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simonnhardy asked

200w Renogy Flexible Solar Panels

Hi, bought two of these Renogy 200w each flexible solar panels. I have a redundant Victron BlueSolar Pro 12/20 should I use this or buy a new Victron mppt with VE conection so our Cerbo GX can see the output ? We will put the panels on our bimini. So the question is should i upgrade the BluSolar Pro to a bigger Victron MPPT controler and if so which one, or should i just stay with the old unit.

MPPT Controllers
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seb71 avatar image seb71 commented ·

What are the Isc and Voc of those PV panels?


The battery is 12V, I assume.

What else do you have in your system? Do you have a SmartShunt?


If that PWM charger works and the PV voltage is within its allowed limits, I'll say use it. If/when it fails, buy a SmartSolar MPPT.

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seb71 answered ·

my blue solar is 12/20 so im guessing 12V and 20A but does the voltage refer to open circuit or closed circuit ?

12V it's the nominal system (battery) voltage.

20A is the maximum output current (for battery charging and/or loads).


Put those two PV panels in parallel and connect them to that PWM solar charger. It's a good match for your PWM charger.

Use at least 6mm2 wires from the charger to the PV panels joints. I think your charger terminals can fit up to 10mm2 wires, but check that.


When you have strings/PV panels in parallel, ideally you would fuse each string/panel with gPV fuses and then the PVarray wire with another gPV fuses (larger size). But with those two small PV panels you might be fine without fuses as long as the PV wires are sized properly. Your choice. A PV array disconnect switch would be good to have, though.

For the charger-battery (busbar) positive wire, a fuse is a must.

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