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newPowa 200W panels not outputting amps!?

Cosmini

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Oct 30, 2021
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hello folks, newbie here,
I originally purchased a Renogy 200W Mobile solar panel which is working flawlessly with my Victron SCC 100V/30A outputting 180-205W.
I then bought two 200W Newpowa solar panels (non-mobile).
Both of the NewPowa panels, when connected by themselves output 17+V, but no amps whatsoever (0 amps).
When I connect them in series, according to the Victron SCC output 28V and190W combined (at top sun). This leads me to believe that they are 100W panels, but not sure why they do not work by themselves. Has anyone seen this kind of behavior? -- so far, crickets from the support company. (I've attached screenshots of the two in series, and one, standalone)



thank you kindly for any thoughts,
Cosmin
 

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the working renogy is 53 x 32.5 = 1722.5 sq in.
the problematic newpowa is 64.5 x 26.5 = 1709.25 sq in

this is the amazon link for the newpowa panel:

I'm a tad lost, as a newbie as I really wanted to bulk up to a total of 4 x 200w =800W worth of wattage.
 
1709.25in^2 = 1.10m^2

That's 1100W hitting that panel in perfect sun... 200/1100 = 18%

Okay. Looks like it should be a 200W panel.

Check Voc and Isc manually with a multimeter.
 
with a multimeter, VOC is 17.75V.
Isc is 0 on a 10Amp scale, and 03.0 readout on the 200mA scale. both panels are behaving identically and there is no scratch or dent on them.

still lost :)
 
with a multimeter, VOC is 17.75V.
Isc is 0 on a 10Amp scale, and 03.0 readout on the 200mA scale. both panels are behaving identically and there is no scratch or dent on them.

still lost :)

Is that in sunshine? If so, that's just nuts.

Specifications​

  • Dimension: 64.57*26.57*1.38 inches
  • Weight: 27.56 lbs
  • Max Power Output(W): 200W
  • Voltage MPP Vmp(V): 17.00V
  • Current MPP Imp(A): 11.76A
  • Voltage Open Circuit Voc(V): 20.23V
  • Short Circuit Current Isc(A): 12.45A

Sounds like you have defective panels.
 
at just about 2:00pm, sunny florida, no skies (perfect day, not hot, around 70 degrees outside).
thanks bunches, @sunshine_eggo , for all the help troubleshooting. Forwarding this thread to their tech support to see what they say.
 
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I think you may not have enough 'head room' above the charging voltage.
hi @Richard295 , thank you so much for the feedback, I think you're right, after doing more testing, in conjunction with the Renogy PWM solar charge controller that came with the Renogy 200W Mobile Panel, vs: the Victron SmartSolar CC 100V 30A.

Using the Renogy PWM Solar charge controller (seems relatively similar):
200W Renogy Solar Panel: Output: 13.0V, 6.5A
200W NewPowa Solar Panels: Output 13.0V, 5.8A

Unfortunately, I don't believe I can't connect the two NewPowa panels in series, to feed into the 12V, 20A Renogy PWM Solar charge controller.

So now testing with the Victron 100V/30A SmartSolar Charge Controller:
200W Renogy Solar Panel: Output 17.23V, 6.0A, 102 W
2 x 200W NewPowa Solar Panels in Series: 30V, 3.4A, 104W (wow, half the total power !?) -- it does not output any AMPS using the single panels, by themselves, bec of the head room you mentioned.

All 3 panels in series: 48V, 3.6A, 171W

Admittedly, I did not test these at highest solar peak, only at aroun 9:00am when it was still decent sun (about 50% output, but it looks like the NewPowa is 25%, at least through the Victron SCC)

Also, looking at the Amazon reviews, at

a bunch of Amazon users/reviews indeed are reporting significantly lower output.
Not sure there's anything I can tweak, other than replacing them with better quality panels :-(

NewPowa's tech support recommends I get their 210W panel which has a higher voltage level (and supposedly would work nice with the Victron MPPT), but I'm leery, at this point.
 
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You need to stick with PWM if the panels don't provide sufficient voltage to drive a MPPT.

Series-connecting on a PWM is useless. The efficiency of a PWM depends on the voltage difference. The higher the voltage above the batteries voltage, the more of the available power is unused. PWM doesn't convert voltages: It only regulates by adjusting the pulses.

Unlike a MPPT, which has eg 48V / 1A on the panel side (48W) and outputs 12V / 3.9A (47 watts, slight loss due to the MPPT)

So my general guideline is: Panels <20V: PWM. Multiple panels, or panels with higher voltages: MPPT.

But if panels are underperforming, no controller can fix that
 
Does the panel come with a charge controller, like some panel has a black box with build-in charge controller and it could be the reason why it's doing all you mentioned and why the MPPT cant work?
 
Well buddy I have to tell you the one I got from Newpowa works efficiently. I tested it the other day after I received this delivery. The output raised up to 118 watts in 2 hours on a sunny afternoon. It has been 5 months so far so I think the panel is pretty solid. Try the other way to measure it!Solar Panel Review.jpg
 
Does the panel come with a charge controller, like some panel has a black box with build-in charge controller and it could be the reason why it's doing all you mentioned and why the MPPT cant work?
no, just using the Renogy PWM 12V 20A that came with the Renogy Mobile Suitcase and the Victron SmartSolar 100V 30A.
All tests indicate both NewPowa 200W panels work fine, by themselves, with the PWM controller (albeit about 80% off of the Renogy panel), but give a fairly subpar wattage (about 50%) when connected (in series) to the VictronSmartSolar, I believe, to the headroom voltage I believe, that was mentioned before. thanks for the heads up.
 
the working renogy is 53 x 32.5 = 1722.5 sq in.
the problematic newpowa is 64.5 x 26.5 = 1709.25 sq in

this is the amazon link for the newpowa panel:

I'm a tad lost, as a newbie as I really wanted to bulk up to a total of 4 x 200w =800W worth of wattage.
I just bought 3 of exact same panels and under Sacramento noon sun, they fed a maximum of 404w to my Bluetti EB240. VOC was around 58.4v.

I chose these panels for the specific reason that when used in series they should generate a V*A combo very close to the max input voltage and amp for EB240 (60V x 10A, Max 500w)

Well I'm a lil disappointed now since 3x200w panels is supposed to be "over-panel" for eb240.
 
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