This is an old revision of the document!
Series and Parallel solar arrays
Generally speaking, parallel arrays of nominal 12v panels are used with pwm charge controllers and serial arrays or higher nominal voltage panels are used with MPPT controllers.
Series
Series arrays are used to generate higher voltages to feed the controller.
PRO
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.
-
higher voltages work well with MPPT controllers
higher voltages can charge higher voltage battery systems like 24v.
more efficient than parallel when
mixing PV of same Imp but different Vmp1)
slightly better than parallel when
mixing PV of different Imp and Vmp2)
CON
series arrays can generate quite high operating voltages. Be sure your controller can handle the VoC with edge effect.
requires MPPT charger to get full use of high-voltage arrays under normal conditions.
thin film panels are generally not recommended for use in serial arrays
short serial strings are more susceptible to partial shading losses than parallel
Parallel
PRO
less impacted by partial shade
3) when using PWM controllers
more efficient than series when mixing PV of
same Vmp but different Imp4)
can use charge controllers with lower max voltage input rating
can use simpler, less expensive PWM charge controllers with nominal 12v panels without losing much efficiency
CON
Series-Parallel