Over paneling

[SeanWatts]

I have an mpp brand 1012lv-ms. It has a max voltage of 102, and max watts of 500.

I have watched many of Will's videos, including the one in the beginners resources link on this page, where he mentions over paneling, but I am not sure how much I can go over the rated max watts.

I found some 230w panels that have a 37voc. Can I run 4 panels in 2s2p?

My voltage would be 74 which is safely under the 102v max, but it would be 920 watts, which is almost double what the 1012lv is rated for. Is 920 watts to much for the 1012lv?

 

[MisterSandals]

Is 920 watts to much for the 1012lv?

No but a good amount of the 920W will be unused.
If you pointed one series string eastish and one westish, you could start harvesting earlier and end later with little waste.

 

[Bud Martin]

I have 1012LV-MS (SCC 40A) and I use three 230W SunPower in parallel, it max clips out at 520 ~ 530W, I am able collect good power in cloudy day and good through out the day when it is not cloudy.
I upgrade my later to 1012MK (SCC 80A charging) connected to six 230W panels when I upgrade my batteries from one 90Ah battery pack to two 280Ah LiFePo4 battery packs.
Basically the charger will pull the power from the panel up to the maximum the charger can supply to the load. Its the max PV input Voltage that you have watch out for.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I have an mpp brand 1012lv-ms. It has a max voltage of 102, and max watts of 500.

I have watched many of Will's videos, including the one in the beginners resources link on this page, where he mentions over paneling, but I am not sure how much I can go over the rated max watts.

I found some 230w panels that have a 37voc. Can I run 4 panels in 2s2p?

My voltage would be 74 which is safely under the 102v max, but it would be 920 watts, which is almost double what the 1012lv is rated for. Is 920 watts to much for the 1012lv?

Overpaneling refers to more power than they can deliver, it does NOT refer to exceeding limits. 100V is a HARD limit.

 

[SeanWatts]

Thanks for the replies!

I like the idea of facing one of the strings slightly se and the other slightly sw. With that in mind, can I add another two panel string, so it would be 2s3p?

That way I could have 2 panels se, 2 straight south, and 2 sw?

It is going to be a ground array, so I am completely open to the directions they point, and I am unlimited on ground space.

 

[Bud Martin]

How many panels do you have right now?
You can experiment with what you have and see what you will get to start with.
Right now it is winter times so my production is only about 1/3 to 1/2 during this time of year in Bay Area.

 

[SeanWatts]

How many panels do you have right now?
You can experiment with what you have and see what you will get to start with.
Right now it is winter times so my production is only about 1/3 to 1/2 during this time of year in Bay Area.

I only have 4x 100 watt panels right now.

 

[WYtreasure]

I only have 4x 100 watt panels right now.

Folks smarter than me can offer you valuable info about Mixing & Matching panels.
I think they are like tires on wheels. If it's close it may be ok, but truck tires don't fit on a Tesla.

 

[SeanWatts]

Folks smarter than me can offer you valuable info about Mixing & Matching panels.
I think they are like tires on wheels. If it's close it may be ok, but truck tires don't fit on a Tesla.

Right, I don't want to mix and match. I have two other charge controllers, that I can use the 100w panels on.

I am basically setting up different outbuildings on a small farm with their own solar setups. So, in the end, I will have 5 or 6 independent solar setups.

 

[WYtreasure]

Right, I don't want to mix and match. I have two other charge controllers, that I can use the 100w panels on.

I am basically setting up different outbuildings on a small farm with their own solar setups. So, in the end, I will have 5 or 6 independent solar setups.

Cool,
Dump more info on the thread for more & better replies.