few questions about solar power....

[robbob2112]

Unplugged the ups from the inverter and within 1 hour the battery has climbed to 14.4volts...i hope that is a good thing

Ok, I watched your video.

Wiring the 400w panel to the pwm then to the new battery is ok. The PWM you have is good for 20amps. The 400w panel has 22amps available. So that is good.

DO NOT CONNECT ANY MORE PANELS.

You need to go into the menu of the PWM And set the battery type to AGM or B02. This will use the proper charge and float voltages.

Once that is done disconnect all loads and let the battery charge from the sun for a day to get it fully charged.

After a day plug just the laptop and monitor into your inverter. The rest of the things you have plugged in draw to much current from the battery. The fridge especially.

You may have already done it, but please post still pictures of the inverterer. Looking to see if the rated watts is listed and seems reasonable. Make sure they are in focus. And the link where you got it. And with just the computer and monitor connected see if the inverter is hot to touch.

Only plug the UPS into the wall at this point, not the inverter.

Also, take a picture of your connections to the new battery. In focus and post.

 

[corporal_Canada]

Ok, I watched your video.

Wiring the 400w panel to the pwm then to the new battery is ok. The PWM you have is good for 20amps. The 400w panel has 22amps available. So that is good.

DO NOT CONNECT ANY MORE PANELS.

You need to go into the menu of the PWM And set the battery type to AGM or B02. This will use the proper charge and float voltages.

Once that is done disconnect all loads and let the battery charge from the sun for a day to get it fully charged.

After a day plug just the laptop and monitor into your inverter. The rest of the things you have plugged in draw to much current from the battery. The fridge especially.

You may have already done it, but please post still pictures of the inverterer. Looking to see if the rated watts is listed and seems reasonable. Make sure they are in focus. And the link where you got it. And with just the computer and monitor connected see if the inverter is hot to touch.

Only plug the UPS into the wall at this point, not the inverter.

Also, take a picture of your connections to the new battery. In focus and post.

i have not added any other solar panels, i am however tempted to... i looked into the umm "menu" of the charge controller and i have not seen agm or b02 anywhere.... and you assume i can navigate the menu... lets assume that at least 1 solar panel produces 100 watts MINIMUM... i need all; 3 to pump 100 watts and balance out how much i am pulling out.. .. which is exactly 300 as for the fridge... i tested it and the wattmeter indicated 65 watts.. not surge nothing like that...just 65 watts...

and yes the inverter was hot to touch....

will take photos once my coffee kicks in...

 

[robbob2112]

i have not added any other solar panels, i am however tempted to... i looked into the umm "menu" of the charge controller and i have not seen agm or b02 anywhere.... and you assume i can navigate the menu... lets assume that at least 1 solar panel produces 100 watts MINIMUM... i need all; 3 to pump 100 watts and balance out how much i am pulling out.. .. which is exactly 300 as for the fridge... i tested it and the wattmeter indicated 65 watts.. not surge nothing like that...just 65 watts...

and yes the inverter was hot to touch....

will take photos once my coffee kicks in...

Your PWM has a max current of 20amps, your single 400watt panel provides that. To use more you need another PWM or MPPT. But your battery can only charge at around that.

If you try adding more panels it won't be useful because the PWM can't pass it.

If you can't find settings in the PWM to stop charging the battery when full you will kaput it.

 

[corporal_Canada]

turns out that my fujitsu laptop commited seppuku and wont boot so i just connected my fridge which only pulls 65 watts.. an old laptop only uses 47-55 watts so.. im in the same ballpark...

 

[robbob2112]

The sticker on your fridge says 300watts

 

[corporal_Canada]

Your PWM has a max current of 20amps, your single 400watt panel provides that. To use more you need another PWM or MPPT. But your battery can only charge at around that.

If you try adding more panels it won't be useful because the PWM can't pass it.

