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Posted

Hi all, Im looking for confirmation on what the ideal / best configuration to get the most of my solar

I currently have the following

1 x 12 kw Deye inverter

16 x 450w panels from ArtSolar ( currently set as PV 1a PV 1b) average 315 v

 

Inverter 

PV Input Voltage(V)   550V (160V~800V)

MPPT Range(V)          200V-650V

Start-up Voltage(V)    160V

PV Input Current(A )   25A+12.5A

No. of MPPT Trackers 2

No. of Strings Per MPPT Tracker      2+1

 

Panel 

Vmp    41.5v
Imp    10.84
Voc    49.3v
Isc    11.6a

 

Am I correct in saying I cannot exceed 650v per string and I should use V0c valve from the panel 

650v / 49.3v = 13 panels (640,9v) per sting? 

13 panels would effectively give me 539.5v

 

The reason for my question is that ive been averaging 3kw from solar and only peeked twice at 5.25kw since March 2022 and it does not supply enough to charge my 6 5.5kw batteries and supply the house. 

 

If I move my sting 2 from MPPT 1b to MPPT 2 would it produce more?

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Posted
39 minutes ago, Deeos said:

If I move my sting 2 from MPPT 1b to MPPT 2 would it produce more?

I would definitely try that . You should be producing more i think . I am peaking at about 4,5-5kw at mid day with my similar sized array 8 facing east and 8 facing north west. 

Posted (edited)

Do you have 2 strings of 8 parrallel connected to MPPT1?

What is the orientation of the 2 string?

You are better off connecting each string to their own MPPT (and let the MPPT find the max power point for the string). A string needs to have similar orientation) Do you have shading?

Edited by iiznh
Posted

I have now separated them - mppt 1 8 panels in parallel and mppt2 8 panel in parallel 

Currently 

Mppt 1 312v 1.16kw

Mppt 2 310v 1.12kw

Both on the same pitch of the room with no shedding facing north

 

Posted (edited)

 

The output seems rather low you should get at least 2KW from a string in full sun. Possibly more when it is not too hot.

How are the panels mounted, What is the angle with regards to the sun? do they have good ventilation? Some pictures if possible.

Edited by iiznh
Posted (edited)

Install looks good, seem to have good ventilation. I have no idea why the output is so low.

I would disconnect each panel and check them individually what the short circuit current is with a clamp meter. Start at a point and eliminate

Is the open circuit voltage inline with what you would expect from 8 panels?

 

Edited by iiznh
Posted
28 minutes ago, Deeos said:

I have now separated them - mppt 1 8 panels in parallel and mppt2 8 panel in parallel 

Currently 

Mppt 1 312v 1.16kw

Mppt 2 310v 1.12kw

Both on the same pitch of the room with no shedding facing north

 

That looks good. You mean in series hehe. Check the output at mid day in the next few days it should be peaking higher i think . 

Posted (edited)

How much is your total consumption ? and purchased power ? for March. What size battery are you running and how deeply are you discharging every day? What direction are your panels facing?

Edited by Nexuss
Posted

Those graphs with all the spikes are due to clouds. Getting 1-2KW when the cloud moves over is pretty normal. You could easily extend the strings to 13 panels per string if I look at the MPPT specs you posted. (Sorry I missed the original question).

Posted
35 minutes ago, iiznh said:

Install looks good, seem to have good ventilation. I have no idea why the output is so low.

I would disconnect each panel and check them individually what the short circuit current is with a clamp meter. Start at a point and eliminate

Is the open circuit voltage inline with what you would expect from 8 panels?

 

It is in line with Vmp 41.5x8= 332v I currently get 315v

Posted (edited)
17 minutes ago, Deeos said:

It is in line with Vmp 41.5x8= 332v I currently get 315v

That is operating Voltage, difficult to say if maybe one panel is under performing. The MPPT will pull the voltage down to harvest the max power (highest Voltage Current combination)

 

With no load connected the open circuit should read 49.3 * 8 = 394.4 V.    Current is still the better option to test though. Easy to spot a panel not pulling its Amps. 

