₦airaland Forum

Dharyhor:
2.5kwh

which brand and how much you buy am

Dharyhor:
2.5kwh

You are ok with 1 pv.
You can get up 30a which is enough.
Fast charging is not the way to go.

Dharyhor:
Hello everyone,

My powmr 60A mppt charge controller keeps shutting down when the temperature rises to 60°c. The controller's fan start to work at 45°c and despite augmenting with external fan, the temperature continues to increase till it gets to 60°c when the controller shuts down for like an hour and starts to work again

I initially connected 2 pieces of 530watt jinko panels in series, I reconfigured to parallel, still the same. System is 12v

Kindly help
Thank you

From my ever-learning knowledge so far, 530watts panels is not suitable for your 12v system. Panels of 18V Maximum power voltage and open circuit voltage (VOc) around 22V-24V which are usually in the range of 180-200Watts are most suitable.

You 530Watts panels definitely overloading the controller and thereby causing the overheating in the controller for it trip off.

You must have followed the advise of getting a big panel and not the smaller ones.

Gshems:
which brand and how much you buy am

595k, bought from val.to,
Though it was when dollar was high

dollarnaira:
You are ok with 1 pv.
You can get up 30a which is enough.
Fast charging is not the way to go.

Noted, thank you

BigDickProblems:
From my ever-learning knowledge so far, 530watts panels is not suitable for your 12v system. Panels of 18V Maximum power voltage and open circuit voltage (VOc) around 22V-24V which are usually in the range of 180-200Watts are most suitable.

You 530Watts panels definitely overloading the controller and thereby causing the overheating in the controller for it trip off.

You must have followed the advise of getting a big panel and not the smaller ones.

True, I was initially using small panels, they were not giving me high yield, na why I bought the big panels

Dharyhor:
True, I was initially using small panels, they were not giving me high yield, na why I bought the big panels

What was the highest yield you were getting with the smaller panels and how many were they and the brand name.

Dharyhor:
True, I was initially using small panels, they were not giving me high yield, na why I bought the big panels

What was the total wattage of your small panels?

Total wattage of your big panels exceeds the total capacity of your charge controller.

Use just one of the two panels OR not recommended but I have done it, use 2 charge controllers one for each panel but connected to the same battery.

You will notice something.

From time to time one of the charge controllers will surrender to the other one and not charge the battery until it is manually reset.

But it will be helpful if you happen to run current intensive loads during the middle of the day

I think the highest the charge controller can take at 12v is 720w, those two jinko panels na overkill

This is the issue. 720watts max capacity at 12v versus 530watts x2

Your CC will die prematurely

Bankyshinani:
Can you make recommendations?

you tell us your system voltage
Also your max budget

A typical multi-voltage charge controller has the following specs

800w @ 12v
1,600w @ 24v
2,400w @ 36v
3,200w @ 48v

of course you still got to consider the Vmp and Voc

Hopefully, I understood your question both previous and current

BigDickProblems:
What was the highest yield you were getting with the smaller panels and how many were they and the brand name.

Was getting below 400watts even at peak of sun.
Na mixture of one 150watt, two 180watts and three 200 watts bought at different times
They're not popular brand, can't remember the names

FEGEITOK:
What was the total wattage of your small panels?

Total wattage of your big panels exceeds the total capacity of your charge controller.

Use just one of the two panels OR not recommended but I have done it, use 2 charge controllers one for each panel but connected to the same battery.

You will notice something.

From time to time one of the charge controllers will surrender to the other one and not charge the battery until it is manually reset.

But it will be helpful if you happen to run current intensive loads during the middle of the day

Total wattage of small panels is 1110watts

Noted, thank you

BigDickProblems:
From my ever-learning knowledge so far, 530watts panels is not suitable for your 12v system. Panels of 18V Maximum power voltage and open circuit voltage (VOc) around 22V-24V which are usually in the range of 180-200Watts are most suitable.

You 530Watts panels definitely overloading the controller and thereby causing the overheating in the controller for it trip off.

