RVwiki for vanfolk and others who live in vehicles

User Tools

Site Tools

Trace: • series_vs_parallel
electrical:solar:series_vs_parallel

Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

Both sides previous revision Previous revision
Next revision 		Previous revision
electrical:solar:series_vs_parallel [2024/01/03 19:05]
frater_secessus [TL;DR] 		electrical:solar:series_vs_parallel [2025/04/17 14:56] (current)
frater_secessus [Series]
Line 4: Line 4:
  
   * With [[electrical:solar:charge_controller#mppt|MPPT]] solar charge controllers and 12v house battery bank there is often //little practical difference between parallel and series solar arrays//.     * With [[electrical:solar:charge_controller#mppt|MPPT]] solar charge controllers and 12v house battery bank there is often //little practical difference between parallel and series solar arrays//.  
-  * [[electrical:solar:charge_controller#pwm|PWM controllers]] run arrays of the same nominal voltage as their battery bank:  12v and 12v, 24v and 24v.   +  * [[electrical:solar:charge_controller#pwm|PWM controllers]] run arrays of the same nominal voltage as their battery bank:  12v and 12v, 24v and 24v. 
-  * A 24v array, for example, could be made of 24v panels in parallel or 12v panels in series.+  * //generally speaking//, parallel panels will perform better in [[electrical:solar:shading|partial shade]] than series. [but don't shade your panels in the first place -- secessus] 
 +  * as with other [[electrical:12v:parallel_serial|series/parallel arrangements]], series increases voltage and parallel increases current.
   * series arrays can reduce capital costs in some circumstances   * series arrays can reduce capital costs in some circumstances
   * series/parallel arrangements are described with ''xPxS'' nomenclature:   * series/parallel arrangements are described with ''xPxS'' nomenclature:
Line 20: Line 21:
     * higher PV voltage can run in relatively **thinner wires** to the charge controller     * higher PV voltage can run in relatively **thinner wires** to the charge controller
     * serial connections can provide **some charging in low light situations** where lower voltage parallel or single-panel connections might not.  Imagine two nominal 12v panels running at 11v at sunrise;   the series arrangement might yield ~22v (battery charging) instead of 11v (voltage too low to charge battery).  Note that power harvestable at those times may be quite low.      * serial connections can provide **some charging in low light situations** where lower voltage parallel or single-panel connections might not.  Imagine two nominal 12v panels running at 11v at sunrise;   the series arrangement might yield ~22v (battery charging) instead of 11v (voltage too low to charge battery).  Note that power harvestable at those times may be quite low. 
-    * higher-voltage serial configurations with MPPT controllers may provide [[electrical:solar:shading#exceptionhigh_voltage_strings_mppt|more power under partial shading]] +    * higher-voltage serial configurations with MPPT controllers may provide [[electrical:solar:shading#exceptionhigh_voltage_strings_mppt|more power than parallel under partial shading]]. This is highly controller-dependent. 
     * higher voltages **work well with MPPT controllers**     * higher voltages **work well with MPPT controllers**
     * higher voltages can **charge higher voltage battery systems** like 24v.     * higher voltages can **charge higher voltage battery systems** like 24v.
Line 71: Line 72:
   * [[https://www.explorist.life/solar-panels-series-vs-parallel/|Solar Panels – Series vs Parallel]] by Explorist Life   * [[https://www.explorist.life/solar-panels-series-vs-parallel/|Solar Panels – Series vs Parallel]] by Explorist Life
   * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s2gsKWqyjM|How To Wire Solar Panels In Series vs Parallel -- For Beginners]]   * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s2gsKWqyjM|How To Wire Solar Panels In Series vs Parallel -- For Beginners]]
 +  * [[https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f14/shading-serial-vs-parallel-this-time-with-data-284237.html|testing series vs parallel in a marine environment]]
  
electrical/solar/series_vs_parallel.1704308740.txt.gz · Last modified: 2024/01/03 19:05 by frater_secessus

Page Tools

affilliate disclosure | the RVwiki runs on a virtual server from NetCup

Except where otherwise noted, content on this wiki is licensed under the following license: CC Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International
CC Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International Donate Powered by PHP Valid HTML5 Valid CSS Driven by DokuWiki