Edited by iiznh
Posted

March

Total consumption  909kw

Production 661.2kw

Panels face North

For March i had 4 x 5.5kw Hubble batteries. 

Set at 30% to stop supply from battery and 20% shutdown if no power to site 

 

Since last week, post floods I installed 2 more 5.5kw batteries so i currently have 6 with the same settings 

 

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Posted
5 minutes ago, iiznh said:

That is operating Voltage, difficult to say if maybe one panel is under performing .

 

With no load connected the open circuit should read 49.3 * 8 = 394.4 V.    Current is still the better option to test though. Easy to spot a panel not pulling its Amps. 

Can you walk me through this process?

Do I use my clamp meter, disconnect the panel and check each panel DC voltage? will this not change if a cloud covers it while I test it?

Why would both strings have the same voltage if 1 panel was faulty in a string?

Posted
2 minutes ago, Deeos said:

Do I use my clamp meter, disconnect the panel and check each panel DC voltage? will this not change if a cloud covers it while I test it?

Why would both strings have the same voltage if 1 panel was faulty in a string?

If you do not suspect faulty panels then it is not worth the effort.

The open circuit voltage changes very little with light. If a bypass diode is bypassing a portion of the panel you will easily see a 16V drop.

The temperature and light and angle has a drastic effect on the amps produced. So this most be done with no clouds blocking the sun, same temp and same angle. 

Disconnect a panel from the string, there must be no load connected otherwise it will arc and burn contacts. Take the disconnected panel , connect +  to - of the panel it self, measure with the clamp meter the amps flowing. Perform the test on every panel. If there is one panel with much lower amps then it might be pulling the string down.

Posted
18 minutes ago, Deeos said:

March

Total consumption  909kw

Production 661.2kw

Panels face North

For March i had 4 x 5.5kw Hubble batteries. 

Set at 30% to stop supply from battery and 20% shutdown if no power to site 

 

Since last week, post floods I installed 2 more 5.5kw batteries so i currently have 6 with the same settings 

 

Capture5.PNG

Capture6.PNG

Wow thats alot of batteries . My production for march was 760kwh and total consumption 900 . So your production seems slightly low but not crazy low, i wouldn't think you actually have any faults with the system its likely just the orientation/angle of the panels if i had to guess. 

Posted
34 minutes ago, Nexuss said:

Wow thats alot of batteries . My production for march was 760kwh and total consumption 900 . So your production seems slightly low but not crazy low, i wouldn't think you actually have any faults with the system its likely just the orientation/angle of the panels if i had to guess. 

Thanks 

Where are you based 

Im going to wash the panels tomorrow afternoon and check the angle, not sure what it is 

Per the picture below am I correct in saying it is North facing?

tempsnip.png

Posted (edited)
16 minutes ago, Deeos said:

Thanks 

Where are you based 

Im going to wash the panels tomorrow afternoon and check the angle, not sure what it is 

Per the picture below am I correct in saying it is North facing?

tempsnip.png

I am based in Cape Town. It looks to me like your panels are facing south east . Hopefully some other members will confirm this but yea thats not good for production at all. I would move the one string(PV2) or maybe even both if you can to the roof on the other side.

Edited by Nexuss
Posted

😖

 

So this app does not work 

 

Perhaps I can put a junction box to extend the dc cables and relocate 8 panels this winter and add another 5 pannels at a later stage to pv1

SmartSelect_20220421-163740_Google Play Store.jpg

Posted
5 minutes ago, Nexuss said:

It looks to me like your panels are facing south east . Hopefully some other members will confirm this but yea thats not good for production at all. I would move the one string atleast or both if you can to the roof on the other side.

Also looks that way.

If you point your right hand east (where the sun comes up) and your left hand west (where the sun sets). You should be facing north.

Posted (edited)

Looking at the specs of the MPPT its going to perform at its best close to 550volts so it would be best to add more panels to get closer to that number as you are currently only running at 300ish volts which is probably also not helping you at the moment. So a nice 13 panel string on the north facing roof and another 5 with pv1 aswell if you can afford it !

Edited by Nexuss

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