dumb question about PV input voltage

[defed]

so i'm now looking at the growatt spf3000 series. there is the lvm-es and the lvm-48p. i think the ES may be the newer model.

the ES has PV input voltage of 120v-250v and the 48P says 60v-115v (145 voc).

i have (10) 180w panels, ~36v vmp, 5a imp and ~45v voc. all 10 are not identical, there are (4) of one type and (6) of the other...though the specs are nearly identical. for this reason, i have them wired only 2 in series to keep the types together (2 pair of one type and 3 pair of the other type). my current c/c has max input of 150v, so 5 in series was too much any way. they are close enough that i could probably make 5 in series if i wanted to.

my question is, at 36vmp, w/ 2 in series, i imagine more often than not i will be over 60v...under what conditions would I fall below the 60v and not charge? it's 7pm here in the northeast and it's still over 67v input (less than 2a). i suppose by the time i drop below 60v, there won't be any power to charge regardless. so it's probably a moot point.

i did say that it was a dumb question!

 

[timselectric]

Overcast/rainy days may be an issue.

 

[Johno1066]

Take a look at the EG4 3000 max PV power 5000 watts and max PV volts 500 max PV incoming amps 18. I have 2 of them and they have worked well for me.

 

[defed]

Overcast/rainy days may be an issue.

i guess i don't know what the low level cutoff is on my current c/c. i hear it cycle on and off when it's really cloudy or at dusk, but i always presumed it 'worked' until it went under battery voltage...if that's the case, i can't imagine there is much difference in it barely charging or not charging at all.

right now, almost 8pm, it went to 59v @ .9a...so i guess that's essentially 'off' any way.

 

[defed]

Take a look at the EG4 3000 max PV power 5000 watts and max PV volts 500 max PV incoming amps 18. I have 2 of them and they have worked well for me.

i was reluctant to series all 10 because of the slightly different specs of the 2 types, though it probably won't matter as they are almost the same specs.

 

[Johno1066]

I run 5S-3P on one inverter and 5S-2P on the other gives me around 185-190 volts with the 3 maxing out at 18 amps and the two at 14 amps.so I am a little overpaneled on the string of 3 but will probably add another 5 panels to the string of 2. I could have made more power with strings of 6 or 7 but it did not suit the arrays I built.

 

[defed]

interesting observation...it's dark enough that the input is 65v but 0a. so i'm guessing the 60v is close enough to charging voltage that it won't make a difference in the long run.

one other thing i don't like is the 50w idle consumption....that's 10% of my capacity for nothing...but i know that's probably going to be about average. i believe my outback was 20w idle....i need to get that thing fixed!