SHTF Power Anyway
Power Pig
We purchased a 10 kWh kit which includes 28 370 watt panels which are going to be fed to a 12kWh Sol-ark with eFlex batteries. The design document shows running 2 10 panels in parallel to MPPT1 and 1 8 panel section in series to MPPT2. My neighbor thinks we need to provide physical separation of the two 10 panels in parallel from the 8 panels in series. We have limited roof space on the roof chosen to hold the panels. We're putting all of this on a barn that just barely perfectly fits the entire array. We're then feeding the power to a shop next to the house where we are planning on powering refrigeration/freezers and our water pump as well as lights and power tools (as power provides). We could put the 8 panels on the shop roof but doing so would limit future expansion. The shop roof is higher and harder to maintain and has less space so hence my choice of putting this on our open sided barn with lower roof allowing easier maintenance and safer installation. I had planned on two rows of 14 panels installed in portrait on Tamarack rails. Do I need the physical separation between the two 10 panels in parallel from the 8 in series? If so, how much separation and should I make a "break" in the rails where the separation occurs? Any help would be greatly appreciated.