April 1, 20224 yr Hi, I am looking to purchase some solar panels is the to make up 1300W for my MPPT (30 ~ 80 VDC, max 40A). What brands are best to go with or doesn't it really matter? I have read conflicting reviews on mono vs poly and which is better. They seem roughly similarly priced. Has anyone had experience with both and if mono does outperform poly? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Edited April 1, 20224 yr by Mark1981
April 4, 20224 yr On 2022/04/01 at 2:32 PM, Mark1981 said: Hi, I am looking to purchase some solar panels is the to make up 1300W for my MPPT (30 ~ 80 VDC, max 40A). What brands are best to go with or doesn't it really matter? I have read conflicting reviews on mono vs poly and which is better. They seem roughly similarly priced. Has anyone had experience with both and if mono does outperform poly? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. No need to debate mono vs poly. If it is a 200W panel it will provide 200W.
April 4, 20224 yr Poly used to be slightly cheaper. These days shipping costs makes all panels rather expensive compared to a year ago. These days you get A grade panels from well known companies like Canadian, JA Solar etc... I would stick to those. You also get no-name cheap panels for hobby projects that are eg 100W More important would be going for half-cut cells if there is some shading at times. The bypass diode can switch off a certain sections of the panel that is shaded. I would say that you should rather focus on the requirements of your MPPT. These days to open circuit voltage is about 49V which means you can only parrallel if you need to be under 80V. Then look at the short circuit amps, how many panels to keep it in line with the MPPT. Some panels give 8A some 18A. Does your MPPT allow overpanelling? If eg you use a victron mppt then you can easily over spec on the amps (eg input 45A on a 40A controller as the excess will be clipped), just sure you keep under the max voltage. If you are using a cheap chinese mppt... then your milage might vary If charging a 48V battery your panels need to produce at least over 60V in normal operating voltage which means that your MPPT will not work with a panel that produces 49V. Then you might need to look for panels with less than 72 cells with a lower voltage and configure at least 2 in Series. The MPPT might limit your options a lot. What MPPT are you using? Edited April 4, 20224 yr by iiznh more info added
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