You must have followed the advise of getting a big panel and not the smaller ones.

...and that is one of the blanket comments things I often try to point Out hence why I often say "if you know what you doing" and also "situations often differ"

Dharyhor:
Was getting below 400watts even at peak of sun.
Na mixture of one 150watt, two 180watts and three 200 watts bought at different times
They're not popular brand, can't remember the names

being Popular brand doesn't matter.

Also that's not even your issue here. ReCall this idea of mixing different solar panels don follow cause argument between Me and some people in here. Now see the kind yaMaYaMa mixture you go do. Once again, except you know what yyou doing, do the normal things.

To make matters more interesting, e fit even be say na PWm follow join body

bassdow:
...and that is one of the major blanket comments things I often try to point Out hence why I often say "if you know what you doing" and also "situations often differ"

I remember when I had only 1 350watt panel. To get 180watt at peak hour Na wahala. I later got 2 250watts panels, since then by 11 my battery is full. Note:: my battery is lead acid, so my battery can't take more than 325watts..

Dharyhor:
Was getting below 400watts even at peak of sun.
Na mixture of one 150watt, two 180watts and three 200 watts bought at different times
They're not popular brand, can't remember the names

Another noneSense na the idea say na only the popular brands be better quality. Don't let anyOne reWrite your thoughts.

Dharyhor:
Was getting below 400watts even at peak of sun.
Na mixture of one 150watt, two 180watts and three 200 watts bought at different times
They're not popular brand, can't remember the names

When you wire your panels in parallel —connecting all the positive terminals together and all the negatives together—you force them all to run at the same voltage.The problem is, the entire group gets dragged down to the lowest voltage of any single panel you have. This means those higher-wattage panels that should be running at a higher voltage are essentially throttled, which cuts down their power output.The good news with parallel wiring, though, is that the current (the flow of electricity) from every single panel still gets to add up. So, even though it's not ideal, you usually get a higher overall power output than you would from a badly mismatched series setup.

Now, looking at your setup—1,110W worth of panels (150W, 180W, 200W, etc.) only spitting out less than 400W —that's a huge loss.

That kind of severe drop-off is the classic sign of a Series Wiring problem (or a complex mix of series and parallel) where the different panel specs are creating a massive mismatch loss.

One panel is essentially choking the others.

When you connect your panels in series—wiring the positive of one panel to the negative of the next—you are forcing the same amount of current (or amperage) through every single one.

The biggest issue is that the entire line gets limited by the "slowest" panel, meaning the one that produces the lowest current. Those bigger, higher-wattage panels are essentially throttled. They are forced to run at the lower current of the weakest link, which seriously cuts down how much power they can actually put out.

Try again with one of the 2 530W panels disconnected!

And report back to the house

Dharyhor:
Hello everyone,

My powmr 60A mppt charge controller keeps shutting down when the temperature rises to 60°c. The controller's fan start to work at 45°c and despite augmenting with external fan, the temperature continues to increase till it gets to 60°c when the controller shuts down for like an hour and starts to work again

I initially connected 2 pieces of 530watt jinko panels in series, I reconfigured to parallel, still the same. System is 12v

Kindly help

Thank you

Hi, I use this same PowrMr 60A mppt for my folks at home. I use 2 * 420w panels in series which means I can only get 70A in theory ( 53 - 58A real-world after losses, cloud cover etc) so I'm still in range.

Your panels are too much for the controller at 88A theoritical and > 60A after adjusted for real-world conditions.


I myself have 2*585w panels in series but with an hybrid inverter of 100A capability.

One way out is to sell off the 60A controller and get an 80A-rated one.

If you want, you can also sell the inverter and controller and get an hybrid inverter rated > 80A .
I use Bread, it has 100A mppt and costs around 200k.

The big panels will be beneficial when you want to upgrade to 24v.