If you can't find settings in the PWM to stop charging the battery when full you will kaput it.

oh okay so you do not believe the full power of 3 solar panel can go to the 50ah battery even if i order 2 separate charge controllers ? (for the remaining 2 solar panels that remain unconnected...

 

[corporal_Canada]

The sticker on your fridge says 300watts

yup. confirmed.. currently it is pulling 282 watts

 

[Hedges]

What were the dimensions of this "400 watt" panel?

How much charge current was being delivered in full sun (with battery not full, or load on battery)?

I thought you had an assortment of panels that all told wouldn't exceed 20A x 12V = 240V

Great, with fridge pulling watts, SCC can take all the PV panel puts out, to measure actual wattage.

 

[corporal_Canada]

Added a 1.5 inch styrofoam wedge to every major solar panel
. Hope that helps in some way

 

[corporal_Canada]

Sorry, but despite what all of you believe, I love life and have not exactly revisited the rooftop to measure any solar panel ...is it not possible to guestimate from that image right there ??? Yes it's likely that they are not the actual 300watts as written on the box

But if I even get 100 watts of each I estimate that I will be golden.
Or am I wrong again? I will take all photo of the wiring and underneath the inverter tomorrow... sorry, I'm doing so so many things here and I'm just 1 man, it is a miracle I haven't overloaded a fuse in my little brain...

 

[Hedges]

I expect a good wind to send all of them flying.

Based on the photo, the whole batch of them may not even total 300W. You can measure actual output current of each through PWM SCC, then decide how many it can handle in parallel.

 

[corporal_Canada]

I expect a good wind to send all of them flying.

Based on the photo, the whole batch of them may not even total 300W. You can measure actual output current of each through PWM SCC, then decide how many it can handle in parallel.

i can only figure out how to link 2 solar panels by series, couldnt begin to understand how by parallel....

and im not too embarrased to admit that i dont know what SCC means either

 

[robbob2112]

i can only figure out how to link 2 solar panels by series, couldnt begin to understand how by parallel....

and im not too embarrased to admit that i dont know what SCC means either

The PWM is the SCC (solar charge controller).

LABEL EACH WIRE.
one at a time connect the wires to the PWM
Look at the PWM display to see how many amps it reads
WRITE THIS ON THE LABEL.

Report back all the results.

Between this and the voltage it will tell us the watts of each panel.


Parallel means to put multiple positive together and multiple negatives together.

Series means to connect positive from one to negative of another. DOING THIS WILL BURN OUT THE PWM...KAUPUT!!!

 

[Hedges]

For PWM, with a 12V battery you want PV panels with Vmp around 16V to 19V.
If you had two "6V" panels with 8V to 10V Vmp, those two you might connect in series.
Otherwise, series connection of PV panels doesn't deliver any more power through PWM SCC, because amps are not increased. But it would kill the SCC with over-voltage or overheating.

If PV panels have MC4 connectors you could get "Y" cables.
Or, cut an MC4 extension cord in half to make pigtails and connect several together by stripping ends and twisting together.

I'm guessing that all your 12V panels wired in parallel might add up to 20A. And you can tilt some toward morning sun, some towards afternoon, for more hours and lower peak current.

 

[corporal_Canada]

wiring.. sort of...

rumble.com

I took a video of the current power source that is powering 1 old laptop.... And it has been nearly 2 hours and laptop is still running and it had an empty battery when plugged into the inverter.
..

 

[robbob2112]

wiring.. sort of...

rumble.com

I took a video of the current power source that is powering 1 old laptop.... And it has been nearly 2 hours and laptop is still running and it had an empty battery when plugged into the inverter.
..

Take pictures, not video. It is impossible to tell anything from the videos because the focus changes as you move. With pictures we can zoom in and see much more than video.

With pictures you can check they are in focus before uploading

the 400w panel that the sticker is this big
1690 x 1046 x 40mm

Or 5ft 6in by 4ft 6in

How big is the panel you have?


