How and why to wire solar panels in parallel

Learn how and why to wire solar panels in parallel.
⏱️Timestamps:
0:06 Intro
0:51 Current and voltage
1:51 Benefits with damaged or shaded panels
3:08 Downside of high current and low voltage
4:13 Overview of wire connections
5:15 Parallel connections with branch couplers
8:43 Parallel connections with combiner boxes
11:15 Measuring voltage and current
12:43 Other videos and resources
For more information, visit: go.umd.edu/FarmSolar

Пікірлер: 53

  • @johntheaccountant5594
    @johntheaccountant5594 Жыл бұрын

    I am teaching myself how to install solar panels and batteries and this is one of the best KZread explanations I have come across that I can understand......................Thank You.

  • @Ethan.s..

    @Ethan.s..

    Жыл бұрын

    Same here, it’s definitely a learning curve. But it is manageable with continued interest in learning.

  • @stephenchristian5739
    @stephenchristian5739 Жыл бұрын

    WOW THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR GETTING TO THE MAIN POINT IMMEDIATELY! I cant believe how many vids (with huge subs on their site) talk & talk I just wanted to know which is better b 4 I install my second panel on my roof ... geeezus THANK YOU AGAIN,

  • @simonmoore8414
    @simonmoore8414 Жыл бұрын

    Excellent video, thanks for sharing your wisdom.

  • @johnsonyeri4002
    @johnsonyeri4002 Жыл бұрын

    One of the best explanations

  • @MarciaCristina-vk3qr
    @MarciaCristina-vk3qr11 ай бұрын

    This panel can put out close to 100 watts kzread.infoUgkxOqI2yqX0XVrhR2BMJciTWrHJpG8FhJyg when positioned in the appropriate southernly direction, tilted to the optimal angle for your latitude/date, and connected to a higher capacity device than a 500. The built in kickstand angle is a fixed at 50 degrees. Up to 20% more power can be output by selecting the actual date and latitude optimal angle.The 500 will only input 3.5A maximum at 18 volts for 63 watts. Some of the excess power from the panel can be fed into a USB battery bank, charged directly from the panel while also charging a 500. This will allow you to harvest as much as 63 + 15 = 78 watts.If this panel is used to charge a larger device, such as the power station, then its full output potential can be realized.

  • @ronsbeerreviewstools4361
    @ronsbeerreviewstools43615 ай бұрын

    Thanks for posting this educational video, cheers !

  • @solarindependentutilitysystems
    @solarindependentutilitysystems Жыл бұрын

    Finally someone sees this thank you 😊

  • @solarindependentutilitysystems
    @solarindependentutilitysystems Жыл бұрын

    Shared on my fb Most don’t understand circuits Shading drastically affects series more so so parallel is the way to go

  • @roosenlodewijkwiggers4594
    @roosenlodewijkwiggers45944 ай бұрын

    The title is missleading. Depending on your environment you should go for series or parallel or mixed. Parallel is more expensive (wires and connectors) then series. All the arguments about a panel breaking down is less of an impact, as the chance of a panel breaking down is very very small. Also most new panel have bypass diodes and when parts fail of such panel, it will activate the bypass diodes, acting as the panel was not there and therefor not cutting the performance of the string down to the least performing panel. This on its own is a big caveat of the movie maker. If you live in a climate where there is alot of overcast, go for series string big enough to trigger the startup of the inverter. Most real life household solar installs combine parallel and series to make most of their inverter.

  • @stingk5295
    @stingk5295 Жыл бұрын

    Now learning about types of connections

  • @Electronzap
    @Electronzap6 ай бұрын

    Good info.

