I'm curious whether it's feasible to set up a solar energy system that includes both roof-mounted panels and additional ground-mounted ones. My roof only has a small area suitable for solar, so I would need to install more panels about 100 feet away on the ground. I want to avoid cluttering my yard too much with ground panels, though. Is this a practical approach?
1 Answer
You can definitely run both roof and ground-mounted solar panels! Most popular solar systems come with at least two MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) trackers, which should handle the different panel setups without any issues. For a distance like 100 feet, make sure to trench the cable and use a disconnect on both ends for safety. You can use 14AWG wire for DC runs; it can handle up to 4000 watts over that length without problems.
Just a quick note: How does 14AWG compare to mm²? We've switched to 6mm for our bigger strings.