I had some damage done to a couple of 12v panel array. The system was very small with only 4 100W panels. I have decided to just replace them all since they are going on almost 10 years old. I watched Will's video review of the 4 most purchased panels on Amazon but that was done over a year ago. With the way this technology is going I am wondering if the results of this review and his recommendation is still pertinent. I would entertain two 24v panels instead of four 12v as stated above. So, if you have a suggestion let me know.
What 12v solar panels would you recommend?
- Thread starter harpo
- Start date
What panels should I purchase?
I am looking to put up 200-300 watts of solar panels for a small remote cabin system essentially for lighting only. My question is what are your recommendations for solar panels? There are so many different brands. Not necessarily looking for the "cheapest" but am looking for quality for...
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MichaelK
Solar Wizard
Do you have an MPPT controller, or a PWM controller? If you only have PWM then you are stuck with 12V panels. If everything is 10 years old, my first inclination would be to gut it all and start fresh. Buy new batteries, a new MPPT controller, and new 24V panels. The latest 24V panels are getting so cheap now, that buying two grid-tie panels, and a new MPPT controller might be cheaper than buying 4 12V panels!
I do have an MPPT controller (Morningstar). Presently have 12v panels arranged in series so I bring in 24 volts to the SCC which charges my small 12v AGM battery pack (two 6v Trojans). We have an inverter (Samlex) but rarely use it. We have 12v lights(led), on demand RV style water pump and 12v blower on our free standing propane heating stove. That is really all the electricity we need. We have a large gas refrigerator and a propane cook stove. It may sound rather spartan but it is quite comfortable. Right now with this setup with the new Trojan batteries we have 220Ah with, of course, approximately 100Ah or so of usable capacity. This is "ok" for our needs but when the time comes I want to double the size of the Ah available. I am interested in moving to 24v panels. Any recommendations?
two "12 volt" panels in series are a lot more than 24 volts to your SCC.
You use the Open Circuit Voltage(Voc) to calculate series voltage so like about 42 volts.
What are the specs on your MPPT controller?
Ok, after some reading and thinking.......I believe I want to install a couple 24v panels. Questions: 1) Are all the 24v panels Monocrystalline? 2) What 24v panels would you all recommend (the choices are certainly fewer than 12v panels)
MichaelK
Solar Wizard
Where are you shopping? There's a vast array of different big-name companies all making 24V grid-tie panels; nowadays I shop on Craigslist and find sellers locally so I don't have to pay shipping as I do local pickup. It seems that most of the grid-tie panels I see are monocrystalline, though I don't really think mono or poly makes that much difference today. What's the maximum amperage your controller can handle? 60 Voc is very low by today's standards. Most everyone else I see these days markets controllers with a 150 Voc limit. Of course though, prices are higher too. I just helped a neighbor get a new system installed a couple of weeks ago. I got him Renogy's 40amp controller, https://www.renogy.com/rover-li-40-amp-mppt-solar-charge-controller/
and paired that with Astronergy 240W panels I got for 55$ each. The "out the door" price for the controller and 4 Astronergy panels (960W total) was 380$.
If you intend to stick with 12V though you'll need to pay careful attention to the maximal amps your controller can handle. In the case of the 4 Astronergy panels I mentioned above, you could only pair two of those at 12V with Renogy's controller to stay at the 40amp limit. There are lots of other controllers with higher amperage limits, but higher prices too. However you want to do it, you can, but you have to spend the money to get where your going.
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