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4s or 2s2p or 2p2s?

Freep

Solar Enthusiast
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I have 4 identical panels, 150 watt 20.23 Voc, 8.82A Imp. Two panels are mounted on the overhead cab of a truck camper with a slight angle. The other two are mounted horizontally. I have one Victron MPPT 100/30

I was thinking I should go with 2s2p which to my mind(which could be wrong) is 2s for the horizontal pair and 2s for the overhead cab pair and then parallel those strings.

Is this a good choice or should I use a different configuration?
 
For the panels it comes down to the angle vs sun vs production.

Think about it as the sun passes across the sky. If the angle of the sloped panels is low enough when the sun falling on the angled set that they aren't producing much power the flat set probably won't be either. If there is no desire to avoid shading issues series connected would work OK. If there is a fair difference in slope as the sun moves further over and production on the sloped set falls, ie the current they produce falls, the flat set will be limited to producing no more current than the sloped set. This works both ways for both cases so you can switch the sloped and flat sets in this scenario.

If there is going to be a production restriction like that or shading is a concern you'd go with series parallel where the flat set is one string and the sloped set is another string. This would allow each string to produce as much current as the light falling on them dictates. There is a catch here too. One set of panels will be receiving more direct angled light than the other and will heat up more than the other. Cell heat reduces the voltage from the panel a bit. The hotter panels will attempt to pull the cooler panels down to their voltage so the cooler panels will drop a bit of production as a result.

All things considered I'd be look at 2s2p where the strings are the panels in the same plane.

You also need to consider the charge controller's limits. 100/30 means max voltage input 100, max amps input and output 30. The voltage of 2 of your panels in series is 40.46, well below 100V so all good there. The maximum current of 2 of your panels in parallel is about 18.6A (short circuit), again well within the capabilities of the controller.

What about current out of the controller? Suppose you have an auxilliary battery, 12V rather than your truck battery which is likely 24V. At peak production you have 600W from the panels, may not ever get there, that would mean 50A (600/12) to the battery. That exceeds the 30A limit on the controller. The controller will limit at 30A so you can only ever get about 360W to the battery. If you are feeding into a 24V battery, 600W is about 25A and that is within the controller's ability so you'll get full power to the battery if your panels can ever produce it. Actual current varies up and down a bit as the battery voltage changes. Nothing breaks in the controller if your system is capable of producing more current, the controller just won't go past the 30A limit.

Lastly the battery charge rate has to be considered. Charging an 80Ah lead acid battery at 30A isn't a good idea so if this is to charge an aux battery check the acceptable charge rate for the battery.
 
Thanks for the detailed answer. To answer some of your questions, Shading is not an issue. We try to park in full sun for maximum charging. I am charging a 271ah 12v LiFePo4 battery. The two horizontal panels are new. We lived in the camper for a month with 2 panels on the overhead cab and always parked pointing south. I was getting about 15 Amps max on that trip so I think I'll be OK with the 100/30. I already figured that if I go to six panels I'll have to either add a new or replace the existing MPPT controller.

If I consistently max out at 30 amps output, I'll probably just get a bigger MPPT. But that would also mean new wiring too, which is a major pain in a truck camper.
 
I asked a similar question a while back because the roof of my RV trailer has two different planes. The entire roof is arched but I'm not counting that as a different plane. At the time I was looking at 4 x 200watt panels. I ended up with 2 x 320watt panels in a 2s arrangement with both panels in the same plane. The plane question was then moot.

Your plan sounds reasonable to me. I have the Victron 100/50 because my two panels can produce up to about 80 volts.

A fuse should be used between the two strings.
 
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