Subdood
Photon Wrangler
I have a question about solar panel(s) that sit out in the sun but aren't connected to a charge controller or inverter. Say I have an array of panels hooked together, but not yet connected to anything and not generating any power. Is there a potential danger of any of the panels being damaged being exposed to sunlight? Just because there's no current flowing, there's still PV cells still doing their thing in the sun.
I ask this because a few months ago, I bought a 200W Newpowa panel to run with my Ecoflow River Pro. I ran it a few days in the sun, and I never seemed to get more than 180W. There were times it sat out in the sun for a few hours a day not hooked up to the Ecoflow. A few days later I was cleaning the panel, and saw what looked like a partially burned cell about the size of a quarter. The panel didn't seem to put out more than about 140W after that. Whether the burned spot was there the whole time or caused the loss in power, I don't know.
So I contacted Newpowa and they said since the panel wasn't hooked up and charging the generator, then it could damage a cell since there's still PV potential being generated, despite no current flowing. I took pictures of the burned area and sent them pics of that along with the serial number. I disagreed with their explanation. But, after exchanging a few emails with them, they said that they would replace the panel, but I'd have to ship it back to them, at their expense. Thankfully I kept the box, so I repacked it and sent it back to them via FedEx. A couple weeks later I got a new panel, and it seemed to work fine, at times I'd get about 190W. After inspecting the panel more, to my surprise I discovered that it was a 210W panel. I emailed them and told them about this, and they said they didn't have any of the 200W panels left,, so they upgraded me with a better one. So that was nice of them to do that. So kudos to Newpowa for that.
But anyway, I thought their answer about the panel being disconnected sitting in the sun would cause damage was bogus. I know system arrays are built and obviously aren't hooked up to anything at the beginning, and I doubt they cover the panels to protect them from such damage. What say y'all? I'm about to build my array, and am curious to the answer.
I ask this because a few months ago, I bought a 200W Newpowa panel to run with my Ecoflow River Pro. I ran it a few days in the sun, and I never seemed to get more than 180W. There were times it sat out in the sun for a few hours a day not hooked up to the Ecoflow. A few days later I was cleaning the panel, and saw what looked like a partially burned cell about the size of a quarter. The panel didn't seem to put out more than about 140W after that. Whether the burned spot was there the whole time or caused the loss in power, I don't know.
So I contacted Newpowa and they said since the panel wasn't hooked up and charging the generator, then it could damage a cell since there's still PV potential being generated, despite no current flowing. I took pictures of the burned area and sent them pics of that along with the serial number. I disagreed with their explanation. But, after exchanging a few emails with them, they said that they would replace the panel, but I'd have to ship it back to them, at their expense. Thankfully I kept the box, so I repacked it and sent it back to them via FedEx. A couple weeks later I got a new panel, and it seemed to work fine, at times I'd get about 190W. After inspecting the panel more, to my surprise I discovered that it was a 210W panel. I emailed them and told them about this, and they said they didn't have any of the 200W panels left,, so they upgraded me with a better one. So that was nice of them to do that. So kudos to Newpowa for that.
But anyway, I thought their answer about the panel being disconnected sitting in the sun would cause damage was bogus. I know system arrays are built and obviously aren't hooked up to anything at the beginning, and I doubt they cover the panels to protect them from such damage. What say y'all? I'm about to build my array, and am curious to the answer.