is this charge controller up to the job ?

[Bart]

is this Victron 100/50 Smartsolar mppt able to control 5 x 100w panels ??

Solar Charge Controllers

Solar Charge Controllers - Solar MPPT - Regulate and control the power from a solar panel to a battery bank to ensure the battery is charged efficiently.

simplysplitcharge.co.uk

 

[poppycamper]

The blurb says 700w nominal pv power.. so I would say yes..

 

[Hoovie]

is this Victron 100/50 Smartsolar mppt able to control 5 x 100w panels ??

Solar Charge Controllers

Solar Charge Controllers - Solar MPPT - Regulate and control the power from a solar panel to a battery bank to ensure the battery is charged efficiently.

simplysplitcharge.co.uk

Yes, but only when connected in Parallel. The total Voc in series would exceed 100V.
If you have no plans on exceeding the 500W, you could also consider the 150/35 which is the same price usually and would allow you to configure in either Series OR Parallel.
If it were me, I would think about say 4 x 120W Panels - that would give the best flexibility for the same roof real estate as you can run Series, Parallel, or a Series/Parallel mix and then with the 100/50 add two more 120W panels as a portable array if you wanted.

 

[Bart]

Yes, but only when connected in Parallel. The total Voc in series would exceed 100V.
If you have no plans on exceeding the 500W, you could also consider the 150/35 which is the same price usually and would allow you to configure in either Series OR Parallel.
If it were me, I would think about say 4 x 120W Panels - that would give the best flexibility for the same roof real estate as you can run Series, Parallel, or a Series/Parallel mix and then with the 100/50 add two more 120W panels as a portable array if you wanted.

Thanks , I already have the 5 x 100w panels ordered , so I'll just wire them up in parallel , is there any disadvantages to wiring parallel vs series ?

 

[Hoovie]

There are claims made that in series, the system wakes up earlier as reaches the activation voltage (Leisure Battery Voltage + 5V) sooner. in my experience it makes sod all noticable difference in that respect.

In Series array, you will be running at max of 100V and max of around 5A into the controller
In Parallel array, you will be running at max of 20V and max of 25A into the controller

Higher Voltage means less voltage drop over distance. Higher Current means thicker cable needed.
So basically, Series setup means you can get away with thinner cable; Parallel means upping the gauge. For 5 x 100W in parallel, I'd go for 6mm2 solar (double insulated) cable from Panels to Controller. You can use the same cable from Controller to Battery as well
Simplest way to get panels in parallel is to buy MC4 Combiner/Splitters kits. Not sure if you can get bigger than 4-way (but never looked )

I have 3 panels on my van and I run in parallel as I think the way parallel works better against partial shading trumps any slight benefits from Series. (I also have 3 panels configured as series on a shed roof which I also feed into the van on another identical controller. I use series there as the cable length is much much longer and also thinner. Kind of distance involved from van roof to controller inside is irrelevant really.
Not noticed any general difference in performance between the two arrays (other than the shed one gets shaded more!).

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[TheBig1]

Just to throw a spanner into the works, have you thought about 2 controllers? Split into 2 arrays, you have redundancy if one plays up, and will still produce as much energy or maybe more than one big array

 

[Bart]

Yes, but only when connected in Parallel. The total Voc in series would exceed 100V.
If you have no plans on exceeding the 500W, you could also consider the 150/35 which is the same price usually and would allow you to configure in either Series OR Parallel.
If it were me, I would think about say 4 x 120W Panels - that would give the best flexibility for the same roof real estate as you can run Series, Parallel, or a Series/Parallel mix and then with the 100/50 add two more 120W panels as a portable array if you wanted.

Just to throw a spanner into the works, have you thought about 2 controllers? Split into 2 arrays, you have redundancy if one plays up, and will still produce as much energy or maybe more than one big array

I actually have a spare victron 74 /15 lying here , would that run one of the 100w panels , and the 100/50 run the other 4 in series ? As I don't really wanna run massively thick cables , I'd rather just run the cables that come with the solar panels

 

[Guigsy]

Just to throw a spanner into the works, have you thought about 2 controllers? Split into 2 arrays, you have redundancy if one plays up, and will still produce as much energy or maybe more than one big array

Also, if one panel is shaded, it'll take down the output of all the others. Having separate front and rear controllers will reduce the effect of a single branch or your sat dish killing all your output.

