How many 100w solar panels can I hook up to this? I want to buy a charge controller once and not have to upgrade next month when i outgrow this one.
752586
I had 4 on it it worked until I replaced it with a mppt controler. Look at the mppt controllers you can get up to 30 percent more power from the same pannels
752587
Watts divided by volts equals amps. 100 watts divided by 12 volts equals 8 amps per panel. The morningStar is a 30 amp charge controller. 30 amps divided by 8 amps equals 3.75 100 Watt panels per charge controller.
752588
I have two 275 watt panels hooked to mine. I believe I have room to add another. It is a 30 amp charge controller. B
752589
I used it on 4 100 watt panels and it worked fine. I did replace it with a MPPT controller because I got up to 30% more from the MPPT controller.
752590
it really will depend on the specs from the panels you choose but i would say if they are similar to something like the renogy 100 watt panels you could run at least four for sure and possibly more depending on the actual output from each panel. if i was running more than 400 watts of panels i would probably start looking at some of the mppt charge controllers so you can get the most out of your system.
1447154
I'm a little unsure of your question but by "these" if you mean controllers, I would assume you have solar panels exceeding the 40 amp capacity of a single controller. I think you could connect any number of them you wanted to in parallel each controlling its own set of solar panels. At some point I suppose you could reach the limit of your battery bank's ability to accept any more current though.
1855639
Hey Edwars O. Not sure. What type/sort of system are you putting together? 6V 12V? What are you needing to run, and for how long? What are your energy needs? I can't answer your question my friend without more info. I personally use the 400 watt system with another 100 watt panel. I match my batt bank so every 100 watt of solar for 100Ah of storage. Yes, it is over kill for just myself! I'm still in the learning processes if you will. The panels that come with this kit have zero issues with charging the batteries on cloudy days. I'm very happy with this basic system so far!!
1981056
It depends on where you live and how much sun you get. Based on 140W 24/7 the 300W "kit" won't be enough. That doesn't mean you couldn't do it with more panels. Just don't buy a "kit". That comes with a dedicated charger for the wattage the kit comes with. Check on line or with someone who can give you the calculations you will need for wattage and but individual panels and then size a charger for your needs. I had to do the same. The panels that come with the kit are top notch and can be bought by themselves.
888202
Val this charge controller can only handle a maximum of 500w of solar for a 12v battery system, or up to 1000w for a 24v battery system. Since you are planning to use 3 x 250w, you will need to wire those batteries in series for 24v, and get a 24v inverter. If you don't want to go for a 24v battery configuration, and want to stick with 12v, then you will need to drop a panel and just go with 500w, or you will need to use an additional controller (controller 1: 2x250w, controller 2: 1x250w or 2x250w).
99421
Correct. You do not need a seperate charge controller unless you are putting more than 15watts to the battery. That's three panels! It says the same thing in the owners manual.Correction: I see this is for the 7watt panel. In this case that would be TWO panels total. I have the 5watt panels, so that is where the math came from. The 15watt limit before needing the charge controller still applies for all panels.
1293263
That depends on how you connect the panels (series or parallel). How far is the MPPT from the solar panel? What type of connector is on the back of the solar panel. All these things matter. If all you are going to use is 2 100w solar panels then this MPPT controler is overkill. This does 12V/ 390W or 24V /780W. The connection to the MPPT is a screw terminal. 200w doesn't do much so it is best to determine what you really need before starting down the road of solar.
1509654
I highly recommend using a charge controller with any solar panel to eliminate problems that you are speaking of. After I started using a charge controller I have not had any problems at all. Even on a 5 watt panel I would use a charge controller.
2242774
You need a charge controller pretty much for any solar panel over 10 watts. I like the ones that have a digital voltage meter and built in float mode. Lots of choices for controllers in the $20 range Panel has held up well so far on my sailboat.
1914464
Not well you would need like 6 of them. I would go with cheap solar panel and run the power to an inverter
1080939
It only has one incoming (Solar Panel) plug hook up and two outgoing plug hook up.It is rated for up to 100 watts of solar power and 7 ampere of current so if you have lower wattage panels I would think you could add incoming lines to the plug hook up up to the Max of 100 watts.The same would go for the outgoing lines but the lowest battery would pull the highest charge rate until all were equal. If you are looking for low no load charging then it might work for you.
1074720
You don't need another 30 amp controller. 2 more panels would only put you at 28 amps, and I've never seen a panel that puts out its advertised amperage anyway.
1055545
I recommend you read my review. I managed to make this work but DO NOT EXPECT the solar to do anything at all. The panel it comes with is only 1/3 the power required to run the system. It is a 10W panel and you need 30W. They will happily sell you additional panels. The batteries are also worthless. The system has no way to charge them. You actually need to connect them to an external charger to do this. The solar won't charge them. They will also sell you a solar charging module. In the end I removed the solar and the batteries and have it wired to A/C power. Oh and another thing, I have replaced the main control board 3 times since I bought it. The customer service to make this happen as horrible. I am now out of warranty and if the system dies I will simply spend the money and replace it with a higher quality one. Now I am basing this on the kit I purchased 2 years ago. It would be nice if they have changed it but I would not count on it. I hope this helps.
409642
If you are using 4 panels with this kit it only uses a 20 amp controller. You must be using a 24v battery bank to use up to 400 watts. Can you explain your situation a little more? We are a bit confused with what setup you have. Thank you. AW
1042251
Just because the panels are 100 w each dosen'T mean you will receive 100w all the time. 100w is the best you are going to get at top conditions. perfect alinment, perfect sky, alinement faceing sun all the day, so don't expect 100w all the time. There could be a haze between you and the sun,Wire size, conectors , if you are using it to charge batteries, Every thing can efect your wattage.
1771955
I have 40 amps of power so I have 2 controllers tied parallel to my batteries. Yes, you can use two separate solar arrays connected to two controllers. Just make sure that your solar panels stay under 30 amps per controller.
1332098
I don't think you can connect 1 solar panel to multiple controllers effectively at the same time. I would rotate the batteries as needed for charging; only one controller would be needed.