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Hello,
I am about to change my charge controller to a victron 250/85 smartsolar charge controller. I would like as high a voltage as possible going into the controller. I intend to connect 6 300w solar panels in series on the charge controller. 2 strings will then be connect in parallel for 12 panels in total. VMP of the panels is 38.80V, VOC is 44.16 and ISC is 8.93A.
Is this a safe arrangements or should I reduce panels in series to 5?
Hi. 6 is too many. 5 should be ok, but check the Voc temp characteristics of the panels for your climate.
If you're really set on 12x 300W panels, 4 strings of 3x into a 150/100 would work fine.
I assume you are feeding a 48V battery system. So at 3600W you will be feeding about 75A to the batteries. Six of the panels in series at 44.16VOC is about 264V, beyond the capacity of your controller. To maximize power production I would use 3 strings of 4 panels in series. This will keep your voltage within limits.
Pat
I use this to calculate. Just add your modules under under the modules tab.
(v3.1) - VE MPPT Calculator
Thank you everyone. If I go as high as 20 panels, can I comfortably do 5 panels in series for a total of 4 strings? The idea behind having a 250V charge controller is to go as high as possible in series so the charge controller wakes up early and goes to sleep late. I will also be feeding a very large bank and fully off grid.
So, is 5 panels in series a good idea?