I also had 300w panels before and sold them

Dharyhor:
Was getting below 400watts even at peak of sun.
Na mixture of one 150watt, two 180watts and three 200 watts bought at different times
They're not popular brand, can't remember the names

I see. I asked because of my bad experience with a particular brand, twin tech or so, and so I got myself Africells. It’s not the best but it’s sufficient.

On a side note, I believe 3 to 4 quality panels of 200Watts are good for your 12v system. And also use thicker cables.

But like someone advised, it’s best to use just one of the Bug size you have.

Darey00:
Lol no oo, the 24v version is ₦310k

Thank you jare.
I'll look around for it

FEGEITOK:
When you wire your panels in parallel —connecting all the positive terminals together and all the negatives together—you force them all to run at the same voltage.The problem is, the entire group gets dragged down to the lowest voltage of any single panel you have. This means those higher-wattage panels that should be running at a higher voltage are essentially throttled, which cuts down their power output.The good news with parallel wiring, though, is that the current (the flow of electricity) from every single panel still gets to add up. So, even though it's not ideal, you usually get a higher overall power output than you would from a badly mismatched series setup.

Now, looking at your setup—1,110W worth of panels (150W, 180W, 200W, etc.) only spitting out less than 400W —that's a huge loss.

That kind of severe drop-off is the classic sign of a Series Wiring problem (or a complex mix of series and parallel) where the different panel specs are creating a massive mismatch loss.

One panel is essentially choking the others.

When you connect your panels in series—wiring the positive of one panel to the negative of the next—you are forcing the same amount of current (or amperage) through every single one.

The biggest issue is that the entire line gets limited by the "slowest" panel, meaning the one that produces the lowest current. Those bigger, higher-wattage panels are essentially throttled. They are forced to run at the lower current of the weakest link, which seriously cuts down how much power they can actually put out.

Try again with one of the 2 530W panels disconnected!

And report back to the house

Hmm, noted
Thank you

Darey00:
Hi, I use this same PowrMr 60A mppt for my folks at home. I use 2 * 420w panels in series which means I can only get 70A in theory ( 53 - 58A real-world after losses, cloud cover etc) so I'm still in range.

Your panels are too much for the controller at 88A theoritical and > 60A after adjusted for real-world conditions.


I myself have 2*585w panels in series but with an hybrid inverter of 100A capability.

One way out is to sell off the 60A controller and get an 80A-rated one.

If you want, you can also sell the inverter and controller and get an hybrid inverter rated > 80A .
I use Bread, it has 100A mppt and costs around 200k.

The big panels will be beneficial when you want to upgrade to 24v.

I also had 300w panels before and sold them

Noted, Thank you

I'm also looking at the option of buying 24v hybrid inverter and converting my battery to 24v 100ah

BigDickProblems:
I see. I asked because of my bad experience with a particular brand, twin tech or so, and so I got myself Africells. It’s not the best but it’s sufficient.

On a side note, I believe 3 to 4 quality panels of 200Watts are good for your 12v system. And also use thicker cables.

But like someone advised, it’s best to use just one of the Bug size you have.

Oh okay, the panels are not twin tech

I use 10mm cable, the distance between charge controller and panels is a long one

Thank you

Dharyhor:
Noted, Thank you

I'm also looking at the option of buying 24v hybrid inverter and converting my battery to 24v 100ah

That's good advice; you absolutely need a higher-capacity charge controller (CC).

When I first got my hybrid inverter, I never even used its built-in CC because it was too restrictive. I knew I wanted to add more and bigger panels down the road than it could handle. That's actually why I bought my first external charge controller in the first place.

It was smart of you to get an external CC, but based on the specs of your current panels, it sounds like your existing one is undersized.What you do next really comes down to your budget: Do you get a bigger and better CC? Do you upgrade to a more powerful hybrid inverter? Or maybe you need to rethink the whole setup—like switching from a 12V to a 24V system, or just re-configuring the panels you already have so they actually work for you.

On top of all that, we have another potential issue: how are your panels connected? For example, those 530W x 2 panels. I've personally run panels that exceeded the CC's maximum power rating, and it never overheated. It just capped the output when it hit the limit because the voltage was in the safe range.

