When did bypass diodes become common?

[mikecogs]

I am helping a guy with an inherited, very remote, off-grid system. He has (30) 260W panels, we don't know the brand or model # and he won't know until he goes there again. We are trying to figure out how likely or unlikely it is that his panels have bypass diodes. The only thing he knows about the panels is that they are at least 10 years old. We are trying to see if adding Tigo Optimizers might help boost his production because of his shading issues. I don't want to tell him to by 30 optimizers if he does not need them.

So the question is, when did bypass diodes become standard?

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I think it's been a thing for a really long time.

My neighbor pulled off panels of mid 90s vintage. They had bypass diodes.

I purchased some Santan panels that are 2010 vintage, and they have diodes.

Optimizers only need to be installed on the panels subjected to shading. If he is dealing with substantial shading issues, optimizers will not make a major difference.

The best solve for shade is a chainsaw or array relocation.

 

[mikecogs]

I think it's been a thing for a really long time.

My neighbor pulled off panels of mid 90s vintage. They had bypass diodes.

I purchased some Santan panels that are 2010 vintage, and they have diodes.

Optimizers only need to be installed on the panels subjected to shading. If he is dealing with substantial shading issues, optimizers will not make a major difference.

The best solve for shade is a chainsaw or array relocation.

Thanks. Array location is not moving. The shading is not substantial but it is there and will continue to get worse. He has trimmed the worst of it.

 

[Solarcabin Channel]

My 15 year old panels had diodes.

 

[Sigunas]

IMHO bypass diodes are not comparable to optimizers. My system: one string from 10 panels (half cut cells), connected in series. 4 least shaded panels are without optimizers and 6 panels with. Morning begins with all panels in shade from nearby roof. When sun rises, panels gets out of shade one by one. At ~8:20 the last of 4 panels without optimizers gets out of shade and production jumps several times. Until 8:20 bypass diodes should work, but IMHO they don't. Such behavior is since day one, so I don't think, that diodes are burnt or faulty.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

the success of biy

IMHO bypass diodes are not comparable to optimizers. My system: one string from 10 panels (half cut cells), connected in series. 4 least shaded panels are without optimizers and 6 panels with. Morning begins with all panels in shade from nearby roof. When sun rises, panels gets out of shade one by one. At ~8:20 the last of 4 panels without optimizers gets out of shade and production jumps several times. Until 8:20 bypass diodes should work, but IMHO they don't. Such behavior is since day one, so I don't think, that diodes are burnt or faulty.

For perspective, this is what you've optimized:



One has to ask themselves how much they're willing to spend on capturing a little bit extra from the lowest availability portion of the day. Looks to me that there's barely 0.5kWh of unshaded availability.

The effectiveness of bypass diodes is more about the robustness of the MPPT algorithm.

 

[Solar Guppy]

More solar panels without optimizers wins in total harvest in almost all situations ( same investment in $$ ). The edge cases where optimizers produce more energy is likely where solar shouldn't be installed in the first place.

 

[Sigunas]

One has to ask themselves how much they're willing to spend on capturing a little bit extra from the lowest availability portion of the day. Looks to me that there's barely 0.5kWh of unshaded availability.

The effectiveness of bypass diodes is more about the robustness of the MPPT algorithm.

Nope. The area you defined in red, shows how much would be generated additionally, if all 10 panels had optimizers. In my case, It's only around 10 am that the last of the 10 panels completely gets out of shade, so in my case the optimizers help produce the energy shown abow the blue line.
Yes, I agree that mppt should search for the best point. Unfortunately most does't. My Huawey sun2000 struggles with that even with global mppt enabled.

 

[Sigunas]

More solar panels without optimizers wins in total harvest in almost all situations ( same investment in $$ ). The edge cases where optimizers produce more energy is likely where solar shouldn't be installed in the first place.

One case is with net metering and different with net billing. From 7 am to 11 am, the price of electricity reaches 10-20 euro cents/kWh + grid charges. At 12 am price can go down to 5 cents/kWh or even lower. Today we are still with net metering, but it is only a matter of time before the grid moves to net billing. 5 kWh high voltage battery with controller is way too expensive.