Mixing Solar Panels Mppt

Mixing solar panels of various voltage or wattage or produced by different manufacturers is a frequently asked question by most diyers.

Mixing solar panels mppt.

When connecting modules of dissimilar electrical characteristics in series it is each module s current that plays a heavy role in how the string is going to perform in the solar power system. Though mixing different solar panels is not recommended it s not forbidden and things would be ok as long as each panel s electrical parameters voltage wattage amps are carefully considered. One is 2x325w 72 cell panels in series feeding a victron 100 50 mppt. The principle of mppt is squeezing the maximum possible solar generated power from a solar panel by making it operate at the most efficient combination of voltage and current also known as maximum power point.

The result of the multiplication must not be higher than the maximum pv open circuit voltage as listed on the mppt datasheet. First look at the datasheets of the solar panels to see what their maximum open circuit voltage is. The other array is a single 250w 60 cell panel feeding a separate victron 100 30 mppt. Current total wattage is 900w.

With the matching outputs of the charge controllers you can now combine 2 or more power sources of equal voltage together in parallel and the current from them adds together. I currently have 2 solar arrays. When mixing solar modules is important to remember that it is not the wattage of the modules that is important to consider. Then multiply that by the number of panels that are in series in the array.