secondhandluck
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2020
- Messages
- 13
I took a stack of panels for dirt cheap, and having not really done any research I didn't know that older panels were positive ground. Lesson learned. That said,
My wife and I had been intending to do a solar electric system, but with the current state of the economy and the job market, we made the call to do it now, and lower our monthly expenses as soon as possible. I am putting a system together of used components, some of which I know are not the ideal choice but it's how I can afford to do it now. I had hoped to do a hybrid with battery backup, but that will have to wait for the future.
What I have currently, are 24 sun power 305 panels.
I have access to a NOS, SunnyBoy 7000us transformer type inverter, that has positive ground capability to work with these panels. Going this route costs me about a quarter of what it would cost with new panels, which is nice as work has been sporadic for the past several months. My issue is, the SB 7000 only appears to have one MPPT input, that supports one string. I can do it, and wire the panels to be below the max voltage and amperage.... but the barn roof has two sections facing slightly differently. One section that fits 16 panels is at a 45º angle, and the other 8 panels would be at 22º. Ideally I would have two strings and two MPPT inputs. So, is there any newer inverter, that can be made configured to run a positive ground array of panels? Or, is there a way to add more MPPT inputs to the SB 7000?
I have found someone locally, that has supposedly found a way to use these same panels with a sunny boy island, and is grid tied somehow, but I have yet to connect with him.
I've read a ton, and come up with nothing positive, but I'll keep asking before giving up completely.
Thanks in advance, SD
My wife and I had been intending to do a solar electric system, but with the current state of the economy and the job market, we made the call to do it now, and lower our monthly expenses as soon as possible. I am putting a system together of used components, some of which I know are not the ideal choice but it's how I can afford to do it now. I had hoped to do a hybrid with battery backup, but that will have to wait for the future.
What I have currently, are 24 sun power 305 panels.
I have access to a NOS, SunnyBoy 7000us transformer type inverter, that has positive ground capability to work with these panels. Going this route costs me about a quarter of what it would cost with new panels, which is nice as work has been sporadic for the past several months. My issue is, the SB 7000 only appears to have one MPPT input, that supports one string. I can do it, and wire the panels to be below the max voltage and amperage.... but the barn roof has two sections facing slightly differently. One section that fits 16 panels is at a 45º angle, and the other 8 panels would be at 22º. Ideally I would have two strings and two MPPT inputs. So, is there any newer inverter, that can be made configured to run a positive ground array of panels? Or, is there a way to add more MPPT inputs to the SB 7000?
I have found someone locally, that has supposedly found a way to use these same panels with a sunny boy island, and is grid tied somehow, but I have yet to connect with him.
I've read a ton, and come up with nothing positive, but I'll keep asking before giving up completely.
Thanks in advance, SD