  • @jamesbaker7718
    @jamesbaker77189 ай бұрын

    Thank you

  • @southernafricanboy4148
    @southernafricanboy4148 Жыл бұрын

    Great video Could anyone help me. I love in UK but have a property in South Africa where we have a borehole or borewdll depending what you call it. We want to convert it from electricity to solar The tank for collecting the water sits at about 10m high (it's a double storey house) and the well is 20m deep What would I need to convert it to basic solar. It would only need to fill the tank which is 2500l twice a day and not run permanently Thanks in advance

  • @travellers.explorers
    @travellers.explorers5 ай бұрын

    Q, On boats it is often recommended to wire in series (counterintuitive to me, particularly as on boats there is almost always partial shading) with multiple arrays assigned to diffn controllers based on shading (that bit makes sense) The explanation given is that you get the max charge to your batteries whilst the panels are working, even if only partially.. I sorta get the explanation however it still doesn’t sit well with me. I have mine wired in parallel. Thoughts? I’ve watched a lot of KZread channels on many things, this is streets ahead in terms of visual, graphic and verbal presentation. Many thanks

  • @KieranFarnes
    @KieranFarnes3 ай бұрын

    Hey, thanks for the video. We live in a rental property in the UK and I'd like to put a panel/some panels on the balcony. Given that we rent and the panels would be visible from the street (and I haven't exactly asked the landlord) I'm looking at keeping my system as low key as possible. To that end, I'm debating multiple smaller panels in parallel (5x20w panels maybe?) rather than 1x100w panel. Rather than using a whole bunch of MC4 connectors, my idea is to run positive and negative "bus" cables all the way from the battery to the furthest away panel and then have each of the other panels on the way wired directly into the "bus" cables. I know I would have to use the right size cable to handle the combined current, but can you see anything obviously wrong/dangerous with that? Thanks in advance.

  • @jessicag630
    @jessicag6305 ай бұрын

    5:29 How about larger cables? There are only MC4 connectors for small cables here, even online. Is it possible to connect 16, 25, or 35 mm² cables in parallel? What do you use when the connectors for the larger cables are not available?

  • @BULLEAD
    @BULLEAD10 ай бұрын

    Interesting video. Question for you if I may, when you cover the solar panels with the cardboard, do they stop generating power instantly or does it take a moment or two for it to dissipate?

  • @5400bowen

    @5400bowen

    10 ай бұрын

    I guess he is too busy to respond. But you can see if the current is present with a multi meter, or just a test light. The current, however, goes away pretty much instantly.

  • @BULLEAD

    @BULLEAD

    10 ай бұрын

    Cheers , I ain’t planning on touching it to find out. Was just wondering.@@5400bowen

  • @user-gu4ld8bf2w
    @user-gu4ld8bf2w Жыл бұрын

    Do I need to put diode on positive lead of each solar panel before doing parallel connection to prevent reverse flow when one solar panel is under the shade?

  • @simonmoore8414

    @simonmoore8414

    Жыл бұрын

    Not if you are using a solar charge controller. It prevents battery drain during low or no sunlight

  • @user-fv6tf2ef2b
    @user-fv6tf2ef2b Жыл бұрын

    Hello!sorry for my bad English.when they are in parallel,we have more amber.do we have higher thebrature with more ambers?

  • @Ethan.s..

    @Ethan.s..

    Жыл бұрын

    You get twice the amperage when running two similar panels in parallel. The voltage will be the same as a single panel, or the lower voltage of the 2 panels (if they are different).

  • @Hawkquill
    @Hawkquill Жыл бұрын

    Can I have two separate strings of 5 solar panels one in series and one in parallel, going to different charge controllers but charging the same battery bank? Thanks

  • @ChrisEpler

    @ChrisEpler

    11 ай бұрын

    Yes

  • @donfrank4429
    @donfrank4429 Жыл бұрын

    if you only have have two panels you should only have 2 sets of wire (+ and -) to hook to the box where do you get the other set of wire from another set of panels

  • @Ethan.s..

    @Ethan.s..

    Жыл бұрын

    The 3 - 1 & 4 - 1 branch connectors shown are just showing what you would use with 3 & 4 panels running in parallel. 2 - 1 is all you can use with 2 panels.

  • @ToddM452
    @ToddM45210 ай бұрын

    Is it ok if the panels were left in open circuit status if waiting for parts?

  • @Unknown-sz8kg

    @Unknown-sz8kg

    10 ай бұрын

    Yes

  • @flintriverkayaking7051
    @flintriverkayaking7051 Жыл бұрын

    Hey bud I have a question I'm wanting to do a series connection of two solar arrays that are run in parallel does that sound ok or do I hafto series each panel and then parallel them?

