southern exposure and the other for western exposure.) What size wire should be used for the 60’ run? But, more importantly, can I combine these two arrays and then run the 60 ft with just 2 wires instead of four? Once at the cabin I would put them in a combiner box with the roof array. Thanks for your thoughts.
 
I think you can combine them, but if it was me, I would keep all 3 separate and use 3 separate charge controllers. That way, you can evaluate the performance of the 3 separate arrays and make changes to azimuth and elevation for best performance. When you have a problem and your output dips drastically, you'll know right off which array is causing the problem

Don
 
I would use two separate charge controllers. That way shading of one will not effect the other.

EDIT: oop, I wrote two and meant three. One for each array.
 
I think you can combine them, but if it was me, I would keep all 3 separate and use 3 separate charge controllers. That way, you can evaluate the performance of the 3 separate arrays and make changes to azimuth and elevation for best performance. When you have a problem and your output dips drastically, you'll know right off which array is causing the problem

Don
Don, Where do I go to learn how to install 3 charge controllers into my system. I guess each array is wired directly to a separate controller thus eliminating the ‘combiner box’???
 
Yes, all three are done the same way you would do a single controller - All 3 controllers connect to the battery bank separately

Don
 
having 3 SCC also give you some redundancy for the off grid part. in case one goes down you can swap them around depending on what panels are making the most power that time of year. (id make them all the same size)
 
having 3 SCC also give you some redundancy for the off grid part. in case one goes down you can swap them around depending on what panels are making the most power that time of year. (id make them all the same size)
Thanks!
 
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