diy solar

diy solar

Question on basic setup

TerrySilver

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Joined
Sep 5, 2021
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9
Hi all I have a question , cannot find answer in vendor's literature or YouTube channels. I have 3 panels 100W 21.6 Voc 18.0 Vmp 5.56 A, an Eco-Worth 6 port combiner box 6 x 10A 250v per port, 10AWG 50ft Cable to a 1kW Sun Grid Tie Inverter 22-65v. To get to a voltage above 22 and below 60-65, my plan is to wire 2 panels in series, then to combiner port 1, and a 3rd panel straight to the combiner box port 2.

My assumption - looking for help in verifying - is that the box will take those 2 connections and output approx ~11A ~300W ~43V under ideal conditions. Are my box output voltage and amp calculations correct?

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The string should be the same 4 panels 2 series 2 parallel or 3 panels in parallel
 
Thanks for the reply! I thought about 3 in parallel however I do not believe the voltage would be high enough for this inverter. Could you add additional info as to why the idea I presented would not work?
 
Yeah, you're going to need a 4th panel involved or lose one since you need those in series to get to your voltage. If you mix & match your voltages into the charge controller it's a "Bad Thing". The higher voltage of the series panels will try to fry your solo panel as it tries to self balance. It'd be like plugging a battery straight into a wall outlet, the voltage from the wall outlet would fry the poor battery.

What voltage is your battery bank running at? 24v? That seems to be a pretty low voltage range for an MPPT controller. Do you have a link to the product spec page handy? Are you trying to set up an on/off grid or just trying to get some money back from the local PUD?
 
OK, just to ask the dumb question, but why? What's the ROI on a system that small vs what the utility company charges you? At my place it's about $0.10/Kwh and you're only going to be able to generate about 2Kwh/day best case scenario. At $0.20/day that doesn't seem like it'll ever pay for itself.

Or are you just bored and wanting to play? That I would totally understand. :D
 
No dumb questions!

Goal #1 - Just to play and learn how to offset (that is goal #1, I am charged 14 cents after fees, so savings will take ~12-15 years based on what I have purchased - but its fun too, I like to learn).
Goal #2 - I already bought six 250 watts (lightly used) panels to scale up past the initial 200-300 watts. I'd like to learn small before I scale. I know I can only use 4 max with current inverter.
Goal #3 - During any outage - used a gas/propane 9600 watt generator limited by a Generlink collar to prevent grid.

Looks like I should go in series with 2 panels and connect to one port to get started.
 
Just remember you'll need a disconnect between the inverter and the grid so you don't fry the poor linemen trying to get the power back on. A LOT of the cheaper "Hey, go solar!" installers omitted this step on a regular basis and when the storms came rolling through all the solar arrays that people got for the tax break and getting money were still connected to the grid.

A few linemen lost their lives.

OK, so you're just bored, that makes sense. :D
 
Cool. So yeah, you'll still need that 4th panel to get everything talking but other than that you should be good to go.

Now you can start planning out your NEXT solar project... I think it's the cocaine in the panels that makes it so addicting. :D
 
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