  • @UGPVlogsLA

    @UGPVlogsLA

    Жыл бұрын

    Go check out: "DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse" channel, and "Hobotech" channel here on KZread. They have some excellent information on Solar, and also have special deals on panels, batteries etc..

  • @valramsingh8360
    @valramsingh8360 Жыл бұрын

    when to use what ?? since the connectors only allow a 30 amp fuse ,that restricts your design..

  • @Ethan.s..

    @Ethan.s..

    Жыл бұрын

    He covered this in the video, I believe he stated you can run more branch adapters further down line. Each one can handle 30 Amps.

  • @dheller777
    @dheller777 Жыл бұрын

    I have six 120 watt panels wired in parallel. I show 21 volts on my solar controller which is about right. They problem is I only show .2 amps coming to my controller even in bright sun. I replaced the controller with another one and still get the same reading. Any ideas on what could be causing this would be appreciated. thanks.

  • @garryanole7764

    @garryanole7764

    Жыл бұрын

    what kind of solar panel are you using it? I recommends you to hook up Mono-PERC or Monocrystalline solar panel and its cable sizing .

  • @mrfuzzy2954

    @mrfuzzy2954

    Жыл бұрын

    I'd recogmend checking if you crimped the mc4 connectors correctly. If you connected multiple wires to an in/out box one of those wires might not be connected correctly.

  • @kenwittlief255

    @kenwittlief255

    Жыл бұрын

    do you have any load on the controller? if the batteries are fully charged the controller will not pull any power from the solar panels - if there is no load the current has no where to go

  • @ardehshir4590
    @ardehshir4590 Жыл бұрын

    hi there, I have bought 4 solar panels 340w ,Max Current (Imp) 9.82A Max Voltage (Vmp) 34.6V Short Circuit Current (Isc) 10.51A Open Circuit Voltage (Voc) 42.5V Weight 18.7KG Dimension 1664x992x35mm Cell Technology Monocrystalline but I didn't parallel yet I need help before somethings goes wrong LOL, my system run by 48v do I need to do parallel them?

  • @ChrisEpler

    @ChrisEpler

    11 ай бұрын

    If you do parallel they won't have the voltage to charge a 48v battery.

  • @ChrisEpler

    @ChrisEpler

    11 ай бұрын

    You'd need to do series or 2 series combined on parallel but need to be sure your charge controller can handle the voltage and your wiring will handle the amps.

  • @ardehshir4590

    @ardehshir4590

    10 ай бұрын

    @@ChrisEpler thank you my friend for your reply, I have bought 100 amp solar charge controller ,but when I make 4 panels what you call series ,my charge controller red light will be on when I make two panels like as + to - I don’t know what they will call series or parallel , but my battery charge drop down, so I feel this is now more look like 24v system not 48v system, I’m really confused,

  • @wjjohns04able
    @wjjohns04able3 ай бұрын

    Why does the multimeter dance around when no load is connected to it?

  • @edkemp6287

    @edkemp6287

    3 ай бұрын

    Cheap meter. Use analogue meter or fluke

  • @flintriverkayaking7051
    @flintriverkayaking7051 Жыл бұрын

    I would really appreciate some of your time when you get a chance hit me up so we can speak if possible

  • @SurvivalSquirrel
    @SurvivalSquirrel8 ай бұрын

    How would a solar panel fail, so that the series style would not work? I call that BS! Where do you get those numbers from? (big question mark)

  • @no2thenwo737

    @no2thenwo737

    2 ай бұрын

    One of my panels failed and took out the solar charge controller in my off grid inverter. I had to purchase a new unit. All my panels are in series.

  • @AlexanderYusuf-qd1rt
    @AlexanderYusuf-qd1rt Жыл бұрын

    I took back my request/comment, not friendly owner

  • @Tony07ss
    @Tony07ss Жыл бұрын

    You have male and female switched up.

  • @leafXIV
    @leafXIV Жыл бұрын

    Why do you say "Parelock" instead of "Parallel"...

  • @dthorne4602

    @dthorne4602

    11 ай бұрын

    Who says "parelock"? This guy didn't.

  • @edkemp6287
    @edkemp62873 ай бұрын

    Avoid parallel. String is king

  • @jackdolphy8965

    @jackdolphy8965

    2 ай бұрын

    Avoid EdKemp. Context is king.