Connecting Multiple Solar Panels To A Charge Controller

Large off grid solar and battery backup pv systems often require greater charging than a single controller can provide.

Connecting multiple solar panels to a charge controller.

In fact by wiring several solar panels in series we increase the voltage keeping the same current while wiring them in parallel we increase the current keeping the same voltage. Generally speaking it is a good idea to obtain your solar panels before you buy a charge controller. And you can connect more than two arrays and charge controllers all in parallel. For example a 110ah battery should never be connected to a panel more than 11w without a solar controller and if you are using a solar controller you do not need a blocking diode.

Begingroup on your diagram replace the solar cell battery with a current source and replace the charge controllers with simple switches that connect the battery and you have a more reasonable model. There is only a certain amount of data that a hard drive can store so you typically purchase a hard drive that is big enough for your needs. The battery bank voltage must be lower than your array voltage so that your pv system would charge your battery. The connection of multiple solar panels in parallel arises from the need to reach certain current values at the output without changing the voltage.

To meet high power charging requirements several solar controllers can be connected in parallel to a battery bank with each controller connected to its own separate pv subarray. The meterhub was designed specifically for systems with multiple controllers. Connecting in series means joining the positive terminal of a solar panel to the negative terminal of the next solar panel until eventually you are left with one free positive and one free negative terminal of the array which are to be connected to the input either of the inverter in case of a grid tied system without a battery backup or the charge controller in case of a grid tied system with a battery backup or off grid solar panel system. You can think of a charge controller in the same way that you would think of a hard drive on a computer.

To connect the rv solar system you would have to run a second set of cables from its charge controller directly to the terminals of the battery you want to charge. Yes you can connect two different arrays and charge controllers to the same battery bank. So the rv solar system now has two sets of cables one to its own battery and another set to the battery you want to charge. The rule of thumb when connecting solar panels directly to a battery is never connect more than c 10 watts where c is the capacity of your battery.

In addition to displaying information from any individual controller or aggregated system totals it allows simultaneous initiation of an equalization charging cycle for all tristar or tristar mppt solar charge controllers in the system. The array 1 and array 2 voltages could be different. Only question is what does the controller do when the solar voltage collapses to 14v when the other one shorts the panel to the battery.