/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>2033731
your over thinking this.

solar panels are meant to be linked together in series. you just need a charge controller that can handle the input voltage and supply you with the output voltage you need.

>>2033731
with an mppt solar regulator , conect them in series and you are good to go also set the mppt to the corect battery chemistry to charge the batteries properly. with a series conection you need smaller gauge wires thats a big bonus. an other thing to know is that most mppts have to have minimum 3v difrence from the voltage of the solar panels compared with the voltage of your system.so if you have a 24v sytem and one of the panel is saded 21.6 volts will not make the mppt start charging. keep it simple and if you are woried about going out of power i suget you get a meter that calculates the level of your batteries this is important in the long run because depending of the batery type you have you have a limit of dicharge to keep them healthy

>>2033731
Bro, almost every commercial solar panel like that ALREADY HAS a bypass diode in place in it's little junction box on the back of the panel. You can normally just open the j-box and look for yourself, or post the make/model of your panel and we can probably look it up online.

Just hook them up in series and don't worry.

>>2033731
>But can´t I mitigate the partially shaded panel in series if I install a bypass diode?
no

Solar panels are retarded man. Get a 230A alternator instead. You can idle your car for 30 minutes and get the same energy you would baking in the sun all day with your meme panels that never work at 100% efficiency and are literally useless for 75% of the year

>>2033974
>>2034016
Thanks I guess I just connect them in series and be done with it.

>>2034275
There are smart relais which connect to your car alternator and charge the solar battery if you run your car.

There's a YouTuber who did that it's in spanish but maybe can help you a little bit. I think it's Vicesat

>>2033731
series. The 21.6V is charging 12v you do NOT want 40+v going into your solar controller. You do have a solar controller, right? Also I have a single 3'x4' that powers two 4D house batteries and keeps my diesel starter batteries topped off. You really don't need 5 panels because you literally won't have the battery capacity to benefit. Two of the panels in your pic would be enough.

>>2035822
>you do NOT want 40+v going into your solar controller
false

>8.67A at open circuit
damn those must be some giga nigga panels

>>2035983
>>you do NOT want 40+v going into your non-MPPT solar controller
true

>>2034275
OP, just read this post 10 times and ignore any other advice. You're in a vehicle with an engine, not on some remote desert compound, use the fucking engine to generate power. It's basically already set up to do exactly that. I'll never understand this obsession with putting solar on vehicles. Doing something the most convoluted possible way to get the least possible return. The whole function of the engine is to generate power, nah let's put some solar panels on our power generator. It's fucking retarded.

>>2036310
>idling the engine 16 hours a day
Someone here is fucking retarded.

>>2036313
If you really believe that 10 square feet of solar panels in a random direction will generate more power than a goddamn diesel engine, please do the human race a favor and kill yourself.

>>2034275
well, there are times you don't (or just can't) do the retard idling thing.
also, you forgot a few law of physics about how much energy you can produce out of the same retard idling thing

>>2033731
an MPPT regulator will continuously adapt itself to the input voltage and extract up to the last milliampere from the panels

>>2033731

Get a Renogy Wanderer v2. It has the Bluetooth adapter and will turn the panel voltage into usable voltage.

Or get an Outback FM60, then get bigger panels, because a decent normal single panel's open circuit voltage is around 36vdc.

You're playing in the tempid kiddie pools with those pussy 21vdc open circuit panels.

>>2036454
Proper wet dream

>>2033731
Oh, and I forgot.


If you wire them in parallel, you'll be fine but you just need to use a thicker gauge wire.

If you wire them in a series, make sure the charge controller you're using can actually handle the total voltage. If your charge controller can't handle the total voltage, then you're overloading it and it won't do its job.

The Renogy Wanderer I mentioned earlier, it caps around 24vdc.

Pic unrelated, it's the Rover, but I just want to send encouragement.

>>2033731
>Would this mean if the shaded panel falls below the voltage of the non shaded panel it get´s bypassed completely?

Uh, the reason you can't find anything about this is because you're tripping over something that isn't a thing.

The controller will determine when it stops production, whether you're in the shade or not.


I've sat on my couch at 2am during a full moon and I watched my panels/controller make solar.

Pic related, it's the record page of the Renogy Bluetooth monitoring system I have. Right now I'm not producing much because I have a tarp over my panels, I have the junction boxes open and I'm fiddling with some items.

>>2037128
God dang, I love using my phone....

>>2033772
>solar panels are meant to be linked together in series.
Electronics are cheap ... m2+ panels of glass, metal and crystalline silicon not so much.

In any situation where shading is likely, just use optimizers.

>>2036461
>well, there are times you don't (or just can't) do the retard idling thing.
this is just cope and you know it. listen, i understand the appeal of solar panels. they are a novelty and it's pretty fun from from a DIY enthusiast tinkering perspective. but consider this: most van people have 200ah of capacity. in practice, how difficult do you think it is to recharge those 200ah via solar? how many panels would you need at what efficiency? it's difficult. under perfect conditions (which never happen), you'd need 6 hours for 400 watts of panels to get you that energy back whereas your alternator can do it in an hour of driving which is something these people are doing every day anyways. NONe of you faggots are boondocking or doing any of this fantasy instagram bullshit with your vans. you drive aimlessly until the depression sinks in again and then you drive some more. there is a reason foresty forest didn't bother going with panels on his new van. it's a meme

>>2037269
Going full retard mode won't save you from facts & logic.

