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tothepoint avatar image
tothepoint asked

smartsolar 100/50 parallel

Question.

I now got 780w Solar on a 100/50 smart charger. This is connected to a 12v 600A lifepo4 battery.

As I spend winter time in Spain I want to upgrade the solar panels to shingled hyundai 415w each 3x.

That's to much for the 100/50 to handle so adding a second 100/50 could do the trick.

Is it possible to run parallel 2x smartsolar 100/50 and feed them with for example 1000w combined? Maybe networked over VE ?

Got this investment of the 100/50 and buying 100A controller could be the solution if I find a sponsor.


Greeting and tnx for any advice

JP

MPPT SmartSolar
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2 Answers
daver-1 avatar image
daver-1 answered ·

is your question "can i run two mppt's in parallel on the battery side", then please you do a little research i think you can easily find your answer.

by example:

if you do a search query in this community with the following terms

  • "multiple mppt" you could have found this
  • "multiple smartsolar" you could have found this


is your question "can i also run two MPPT's in parallel on the solar side" then the answer is no.

MPPT stands for maximum power point tracking. As far as i know the Victron MPPT's can not sync on the same string. For this reason both mppt's would begin fighting for the control of the maximum power point. Another reason is that if one MPPT fails and shuts down, you are pushing the maximum amps through the remaining charge controller which could cause failure in the other MPPT. If you have 2 MPPT's it is advised to run a independent PV strings per charge controller.

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tothepoint avatar image tothepoint commented ·

2 mppt solar side. Did a search and I only found battery side q&a. That clarifies that it not possible. I thought maybe true the VE-direct connection but alas. Anyway going to set 2 seperate strings up with second 100/50. Tnx for the explanations why solar side parallel doesn't work.

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djsmiley avatar image
djsmiley answered ·
You might consider a 100/30.

Run 2 panels in series on the existing 100/50 and the 3rd panel on a 100/30.

No need to get a second 100/50

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daver-1 avatar image daver-1 commented ·

Can i correct you on this?

You should put two panels parallel on the 100/50 and one panel on the 100/30. Proper design of the installation is a must. so please use victron's MPPT calculator for that.

combining a 100/50 and a 100/30 is a good solution unless a 4th solar panel is wanted.



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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ daver-1 commented ·
It might help if you explained the reason for the parallel connection of the panels.
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tothepoint avatar image tothepoint commented ·
Came across my grey mass between the ears to put 2 panels on one 100/50. Maybe I get the 395 ones. To much to consider. Tnx for thinking with me.
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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ tothepoint commented ·
The panels are fine. It's the wiring. Parallel will be good.

Most of the day panels output less than their rated output because the sun is lower in the sky.

Normal to put more panels on so you still get good output in winter when sun low. The Victron calculator will often recommend an MPPT below max panel output for this reason.

You should also do the MPPT output current calcs at charging voltage, not nominal voltage of 12V.


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