I eventually reduced my panel count to match that CC's capacity and moved the extra panels to a second charge controller, which feeds a separate inverter and its own battery bank.

Finally, what's the voltage of each panel? You might have actually exceeded the maximum voltage your charge controller can safely handle.

FEGEITOK:
That's good advice; you absolutely need a higher-capacity charge controller (CC).

When I first got my hybrid inverter, I never even used its built-in CC because it was too restrictive. I knew I wanted to add more and bigger panels down the road than it could handle. That's actually why I bought my first external charge controller in the first place.

It was smart of you to get an external CC, but based on the specs of your current panels, it sounds like your existing one is undersized.What you do next really comes down to your budget: Do you get a bigger and better CC? Do you upgrade to a more powerful hybrid inverter? Or maybe you need to rethink the whole setup—like switching from a 12V to a 24V system, or just re-configuring the panels you already have so they actually work for you.

On top of all that, we have another potential issue: how are your panels connected? For example, those 530W x 2 panels. I've personally run panels that exceeded the CC's maximum power rating, and it never overheated. It just capped the output when it hit the limit because the voltage was in the safe range.

I eventually reduced my panel count to match that CC's capacity and moved the extra panels to a second charge controller, which feeds a separate inverter and its own battery bank.

Finally, what's the voltage of each panel? You might have actually exceeded the maximum voltage your charge controller can safely handle.

The charge controller's max voltage is 160v, each panel's voc is 49.45v, so both panels are still within range whether in series or parallel.

I noticed the heat generated by controller when the panels are in parallel is less compared to series which is understandable

Dharyhor:
The charge controller's max voltage is 160v, each panel's voc is 49.45v, so both panels are still within range whether in series or parallel.

I noticed the heat generated by controller when the panels are in parallel is less compared to series which is understandable

Where is the CC installed?

Does it have adequate air flow?

FEGEITOK:
Where is the CC installed?

Does it have adequate air flow?

Yes, it's installed in a well ventilated area

Pls house I want to know more about Longi weran solar panels it's the same. With normal LONGI panel

Dharyhor:
The charge controller's max voltage is 160v, each panel's voc is 49.45v, so both panels are still within range whether in series or parallel.

I noticed the heat generated by controller when the panels are in parallel is less compared to series which is understandable

Powrmr 60a mppt controller has a max input voltage of about 75v to 80v if you are using it in a 12v setup, you are crossing the voltage threshold by connecting the 2 panels in series

Penuelseun:
Powrmr 60a mppt controller has a max input voltage of about 75v to 80v if you are using it in a 12v setup, you are crossing the voltage threshold by connecting the 2 panels in series

Noted thanks, I've changed the configuration to parallel and heat generated is less, hopefully it'll stop tripping off

Dharyhor:

The charge controller's max voltage is 160v, each panel's voc is 49.45v, so both panels are still within range whether in series or parallel.

I noticed the heat generated by controller when the panels are in parallel is less compared to series which is understandable

You are wrong with the bolded. You total pv voltage on 12v system must not get to 80v it not your CC will be tripping off if it's not fried.

The best to do with your current panels is to connect it in series.

If the above checks out, during the high yield between 11am - 1pm, check if your wires are not hot to touch, if it does that means the current you are generating is higher than what your cable can carry. So change it to a quality wire because that is most likely why your CC temp was so high and instead of damaging your CC, it tripped off to cool the temp naturally, then resume operation later.

Dharyhor:
Noted thanks, I've changed the configuration to parallel and heat generated is less, hopefully it'll stop tripping off

I am really curious about this issue of yours.

Are your cables thick enough?
I am guessing that this issue might be coming from your cable as well since you said you also paralleled the system.

I would really advise you parallel them (since you said the two VOc exceeds 80V) since the VOc of both in series exceeds 80v and according to the CC manual attached below.

So parallel them and try a thicker cable than the present one before you take any other decision, cos any other decision will cost you more (if you are on budget).