Facts: most van people just don't budget energy. Their vans end up bloated and overloaded out of stupidity, not necessity. Lots of panels, batterie, amps, without even thinking "what do I actually need every day", "do I really need a microwave oven and shit?"
Also, you don't really need a full hundreds-of-amperes charging. In a reasonable scenario, those panels just fill up the energy you use. An alternator provides current depending on the engine rpm's. "Half an hour idling" does not equal "hundred of amperes". And you may be parked in a spot where 30 seconds idling may not be that welcome. You should only turn on the engine (and wander around) when you're seriously low on service batteries (that is, when you were either greatly unlucky, or grossly stupid).

Also, most people assume stoves & conditioning are a serious must. Hint: it isn't, as long as you plan for seasonal migrations to warmer/cooler regions, where van insulation will be more than enough night and day, and where your small devices (cellphone, tablet, beard trimmer, a few led lights) won't be enough to drain your batteries.

>>2037427
Challenge: Show the actual math of an optimal, start of life, 24/7 100% efficiency solar under whatever fantasy conditions you want, vs a subpar stock diesel alternator running for 4 hours. Spoiler, you won't because it's embarrassing.

>>2034016
That's normally a blocking diode.

>>2036320
Running diesels at idle for long periods is bad for them.

>>2037128
>Uh, the reason you can't find anything about this is because you're tripping over something that isn't a thing.
Bypass diodes are absolutely a thing, and they do exaclty what he described.

>>2037828
Several sources I have read seem to indicate that the diodes are there for bypass; that's why there are more than one on a normal 60 or 72 cell panel....

https://www.powerfromsunlight.com/solar-bypass-diode-guide-this-is-what-you-should-know-about-solar-bypass-diodes/

>>2036236
Whether or not it is MPPT has nothing to do with a charge controllers input voltage rating. They are entirely different concepts....

>>2033731
Since this is not a house, i would use the powa of like image dithering, so the cells used would be the size of tiles in bathrom, to get most energy no mater what part of the van or wtf you have is in the shade. I would do the math and shit and get the monocrystal from china. But the wires and controller from your country reputable. In any case i would have a small gasoline generator and a hand crank shit. Plus random cables to connect n shit, for redundancy. Since you are the retard that gets to a desert and dies there, adventure fuck yes. Anyways there is no simple solution for your situation, but get standard bag of meds and surgery shit along with a first aid. Good luck man.

>>2037839
Oh you faggot with the pic you misleading me. You say 130Wx2 are you for real? In your pic guy has 3000w for shure. Learn what watts means in solar shit, its a faggot curve. Not straight line. Ffs kys

I seriously wonder if the real world, actual energy gained by solar panels is even high enough to offset the crazy high amount of drag created by putting them on to begin with.

>>2037836
Yeah ok, guess things have changed. Used to be they had a blocking diode so you could just hook them straight up to a battery and they wouldn't self drain overnight. Almost everyone uses a charge controller nowadays I guess.

>>2037844
The more I look into this, the more irrationally absurd it is. Putting solar panels on a vehicle isn't just merely inefficient, it's profoundly retarded. There is no two sides, there is no debate, the math simply doesn't pan out, on multiple levels, by orders of magnitude. If you really want solar, just bring portable panels and catch sun when it's available. Any time the vehicle is moving, A) The alternator would provide multiple times more power, and B) the effects of drag would create a net negative energy generation from the hit to fuel economy. So the only time solar would be even remotely rational would be if you were stationary for long periods, in which case a portable or self contained set up is superior in every single respect. There is simply not a scenario where mounted solar panels could ever be anything but unadulterated faggotry.

>>2037836
You had me second guessing myself, so i opened up the box on a panel i have. Theres one diode and its wired as blocking. This is a 100w panel from an automotive type shop. So i think the smaller camping/rv/boat panels tend to have blocking diodes for direct battery connection, while the big house type ones have bypass diodes for safety and efficiency.

>>2037849
Living in a van and not house with land and garden and... Is peak retardation, but in our world trannies exist, so. Who knows what is right anymore.

>>2036320
It's not a matter of power capacity you fucking sperg. I don't plug my car battery in to my flashlight because it's the biggest one a-fucking-vailable

>>2033731
Anon, My wife and I just bought a camper, and I've been looking pretty heavily into solar. Look on Ebay for used 250W panels. 4 of those will set you back about $400 with shipping, or less. That gives you 1000W, which will run your entire camper AND charge the batteries. What I'm looking at doing is building a frame that I can mount them to so that I can move the entire system to the top of the pole barn that I intend to build over the camper when we decide where to move it. You also need to bear in mind east / west when it comes to charging hours.

>>2035822
>series. The 21.6V is charging 12v you do NOT want 40+v going into your solar controller. You do have a solar controller, right?
Wut? My MPPT controller handles up to 100V. Dubs wasted

>>2036310
Idling your engine at the campsite every day is fucking retarded and annoying. Plus I will install a smart relay that can charge from the alternator but just when I´m driving.

>>2036454
Thanks mate, saved

>>2037121

>You're playing in the tempid kiddie pools with those pussy 21vdc open circuit panels.
I´m playing nowhere with 72 cell panels because they don´t fit on the van.

>>2037124
>The Renogy Wanderer I mentioned earlier, it caps around 24vdc.
Using an Epever up to 100V 20A

>>2037269
That´s why you have both, solar+alternator charging.

>>2037849
>If you really want solar, just bring portable panels and catch sun when it's available.
That´s what I´m doing now. I´ll mount hinges on the two panels (260W is enough for me) to make them foldable and also install a foldable stand to get optimum tilt. So messing with roof installation plus with 15ft of cable I can put them in the sun while I park the van in the shade in the summer.

>>2037852
Just put another wone between the middle and the free connector and you have a bypass configuration.