I've been building my solar system over the years, and I've faced some tough weather, including hurricanes. Right now, I've got a Victron 100/30 solar charge controller, a pure sine wave inverter, a 12V 200Ah Lifepo4 battery from Litimes, and 10 solar panels at 100W each. During Hurricane Francine, I managed to keep my fridge running with just four panels, but it was a close call. Recently, I picked up more panels during sales, but now I'm realizing that my battery can only take a charge current of 40 amps, and the Victron can handle up to 440W of solar power. I'm curious if there's a way to utilize my extra solar panels with my existing 12V setup. If not, I'm considering switching to the EG4 3000EHV with a 48V server battery, which I really want to avoid costing too much right now. I'd love to hear any thoughts or suggestions as I navigate this!
2 Answers
You definitely have options! One way to make the most of your additional panels is to add more charge controllers or batteries to your current setup. However, if you're not going to upgrade your inverter, consider getting an MPPT charger. That could help you connect your panels in series, and most charge controllers can handle at least 100V from your solar panels.
It's great to hear you're experimenting with solar! With your current setup, you could wire all 10 panels. They’re probably around 20V and 5A each. If you connect 2 groups of 5 panels in series and then paralleling those groups, you should be fine. It might push you slightly over the 100V mark, but your MPPT will step it down. Just keep in mind, you might max out your Victron's capacity.
I see your point, but I've read that the Victron has a strict limit of 440 watts, and you’re right about needing a different inverter if you want to add more batteries!