Hey everyone! I'm setting up a solar system for my cabin and need some advice. Here's what I've got:
- 4x 12v 2560wh LiFePO batteries (totaling about 10,000wh)
- 12v 4,000w inverter
- 12v-48v 60A 3,200w (max) MPPT solar charger
- 8x 360w solar panels wired in parallel
I'm running two window AC units that use about 1,000w/h total. My charge controller shows it's getting 60A and 40v input, which should be around 2,400w/h, right? But even during peak sunlight hours, my battery charge doesn't seem to improve at all. I don't have a proper battery monitor, just relying on the inverter voltage, which fluctuates from about 14v down to 10v before shutting off. I've followed some tutorials to set this up, but things don't seem to be working as expected. Am I missing something crucial here or misconfigured? Any help would be awesome!
1 Answer
It looks like you might be misunderstanding the voltage readings. The 12-14V at 60A translates to just 720-840 watts. When your panels are at 40V, that's the input voltage, not the output. I suggest you consider switching to a 48V setup for better performance. You might even need more charge controllers to handle all that power! Make sure your systems can take the load—240 Amps can be a lot!
Which part do you think I should change first? Everything is wired for 12V because my inverter can't handle 48V. What would happen if I tried hooking up a 48V battery bank? Should I wire my panels in series instead?