Hi everyone.

I am new to solar and new to this website .I need some help choosing the right solar panels for my inverter and for the limited space i have to fit solar panels. I have room for 10 panels and the idea is to fit as many or as less as possible but to get the most power from that surface and to work with my Growatt 5000 inverter. 

Can anyone on this forum give me a hand with this info, please?

Thank you for your support.

Generally when you are tight for roof space its best to get the highest wattage panels available, they will also have the highest efficiency so they would make the most amount of power per meter squared

Thank you De0n19.

I will love to but do you think that 10 panels 600w won't destroy my inverter?

What is the max voltage on solar that your inverter can handle? As well as the max amps? How many MPPTs does it have?

Here are the tech specs for the inverter.
If your panels exceed these values in theory, it will go to waste as the Inverter will clip at the maximum.
Remember that your actual values will never be the theoretical unless you have a solar tracker and your panels follow the sun, and even then you will have losses due to cable distances and also panels that won't give you 100% of the lab tested results. Solar radiation is also affected by environmental factors.
http://growattinverters.com/Off-Grid-Storage-Inverters/44-625.html

@Dannyboy the inverter van take 6000 watts of pv at upto 18 amps. So higher wattage panels mean you only need one string.

I have 16 360 watt panels in 2 parralel strings.

550 watt or 600 watt panels would take up much less space since you would only need one string. Just check the voltage, on the attachment vmp is 39 volts which makes 10 panels perfectly fine but Voc is 46,9 then 10 panels gives you 469 volts which is over 450 volts. Most people say you only have to worry about vmp.

CS-Datasheet-HiKu6_CS6W-MS_v1.6_F50A_EN_530-550W.pdf

What about if i connect them in 2 strings of 5 panels of 600w in series? What do i loose and what do i gain? It will be a wise move or better have 3 strings in paralel (9 panels). What is going to be the best option?Or should i go for less power panels and use them in series . What about 8 panels 600w paralleled or series? What will be the best option to get the most out of the space using my inverter? What will you choose?

Edited January 27, 20223 yr by Danyboy

10 hours ago, Danyboy said:

What about if i connect them in 2 strings of 5 panels of 600w in series? What do i loose and what do i gain? It will be a wise move or better have 3 strings in paralel (9 panels). What is going to be the best option?Or should i go for less power panels and use them in series . What about 8 panels 600w paralleled or series? What will be the best option to get the most out of the space using my inverter? What will you choose?

9 panels with a Voc of 47 volts and vmp of 39 volts sounds fine.

3-panel string will produce too low voltage for the MPPT. If you read the Growatt datasheet, you will see that MPPT operating voltage is 120-430V.

3-panel strings (even the highest power 550MS) will produce Voc of 148.8V (and 42Amp Isc). That is just on the lower voltage range of the MPPT.

I would go for 2x5 strings with a Voc of 248V and 28Amp Isc.

Hi everyone and thanks for trying to help. I got to this point that i have to choose 10 panels of 430W /40V in series or 10 panels of 600W 2 strings of 5. What should i choose ? What is the best option and why?

Edited February 3, 20223 yr by Danyboy

4 hours ago, Danyboy said:

Hi everyone and thanks for trying to help. I got to this point that i have to choose 10 panels of 430W /40V in series or 10 panels of 600W 2 strings of 5. What should i choose ? What is the best option and why?

Your inverter has one mppt so these newer panels with high amps seem to make sense because you only need one string and no combining just surge protection/disconnect.

On 2022/02/03 at 6:53 AM, Buyeye said:

Your inverter has one mppt so these newer panels with high amps seem to make sense because you only need one string and no combining just surge protection/disconnect.

Hi. So you are saying that one string of 10 panels 600w each it is ok as i understand

 

18 hours ago, Danyboy said:

Hi. So you are saying that one string of 10 panels 600w each it is ok as i understand

 

40 volts x 10 = 400 volts which is less than 450 so it looks fine. You have to double check your panels before you buy them that imp and voc are 40-43 volts.

The Growatt is limited to 18Amps.
I have two strings of 6 each 535W panels. That makes 22 Amps as these panels are around 11 Amps. 
Having the SA to monitor I see that my Inverter doesn't even get to a full 18Amps, It clips at 17.6Amps. Close enough.
But anything above 18Amps is lost. So my panels are rated at around 49V VOC X 6 in a string should give me around 300V. I have never seen more than 280V.
280V X 17.6A = 4928W. In theory my 12 panels should be around 6300W. In practice as you can see it matches around 5kW in full sunshine.
The biggest advantage is that on cloudy days the additional panels give me a higher gain than if I had less panels.
Thus try and get as close as you can to the max VOC. It will always be a compromise between max amps or max VOC with a single MPPT. The only way to improve that would have been a dual MPPT inverter.
Was a learning curve for me too. Hindsight is 20/20 vision. But overall I am satisfied for now. But if and when it comes time to upgrade or replace this inverter it will be a dual MPPT for sure. The other option is another Growatt in parallel and then feed each one with 6 X 535W panels. That would then give me 280V X 11A = 3080 Watt  X 2 inverters = 6160Watt. So I would gain 1100Watts or there abouts. 

 

Edited February 25, 20223 yr by zsde

15 hours ago, zsde said:

The Growatt is limited to 18Amps.
I have two strings of 6 each 535W panels. That makes 22 Amps as these panels are around 11 Amps. 
Having the SA to monitor I see that my Inverter doesn't even get to a full 18Amps, It clips at 17.6Amps. Close enough.
But anything above 18Amps is lost. So my panels are rated at around 49V VOC X 6 in a string should give me around 300V. I have never seen more than 280V.
280V X 17.6A = 4928W. In theory my 12 panels should be around 6300W. In practice as you can see it matches around 5kW in full sunshine.
The biggest advantage is that on cloudy days the additional panels give me a higher gain than if I had less panels.
Thus try and get as close as you can to the max VOC. It will always be a compromise between max amps or max VOC with a single MPPT. The only way to improve that would have been a dual MPPT inverter.
Was a learning curve for me too. Hindsight is 20/20 vision. But overall I am satisfied for now. But if and when it comes time to upgrade or replace this inverter it will be a dual MPPT for sure. The other option is another Growatt in parallel and then feed each one with 6 X 535W panels. That would then give me 280V X 11A = 3080 Watt  X 2 inverters = 6160Watt. So I would gain 1100Watts or there abouts. 

 

I've seen mine max out at 18,1Amps.but the weakness of an off-grid inverter is a small battery bank.

I live in UK. I don't have too many sunny days , as everybody knows and my roof space is 11m long and 1.90m wide so i think i can fit about 9 maybe 10 panels. So you think that 2 strings of 5 panels 500-535 W won't damage my Growatt spf5000es inverter and it is the best option.

Edited March 9, 20223 yr by Danyboy