How To Set Up Solar Panel Systems: Wiring In Parallel Vs Wiring In Series

About to make an array of solar panel systems? Before you start soldering solar cells you have to figure out how many solar panels you will need in order to match your power output aims. Naturally, in order to do that, you'll want to know how to wire your panels together. This post should describe the significant difference between parallel solar panel installations and series solar panel installations, and it will deliver guidance with regards to which you will need to utilize.

Wiring Solar energy panels in Parallel

Imagine that you are looking at three solar panels lying next to one another on the floor. On top of each and every panel is a positive terminal. On the bottom part of each and every panel is a negative terminal. You are going to wire these panels together using the terminals. You have two options. Alternative one is to run wiring along side top, joining each positive terminal together and to run wires along side the bottom, connecting every single negative terminal with each other. This is a parallel solar installation. What are the results any time you wire your panels in this particular way?

Any time you wire the solar panels in parallel, the full voltage output stays the same as it is in one panel. The amperage production turns into the sum of the output of each and every panel. As an illustration, say each of your panels provides 12 volts and 3.5 amps. The entire output of the panels, anytime wired in parallel, would be 12 volts and 10.5 amps. What exactly might your total output become if you happen to had six panels as opposed to three? Your voltage output would remain exactly the same, 12 volts, but your amperage would rise to 21.

Wiring Solar Panels in Series

At this time take a look once again at those three unwired solar panels lying down beside each other on the ground. Now we're going to wire these products in series. Instead of wiring the positive terminal of one panel to the positive terminal of the panel at the side of it, we will wire the positive terminal of one panel to the negative terminal of the panel adjacent to it. Do this for each and every panel, and your array will be wired in series. What exactly is the result of this?

When you wire the solar panels in series, the amperage is always precisely the same, and the total voltage production becomes the sum of the voltage output of each and every panel. When using the identical three 12 volt, 3.5 amp panels as above, we can easily see the difference. Wired in series, they now deliver 36 volts at 3.5 amps. What happens if we connect each of our three additional panels? Perfect. The amperage keeps at 3.5 and the voltage output leaps to 72.

When make use of Each Particular Wiring Pattern

What electrical wiring design is it best to make use of? Well, that is dependent upon the device that you would like to charge. Let's imagine, for instance, that you'd like to use solar energy to charge up your MOTORHOME whilst camping out. An RV, as you know, uses a 12-volt system; therefore, you would need the solar power system outputting 12 volts. Consequently, should you have two solar panels and every one makes 12 volts at 3.5 amps, you'd choose to wire them in parallel, which would maintain your volts at 12 and boost the amperage to 7.0. If, alternatively, you have got two solar panels and each generates 6 volts at 3.5 amps, you will want to wire them in series, which would raise the volts to 12 while maintaining the amps at 3.5.

You may well be curious about just what the consequences are, in relation to overall electrical power output, of wiring solar panels up one way or the other. The answer is there exists no effects whatsoever. Total power is calculated in watts. To determine the total wattage of one's charging system, just multiply your amps times the volts. For instance, say you have one particular system producing 12 volts at 10 amps and another producing 120 volts at 1 amp. Which delivers more electrical power? Neither of them.

12 volts X 10 amps = 120 watts
120 volts X 1 amp = 120 watts

For simple reference in regards to the main difference between parallel and series wiring, remember that parallel wiring = more amps, and series wiring = more volts. With a reasonable familiarity with the particular differences between parallel and series solar installations, you are at this time able to develop as well as construct your own personal solar panel system.

By: Danny C. Miller

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