Need guidance on my shed set up,something is not right ?

[SunEagle]

Hey SunEagle, so then a 50foot run of cable from panel to CC would have loss in that cable so going from 4 to 7-8 hours pure sun might be eaten up by the length of cable ?

- i actually found a 100 w panel today online, same make, just twice as large so i'll end up with 150w (combined), that should definitely draw enough, i guess I'll see what my charge is at the end of the day with 3 times the solar. I'll keep you posted.
thank you for all your guidance.

Well for one thing there really isn't anywhere in the world where you will get 7 -8 hours of useful sunshine enough for the panels to generate full nameplate wattage. Sure you will get more but the question is "how much" especially if you have to run the wires much farther from the panels to the CC.

You could increase the wire size to reduce the voltage drop and losses but will that cost adder be less then what you can harvest from the remote panel?

If your array is made up of different panels with vastly different specs you could actually limit the output of the bigger one based on how they are wired.

It is your choice to do what you think is best but I am trying to let you know that there are hidden issues that can cause a solar / battery system to not work properly.

[johnnyhavana]

HI again, what i decided to do was just get another 100w panel and put it next to the current one, the 100w is exactly the same as the one i have, which is a 50 so i'll hae 150w in total, manufacturer is Renogy, very efficient panels, both will connect with MC4 connectors to the battery.

- Now not sure if my 10Amp PWM charge controller, is enough now for 150watts, i am guessing in need to upgrade it to a 30amp pwm CC ?? or would it be ok
this is the original kit i have goo.gl/d79gZ

[SunEagle]

HI again, what i decided to do was just get another 100w panel and put it next to the current one, the 100w is exactly the same as the one i have, which is a 50 so i'll hae 150w in total, manufacturer is Renogy, very efficient panels, both will connect with MC4 connectors to the battery.

- Now not sure if my 10Amp PWM charge controller, is enough now for 150watts, i am guessing in need to upgrade it to a 30amp pwm CC ?? or would it be ok
this is the original kit i have goo.gl/d79gZ

I would say that 10amp CC is not big enough. There are cheap 20amp and 30amp pwm CC's out there which would be better for you. Just be careful that anything that is low cost is really cheaply made and probably will not last long.

If you decide to increase your panel wattage to 200 or more then I would suggest going with an MPPT type CC. They cost more but they will also convert close to 100% of your panel wattage to charging amps while a PWM will only convert about 67%.

[johnnyhavana]

thats great info, any mppt manufacturers you'd suggest ?

[SunEagle]

thats great info, any mppt manufacturers you'd suggest ?

There are quite a few quality MPPT manufactures. It all depends on what you need in options and cost.

I would look at; Morningstar, Midnight Solar, Outback or Blue Sky. I have heard that some people have used some of the ones made by Tracer. While they are less expensive they seem to lack some of the features listed in my previous list.

[Gdwats]

I use the renogy rover 40A mppt with my renogy panels. Also have the 20A rover mppt. Easy to use and reliable (so far) units.

[johnnyhavana]

I use the renogy rover 40A mppt with my renogy panels. Also have the 20A rover mppt. Easy to use and reliable (so far) units.

What exactly is the difference between a "PWM Charge Controller" and teh MPPT ?
I am increasing to 150w, but will add more and will need at least a 20-30amp CC, but dont know much about the MPPT, new to me.

Only issue i have now withy my current 10pwm CC is the drop in battery, i need a CC that will cut off the battery from discharging below a certain amount, on my led acid battery i guess 50% or about 11.7 volts. So are you able to set that on MPPT's, i think you can on some pwm ??

[johnnyhavana]

There are quite a few quality MPPT manufactures. It all depends on what you need in options and cost.

I would look at; Morningstar, Midnight Solar, Outback or Blue Sky. I have heard that some people have used some of the ones made by Tracer. While they are less expensive they seem to lack some of the features listed in my previous list.

Thank you, I'll check them out on Amazon and around.
Question to you - actualy above as well, only issue i have now withy my current 10pwm CC is the drop in battery, i need a CC that will cut off the battery from discharging below a certain amount, on my led acid battery i guess 50% or about 11.7 volts. So are you able to set that on MPPT's, i think you can on some pwm ??

[SunEagle]

Thank you, I'll check them out on Amazon and around.
Question to you - actualy above as well, only issue i have now withy my current 10pwm CC is the drop in battery, i need a CC that will cut off the battery from discharging below a certain amount, on my led acid battery i guess 50% or about 11.7 volts. So are you able to set that on MPPT's, i think you can on some pwm ??

I am not familiar with all of the options on MPPT CC's. One or more of those I mentioned may have a programmable setting to disconnect the load but chances are it will not do that if the load is powered directly from the battery or through an inverter.

I will say that if you let your 12v battery go to 11.7v you have severely cut short it's life. Most FLA type batteries shouldn't be discharged below 12v.

There are other electronic devices that can disconnect a load based on the voltage measurement. They are called Low Voltage Disconnects or LVD. Check them out as well as the MPPT CC's.

[johnnyhavana]

Thank you SE, I will check them, out, i am pretty sure i've pouched my battery already then!! lesson learned.

[johnnyhavana]

I use the renogy rover 40A mppt with my renogy panels. Also have the 20A rover mppt. Easy to use and reliable (so far) units.

do you know if the Renogy MPPT has low battery cut off so you don't drain your battery too much, i read the info on their site but its not clear ?

[Gdwats]

Yes it has low voltage disconnect at 11.1 volts and under voltage recovery at 12.2 volts. Low voltage reconnect at 12.6. I believe those parameters can be reprogrammed.
I'm not sure that that will help because your inverter will still draw from the battery regardless of what the controller is doing?

[johnnyhavana]

Yes it has low voltage disconnect at 11.1 volts and under voltage recovery at 12.2 volts. Low voltage reconnect at 12.6. I believe those parameters can be reprogrammed.
I'm not sure that that will help because your inverter will still draw from the battery regardless of what the controller is doing?

thats great to know, i want to remove the inverter all together and just run dc lighting, buying some 10w led flood lights for the inside work area and looking for a solution to run led bulbs through dc current. GOing to connect the 150watt panels in total and i guess need a larger battery. i'll contact renogy and try to confirm, thank you