 

[Bart]

Just returning back to this thread to ask another question in relation to this thread.
If i wired ( in series ) 2 x 100watt panels into the 75/15 victron controller would this be ok?? or if i'm in Spain some day ( i wish ) and my batteries are low and the sun is splitting the rocks , could that 200W of solar bring in more than the rated 15amps for that controller ?

 

[Emmit]

I'm no expert but, as I understand it, your array would have to be at 90degs to the Sun to
produce the maximum number of Amps and that would only occur if you were to journey
down, way beyond the Southern boundary of Morroco on April 21st and later.

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[funflair]

My understanding is that if you do manage to go slightly over the rated input of the Victron regulator it will just dump the surplus, up to a point of course.

 

[Bart]

what is the most amount of amps a single 100W panel can draw in ?

 

[Lenny HB]

what is the most amount of amps a single 100W panel can draw in ?

Approx 6 amps into the controller and 8 amps into the battery.

 

[Bart]

Approx 6 amps into the controller and 8 amps into the battery.

Thanks Lenny

 

[Hoovie]

I'm no expert but, as I understand it, your array would have to be at 90degs to the Sun to
produce the maximum number of Amps and that would only occur if you were to journey
down, way beyond the Southern boundary of Morroco on April 21st and later.

You can get in excess of the rated power of a PV panel in Scotland.

what is the most amount of amps a single 100W panel can draw in ?

Number should be on the back of the panel. Approx 5.5A into the controller; if using an MPPT, could be upto 8A into the battery.

My understanding is that if you do manage to go slightly over the rated input of the Victron regulator it will just dump the surplus, up to a point of course.

the limit is the rated current. so a 75/15 will put out upto 15A. Anything above is discarded, but care must be taken to not exceed the rated input voltages and currents (so 75V and 15A for a 75/15). 200W of solar will never exceed 15A input current, even if you harvest over 100% of the rated power (perfect feasible - the rated power is nominal based on a specific solar irradiation which can certainly be exceeded in some circumstances)

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[Hoovie]

Just to throw a spanner into the works, have you thought about 2 controllers? Split into 2 arrays, you have redundancy if one plays up, and will still produce as much energy or maybe more than one big array

two controllers can be a very handy idea. I have a pair of 100/20s in my van. One is for the Roof Array and the other is for an portable kit. Too big for that purpose really, but having the same 100/20 model means if the roof 100/20 goes wrong (which it did), I could recable the 2nd 100/20 in its place.

 

[Bart]

two controllers can be a very handy idea. I have a pair of 100/20s in my van. One is for the Roof Array and the other is for an portable kit. Too big for that purpose really, but having the same 100/20 model means if the roof 100/20 goes wrong (which it did), I could recable the 2nd 100/20 in its place.

Yip i am going with 2 arrays , 1@ 3 x 100w panels into my victron 100/50 and 1@ 2 x 100w panels into my victron 75/15 , both in series

 

[Hoovie]

Yip i am going with 2 arrays , 1@ 3 x 100w panels into my victron 100/50 and 1@ 2 x 100w panels into my victron 75/15 , both in series

sounds good
something to keep in mind (which I am sure you already have, but might help others?) ... shade on a panel can impact a whole array when setup in series, whereas in paralle, it affects only the shaded panel. So any roof furniture (TV aerials pushed up, Skylights raised, etc) should be considered if a panel is close.
I had 4 100W panels on my 100/30 and I tried a full Parallel config, a full Series config and a Parallel/Series combo config. I found the difference in harvesting betweem the different setups really were so close something like a bit of cloud for 5 minutes would have had more affect. For that reason I tend to go Parallel unless there is absolutely no risk of any shade ever.

 

[Lenny HB]

Yip i am going with 2 arrays , 1@ 3 x 100w panels into my victron 100/50 and 1@ 2 x 100w panels into my victron 75/15 , both in series

Much better on a Motorhome to wire them in parallel, small bit shade on one of the series connect and you will loose output from all the panels in the series connection.

 

[Bart]

Much better on a Motorhome to wire them in parallel, small bit shade on one of the series connect and you will loose output from all the panels in the series connection.

i would need thicker cables than the ones that came with the panels wouldn't i ? if so its series as anything on my roof i have placed all together in the middle of the MH , with room for 3x 100w panels on the front and 2x 100w panels on the rear of the roof on our 6.3mtr pvc
EDIT : just checking series is where you wire Positive >> Negative >> Positive >>>> Negative isn't it ?

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