There is nothing to reference to guess at the sizes of your panels. I get you dont want to crawl out there. So put a yard stick, tape measure or anything to take a picture of. Not video. If we can get an idea of how big the roof tiles are we can guess at the physical size of the panels.

 

[corporal_Canada]

Take pictures, not video. It is impossible to tell anything from the videos because the focus changes as you move. With pictures we can zoom in and see much more than video.

With pictures you can check they are in focus before uploading

the 400w panel that the sticker is this big
1690 x 1046 x 40mm

Or 5ft 6in by 4ft 6in

How big is the panel you have?


There is nothing to reference to guess at the sizes of your panels. I get you dont want to crawl out there. So put a yard stick, tape measure or anything to take a picture of. Not video. If we can get an idea of how big the roof tiles are we can guess at the physical size of the panels.

i have a measuring tape no worries, and i intend to give you the length and width of the 3 largest solar panels but please give me time to make peace with my Gods before i climb onto that slimy hot grimy rooftop...

 

[corporal_Canada]

NEVER AGAIN please

 

[42OhmsPA]

I commend those that are trying to help in this thread as well as the op for not giving up and continuing to try and make things work.

For reference my 370W, output verified, panels are 175.5cm x 103.8cm.

 

[Hedges]

Assume 200W/m^2 of active area, so 50 x 58mm might be 50W.
60x45 and 70x45 close.

Maybe 200W total there with all panels shown. All together they fit 20A PWM at 12V.

 

[corporal_Canada]

200 watts is enough to power my pc.. during daylight hours.... so.. i need an mppt thing to connect the remaining 2 panels to the battery ? or 2 identical charge controllers ?

 

[corporal_Canada]

Assume 200W/m^2 of active area, so 50 x 58mm might be 50W.
60x45 and 70x45 close.

Maybe 200W total there with all panels shown. All together they fit 20A PWM at 12V.

just the 3 with a yellow border are reserved for my 12v 50ah battery

 

[Hedges]

3x 50W = 150W (STC) PV panels.
About 75% to 85% of that will be typically produced (due to elevated temperature).
150W x 80% = 120W
120W / 12V = 10A, 10A / 50Ah = 0.2C during bulk charging
120W / 15V = 8A, 8A / 50 Ah = 0.16C approaching full.

But that math for watts only works with MPPT, which converts high voltage low current down to battery voltage higher current.

You have PWM, so output will just be sum of current from the three panels.

It is a suitable size for charging the 50 Ah battery. Don't go larger unless you have a bigger battery.

 

[corporal_Canada]

3x 50W = 150W (STC) PV panels.
About 75% to 85% of that will be typically produced (due to elevated temperature).
150W x 80% = 120W
120W / 12V = 10A, 10A / 50Ah = 0.2C during bulk charging
120W / 15V = 8A, 8A / 50 Ah = 0.16C approaching full.

But that math for watts only works with MPPT, which converts high voltage low current down to battery voltage higher current.

You have PWM, so output will just be sum of current from the three panels.

It is a suitable size for charging the 50 Ah battery. Don't go larger unless you have a bigger battery.

so i ineed to get an mppt.. which is more or less the same thing as a scc ? to be able to insert all 3 + and - of all 3 solar panels ?? are you certain thats it ???

 

[Hedges]

200 watts is enough to power my pc.. during daylight hours.... so.. i need an mppt thing to connect the remaining 2 panels to the battery ? or 2 identical charge controllers ?

Don't bother with the remaining smaller panels, too small to matter.

so i ineed to get an mppt.. which is more or less the same thing as a scc ? to be able to insert all 3 + and - of all 3 solar panels ?? are you certain thats it ???

You have a PWM SCC. An MPPT SCC might harvest a little bit more power, but costs significantly more.
Leave this setup for something small. It may harvest 720 Wh/day in summer, 240 Wh/day in winter.

Decide what you want to power, how many Wh/day it needs.
Design a new system with bigger battery, more panels, suitable SCC and inverter if required, or AIO combining those functions.
It may be 10x or 100x bigger than this system.